what's new

"How The Wright Stuff Was Won". It was a Valentine's Day present that Frank Lloyd Wright would have appreciated: on February 14, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation (which owns Taliesin and Taliesin West) acquired the collection of architectural historian, Henry-Russell Hitchcock, at an auction at Bonhams & Butterfields.

Hitchcock, whose 1942 book, In the Nature of Materials, is one of the standards on Wright, had hundreds of photographs of Wright buildings, as well as drawings and correspondence related to the book's publication. Some of Hitchcock's drawings were made specifically for the book by apprentices in the Taliesin Fellowship under Wright's direction. And seven of the drawings may have come from Wright's own hand, making them exceptionally valuable. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation is one of the best institutions for this collection, as it maintains Wright's archive: one of the largest archives devoted to a single person in the world.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy was crucial to the acquisition of this collection and their information on the auction can be found on this web page.

"The Marriage of Music and Architecture - Concerts in Frank Lloyd Wright Houses," by Jennifer Hambrick, Ph.D, a staff member of classical music station WOSU 89.7, Ohio State University. This informative blog entry gives information about the upcoming music series held in Wright houses throughout 2010, including the final concert in the Hillside Theater. Click here for information on this concert series, with a link to a form for purchasing tickets - space is limited!

Gift cards now available at the Taliesin Bookstore or for Taliesin Tours. With a Taliesin Preservation Gift Card, recipients can choose from hundreds of products or any of the Taliesin Tours so you can be sure to find the gift they really want.

"Frank Lloyd Wright home, Taliesin, nears 100 years old," by Julie Lund for WKOWTV in Madison, Wisconsin. The ABC-affiliate talks about Taliesin with noted architectural historian, Sidney Robinson (now an employee of Taliesin Preservation, about the issues surrounding preserving Wright's home, Taliesin, which was always an experiment on the part of the architect.

"Madison College (MATC) alum wins prestigious award," WKOWTV, Madison, Wisconsin. A Madison Area Technical College graduate has won a prestigious award for his work on a special animated video of Frank Lloyd’s Wright’s Taliesin home in Spring Green.

Award-winner Mark Shmitz is the principal and creative director of ZD Studios in Madison. He was part of a team including students and instructors from MATC that created an animated video tour through Taliesin. The MATC participants did detailed measurements of all of the furniture and spaces at Wright's home, and ZD Studios put this together into a touching animated video.

The video was used in Frank Lloyd Wright: From Inward Outward, the exhibit on the architect's work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and Bilbao, Spain.

Go to the ZD Studios website, click on the Frank Lloyd Wright red square on the lower right hand side, and register so that you can view the video.

"Wisconsin Wonders: Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Estate," from WisconsinEye, a Wisconsin-based internet station devoted to community affairs and public policy discussions. When the state congress is not in session, they focus on cultural interests and amenities in Wisconsin. This is a 28-minute video tour of Taliesin and Hillside from August 2009. Requires Windows Media Player.

"World Monuments Fund Lists 93 Endangered Sites," from ArtInfo.com. The World Monuments Fund—a "New York-based non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting endangered ancient and historic sites around the world"—released its biennial list of endangered sites, including Taliesin in Wisconsin, and Taliesin West, Wright's winter home in Scottsdale Arizona:

Wright used both as residences throughout his career and pioneered some of his most innovative techniques on the properties,  but that sense of experimentation has made the properties particularly hard to preserve.

WISCONSIN GOVERNOR JIM DOYLE PROCLAIMS APRIL 9, 2009 TO BE FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT REMEMBRANCE DAY

Read the proclamation below

WHEREAS the State of Wisconsin recognizes the value of architecture and the built environment to human society in Wisconsin and the nation; and

WHEREAS Frank Lloyd Wright was declared the “Greatest American Architect of All Time” by the American Institute of Architects; and

WHEREAS Wright was born in Richland County, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867, and made his home and studio in Spring Green, Wisconsin; and

WHEREAS six existing Wisconsin properties designed by Wright are designated as National Historic Landmarks; and

WHEREAS Wright’s legacy continues to attract thousands of tourists to Wisconsin each year; and

WHEREAS Wright is the subject of hundreds of books, and thousands of articles, and scores of exhibitions, including a major exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York this spring; and

WHEREAS Wright revived the “Prairie” architectural style, popular with contemporary designers and home buyers; and

WHEREAS Wright’s architectural philosophy known as “Organic Architecture” holds great relevance in today’s world of shrinking resources and growing environmental awareness; and

WHEREAS Wright drew inspiration for many of his designs from the natural beauty of Wisconsin, and he cherished his Wisconsin home, Taliesin, in the valley of his mother’s family;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jim Doyle, Governor of Wisconsin, do hereby proclaim April 9, 2009, the 50th anniversary of Wright’s death,

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT REMEMBRANCE DAY
in Wisconsin, in memory of Wisconsin’s most famous son.

TALIESIN PRESERVATION, INC. AND TALIESIN RECEIVE TRAVEL WISCONSIN GREEN CERTIFICATION

Travel Green Wisconsin (www.travelgreenwisconsin.com) a voluntary certification program that recognizes tourism businesses for reducing their environmental footprint through eco-friendly practices, has just announced that Taliesin Preservation, Inc. and the Taliesin estate have earned certification.

To achieve certification, applicants must earn a minimum of 30 points from a checklist of basic requirements covering a wide range of “green” practices, including: waste reduction, reuse and recycling; energy efficiency, water conservation and wastewater management; air quality; wildlife and landscape; transportation; purchasing; and local community benefits.  The Wisconsin Environmental Initiative, an independent third party, then certifies Travel Green Wisconsin applicants.

For more information, see our "News Releases" page.

TALIESIN ADDED TO LIST FOR NOMINATION AS A WORLD HERITAGE SITE

The Office of International Affairs, in the U.S. National Park Service, has compiled a tentative list of sites that will be submitted to the World Heritage Committee in 2009. Wright's Wisconsin home was nominated as part of a group of ten Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. The other nine Wright sites are:

• Unity Temple (1905-08), Oak Park, Illinois
• Frederick C. Robie House (1908-10), Chicago, Illinois
• Hollyhock House (1919-21), Los Angeles, California
• Fallingwater (1936-38), Mill Run, Pennsylvania
• S. C. Johnson and Son, Inc., Administration Building and Research Tower, Racine, Wisconsin (1936-39; 1943-50)
• Taliesin West (1938), Scottsdale, Arizona
• Price Tower (1953-56), Bartlesville, Oklahoma
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1956-59), New York, New York
• Marin County Civic Center (1960-69), San Rafael, California

Designation as a World Heritage Site would mean that these buildings would be recognized not only for their importance to the United States, but to the citizens of the world. World Heritage Sites include the Acropolis, the Alhambra, Angkor, the Bauhaus and its sites in Weimar and Dessau, the Great Barrier Reef, the Great Wall of China, Notre Dame in Paris, the Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, the Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, Taj Mahal, and only about 800 more.

The United States has served on the World Heritage Committee from 2005 and will serve until 2009. No sites from the United States can be nominated for World Heritage Status while it serves on the committee, in order to eliminate conflicts of interest. Each site under consideration must be on a list for at least a year; thus, the creation of a tentative list for World Heritage Sites by the National Park Service will qualify the nominated sites for consideration by the World Heritage Committee after the term for the United States has expired.

Click here for information about the World Heritage Tentative List Project.

Click here for the press release from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation regarding the nomination.