Frank Lloyd Wright Martin House

by Dr. Lori Verderame

In the career of an architect, an art museum commission is often viewed as attaining the pinnacle in the field. Masters of the discipline felt that they had “arrived” when their museum commissions were secured.

Frank Lloyd Wright had designed private residences, buildings for worship, schools and ateliers for artists and architects, and civic architecture throughout his career. He was also a fine designer of interiors including furniture, accessories, stained glass windows, etc. These elements of his famous buildings are of interest with collectors.

One of the best known examples of the trend where an architect offers some of his best work on his museum commission was Frank Lloyd Wright’s commission for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art in New York City. The Guggenheim commission was characterized as Wright’s swan song since construction on the museum was completed only months after Wright’s death in the 1950s. The thoroughly modern museum referenced the history of museum architecture as evinced by the famous ramp. The ramp had been borrowed from the original design of the Vatican museums in Vatican City near Rome.

Request an online appraisal of your Frank Lloyd Wright piece from Dr. Lori.