Frank Lloyd Wright Chicago to New York
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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT CHICAGO TO NEW YORK MAY 13-27, 2017 TOUR LEADER: DR MATTHEW LAING Frank Lloyd Overview Wright Follow the journey of Frank Lloyd Wright from his original Prairie House designs to the magnificent Fallingwater and Guggenheim Museum while Chicago to New York at the same time enjoying the wealth of art, architecture and history in some of America’s most famous cities. Tour dates: May 13-27, 2017 We begin with four nights in Chicago, the ‘second city’ of the United Tour leader: Dr Matthew Laing States, where Wright developed his Prairie style of architecture. It brims with fine buildings, art galleries and exuberant public sculpture. We then Tour Price: $10,640 per person, twin share travel north to Wisconsin to see some of Wright’s most famous works as well as Taliesin East, his beloved estate. Our next stop is Buffalo, near Single Supplement: $2,710 for sole use of Niagara Falls, to visit the Darwin Martin complex of houses. Travelling to double room Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we take a day trip to America’s most famous house, Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. The tour concludes with four days in Booking deposit: $500 per person New York, home to an extraordinary range of cultural sites and Recommended airline: Qantas or United experiences. We take architectural walking tours, visit major galleries and attend a Broadway show. The tour ends with Wright’s Guggenheim Maximum places: 20 Museum on Fifth Avenue. Itinerary: Chicago (4 nights), Madison (2 Accommodation is in comfortable four and five star hotels throughout, with nights), Buffalo (2 nights), Pittsburgh (2 nights), breakfast daily, and several special meals at carefully chosen restaurants New York (4 nights) are included. Date published: June 20, 2016 Your tour leader Dr Matthew Laing has a PhD in American History from the Australian National University and is currently with Monash University. He has a comprehensive knowledge of the history of the United States, providing vital context for understanding the remarkable art, architecture and design of the 20th century. For Matthew, the art and design of the USA has a global significance. “The United States has profoundly influenced modern architectural and design movements, and its echoes can be seen everywhere in Australia”, he comments. “From Walter Burley and Marion Mahoney Griffin's Chicago-school design for Canberra, to the William Levitt-style post-war surburbia in Melbourne, to the Frank Gehry building at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia owes much to American design ideas.” On tour, Matthew particularly likes to point out the link between history, society and the visual arts. “Architecture and design are built expressions of historical ideas. The cutting-edge designs of today become the tangible representations of our history and thoughts..” Enquiries and bookings “Matthew Laing was brilliant. His knowledge and ability to present it was exceptional. He was also amiable, helpful and well organised.” Feedback For further information and to from Academy Travel’s Washington, Chicago and New York tour, October secure a place on this tour 2014. please contact Erin Laffin at Academy Travel on The majority of photos in this itinerary where taken by tour 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 participants John Sidoti and Iris Wang on our October 2015 Frank (outside Sydney) or email Lloyd Wright: Chicago to New York tour. [email protected] Kaufman trio on the bridge at Fallingwater The Kaufmanns of Pittsburgh Fallingwater is an iconic building of the 20th century, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s undisputed masterpiece. While the story of Wright’s life and work is a compelling one (especially his, er, complicated love life), some of his clients are just as interesting. None more so that the Kaufmanns, who commissioned Fallingwater . If Frank Lloyd Wright were alive today his clients would be the digital aristocracy of Silicon Valley – innovators and entrepreneurs looking for an architect whose aesthetic and design would reflect their iconoclastic and forward-looking vision. In their day, Wright’s clients were innovators in the industrial and commercial sphere. They were naturally drawn to Wright, and Wright to them. Without such clients, Wright would never have been able to design the way he did. On the face of it the Kaufmanns, owners and operators of prosperous Pittsburgh’s largest department store, were traditional people in a traditional industry and unlikely clients for Wright. But it was the way in which they approached retailing that made them stand out. Every year Lilian Kaufmann would travel to Europe, personally selecting the stock and keeping abreast with store design. Indeed, the ladies department on the upper floor of their store was considered second-only to Galleries Lafayette in Paris. And today, Edgar Kaufmann’s office desk from the Pittsburgh store is displayed in the V&A Museum in London – a supreme example of modern design. Edgar and Lilian’s interest in art and design rubbed off on their son Edgar Jr, who became director of the Industrial Design Department at MoMA and later on ensured that Fallingwater was preserved for all via a publically managed conservancy. If you know something of Wright’s personal life, then you will not be surprised that his client-architect relationships were not always smooth. Wright was routinely in dispute with his clients, but the following exchange shows how well the experienced businessman Edgar Kaufmann could handle his excitable architect. I don’t know what kind of architect you are familiar with but it apparently isn’t the kind I think I am. You seem not to know how to treat a decent one. I have put so much more into this house than you or any other client has a right to expect that if I haven’t your confidence — to hell with the whole thing. — Frank Lloyd Wright Dear Mr. Wright, I don’t know what kind of clients you are familiar with but apparently they are not the kind I think I am. You seem not to know how to treat a decent man. I have put so much confidence and enthusiasm behind this whole project in my limited way, to help the fulfilment of your effort that if I do not have your confidence in the matter— to hell with the whole thing. — Edgar J. Kauffman P.S. Now don’t you think we should stop writing letters and that you owe it to the situation to come to Pittsburgh and clear it up by getting the facts?… Tour Highlights Four nights in Chicago, discovering some of the city’s significant architecture, galleries and museums A tour of Oak Park where we see many of Frank Lloyd Wright’s early houses, including an interior tour of his home and studio Tour of SC Johnson Wax Administration Building & Research Tower A visit to Mies van der Rohe’s masterpiece, Farnsworth House In-depth estate tour of Taliesin East, his home for 30 years and site of many of the dramas of Wright’s life The Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, New York, a superb example of Wright’s Prairie Style Niagara Falls Two nights in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the former steel capital that has undergone a startling transformation A private, interior tour of Fallingwater, the magnificent house built by Wright for the Kaufmann family, and arguably his most famous work Four days in New York, with private walking tours and visits to some of the great private and public galleries A private out-of-hours viewing of the Museum of Modern Art – your chance to view 20th century masterpieces in private Tour of Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut A Broadway musical in New York Above: the Chrysler Building, New York Above: a private interior visit and cocktail reception in Robie House Above: Private viewing of Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d'Avignon at MoMA Above: completed in 1939, Fallingwater sits in a dramatic setting over a river and revolutionary modernist architecture made the house instantly famous Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the symbols B, L and D. Saturday May 13 arrive Arrive in Chicago and meet your tour leader and fellow travellers for a welcome drink. Overnight Chicago Sunday May 14 Downtown chicago The Great Fire of 1871 destroyed the entire Chicago CBD, leaving the way open for architects to design a new and modern city. The first steel-framed high rise building rose in 1885 and the skyline today is densely packed with skyscrapers, many by renowned architects. Our walking tour this morning takes us past some of the city’s most iconic buildings. We visit the lobby of the Rookery Building, the masterpiece of Daniel Burnham and remodelled by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1905. In the afternoon we take the Chicago Architectural Foundation river cruise to gain an overview of the city’s historic and modern architectural styles. Tonight we have dinner in a local restaurant. Overnight Chicago (B, D) Monday May 15 Frank Lloyd Wright – the early years & SC Johnson Today we take a private coach tour of Oak Park. This Chicago suburb is where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked and where much of his early work can still be found. We have an interior tour of Wright’s home and studio, which Wright used as his architecture laboratory for his early designs. We then view the numerous examples of Prairie Style architecture in the surrounding neighbourhood. In the afternoon we drive north to Racine, Wisconsin to visit the SC Johnson Wax Administration Building and Research Tower. The Administration Building was described by Philip Above: Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate, reflecting and distorting the city's Johnson as the “most beautiful room in America.” skyline in Millennium Park; and American Gothic by Grant Wood in the Overnight Chicago (B) collection of the Art Institute of Chicago Below: the interior of the Johnson Wax headquarters Tuesday May 16 Chicago art and architecture We begin our day with a walk through Millennium Park.