Frank Lloyd Wright, World Telegram & Sun Photo by Al Ravenna, 1956. Courtesy Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-116658
On this day, April 9th, 1959, Frank Lloyd Wright died in Phoenix, Arizona, at 91 years old. He was undergoing surgery to remove an intestinal obstruction.
Wright was best known for his architecture and interior designs. He completed what is arguably his masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum.
The design of the Guggenheim was designed to have an interior reminiscent of the interior of a seashell. The idea was for visitors to take the elevator to the top and to slowly descend on a spiral walkway or ramp back to street level. The museum, has however, tended to reverse the traffic flow with the exhibits designed to be viewed by walking UP the ramp.
It is perhaps fitting that his desires were ignored as Wright was displeased with Solomon R. Guggenheim's plans to place the museum in New York City. Wright said, "I can think of several more desirable places in the world to build his great museum, but we will have to try New York." Wright's opinion was that NY was overbuilt, overpopulated, and generally lacking in architectural merit.
Wright's design was criticized, especially by artists, for creating an environment, that may not have allowed the art to be the focus. Wright wrote, "On the contrary, it was to make the building and the painting an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony such as never existed in the world of art before."
Wright was best known for his architecture and interior designs. He completed what is arguably his masterpiece, the Guggenheim Museum.
The design of the Guggenheim was designed to have an interior reminiscent of the interior of a seashell. The idea was for visitors to take the elevator to the top and to slowly descend on a spiral walkway or ramp back to street level. The museum, has however, tended to reverse the traffic flow with the exhibits designed to be viewed by walking UP the ramp.
It is perhaps fitting that his desires were ignored as Wright was displeased with Solomon R. Guggenheim's plans to place the museum in New York City. Wright said, "I can think of several more desirable places in the world to build his great museum, but we will have to try New York." Wright's opinion was that NY was overbuilt, overpopulated, and generally lacking in architectural merit.
Wright's design was criticized, especially by artists, for creating an environment, that may not have allowed the art to be the focus. Wright wrote, "On the contrary, it was to make the building and the painting an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony such as never existed in the world of art before."
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