Architectural Excursions: Frank Lloyd Wright, Holland and Europe (Contributions to the Study of Art and Architecture)

Soon after 1900 in both North America and Europe the evolution from the tradition of Mediterranean and Gallic architectural styles to modernism began. This phenomenon was due, in part, to American industrial architecture and the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright's building and architectural treatises of 1898-1908, with the additional help of Dutch propaganda on his behalf, significantly influenced European practitioners and theorists. European architecture within and outside of Holland reflects an adaptation of Wright's theories along with the structural determinism of American industrial buildings. With new evidence and fresh analysis culled from Dutch and American archives, personal correspondence, and professional material, this study examines the weight of Wright's works and words and those of the Dutchmen H.P. Berlage, Theo van Doesburg, Jan Wils, J.J.P. Oud, William Dudok, and Hendrik Theodor Wijdeveld. This new insight on the effects of Wright's architectural theories and designs, coupled with an extensive guide for further research, will attract art and architecture scholars and historians on both sides of the Atlantic and will also be of interest to social historians, artists, and architects. Events and new theories, including the assertion that Hendrik Theodor Wijdeveld was the catalytic source behind Wright's Taliesin Fellowship established in 1932, are presented in clear accessible language. Tied to the text are numerous visual presentations of significant designs and buildings. Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Foreword 14 Preface 16 Chapter 1 Fin de Siècle Turmoil 22 Chapter 2 Discovery 30 Chapter 3 Immediate Reaction 46 Chapter 4 Insights: Jan Wils 60 Chapter 5 Serious Looks, Passing Glances 76 Chapter 6 Wijdeveld: A Bright Prospect 102 Chapter 7 Wijdeveld: Eye to Eye 112 Chapter 8 The Show 128 Chapter 9 Turnings 140 Chapter 10 Fellowship 150 Chapter 11 Many Fellowships 168 Chapter 12 Wijdeveld in America 182 Chapter 13 Sixty Years of Living Architecture 194 Chapter 14 Retrospection 204 Appendix A Some Wright-Influenced Buildings in The Netherlands 210 Appendix B Wright to Wijdeveld, 21 October 1947 216 Appendix C Wijdeveld’s An International Guild, Santpoort, 1931 220 Appendix D The Taliesin Fellowship Constitution, 1932 228 Notes 232 Bibliography 256 Index of Personal Names 262 A 262 B 262 C 263 D 263 E 263 F 264 G 264 H 264 I 265 J 265 K 265 L 265 M 266 N 266 O 267 P 267 Q 267 R 267 S 267 T 268 U 268 V 268 W 269 Y 269 Z 269 Twentieth-century architecture was dramatically transformed from a dependence on past traditionalised formalisms to an independence characterized by a search for artistic responses to contemporary society. A study presenting new material about Frank Lloyd Wright's influential role in the development of modern architecture in Holland and Europe in the 1920s.