Art Glass of the Martin House Complex

Wright, Frank Lloyd; Jackson-Forsberg, Eric (Editor)

ISBN 10: 0764951505 / ISBN 13: 9780764951503

Published by Pomegranate, 2009

About this Item

First edition. A fine copy in a fine jacket. 2009 Large Hardcover. 96 pp. When Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) designed the Darwin D. Martin House complex (1903-1905), he filled the windows, doors, skylights, and laylights with nearly four hundred pieces of his signature art glass. The spectacular designs, abstractions of the architecture and surrounding environment, are among some of Wright's finest. These "light screens," as Wright called them, were fundamental to his principle of "bringing the outside in" by blurring the line between enclosed and open spaces. Despite the site-specific nature of Wright's art glass, nearly three-quarters of the pieces at the Martin House complex have been removed--many of them distributed to museums and private collections throughout the world. Today, due to the tremendous reconstruction efforts by the Martin House Restoration Corporation, the art glass designs are being restored to their original home. Only now, in their original context, is it possible to fully appreciate the importance of these "light screens" to Wright's overall composition for the Martin House complex.

Seller Inventory # 2329030

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Art Glass of the Martin House Complex
• Publisher: Pomegranate
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0764951505
• ISBN 13: 9780764951503
• Binding: Large Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

When Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) designed the Darwin D. Martin House complex (1903-1905), he filled the windows, doors, skylights, and laylights with nearly four hundred pieces of his signature art glass. The spectacular designs, abstractions of the architecture and surrounding environment, are among some of Wright's finest. These "light screens," as Wright called them, were fundamental to his principle of "bringing the outside in" by blurring the line between enclosed and open spaces.

Despite the site-specific nature of Wright's art glass, nearly three-quarters of the pieces at the Martin House complex have been removed--many of them distributed to museums and private collections throughout the world. Today, due to the tremendous reconstruction efforts by the Martin House Restoration Corporation, the art glass designs are being restored to their original home. Only now, in their original context, is it possible to fully appreciate the importance of these "light screens" to Wright's overall composition for the Martin House complex.

Edited by Martin House curator Eric Jackson-Forsberg, with additional text by Theodore Lownie, Robert McCarter, and Jack Quinan and an introduction by art glass expert Julie Sloan, Frank Lloyd Wright: Art Glass of the Martin House Complex explores the breadth of Wright's iconic iridescent creations for the Martin House. Full-color images accompany Jackson-Forsberg's insightful text to provide examples of the major patterns and motifs represented in the Martin House, in addition to an assortment of rare variations and outlying designs. Original drawings, historic photographs, floor plans, and excerpts from Wright's personal correspondence add to this comprehensive survey of the exquisite art glass designs found at Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House complex.