- The Frank Lloyd Wright living room was built overlooking Lake Minnetonka, outside of Minneapolis.
- From the window you would see a distant view of the lake and lots of sky.
- The room is so permeable that you are almost outdoors, while you feel protected and safe,
- you almost are in a large tent in the woods. This was sort of my first step into Modernism,
- which after this I began to appreciate more and more.
- Wright had gone to Europe; his designs became simpler.
- The chairs and the tables
- have no moldings, they tend to be a lighter wood. It’s using very much just the vocabulary of line, rather than the vocabulary of naturalistic forms.
- This is the only room, I would believe in the period rooms, that actually had electricity.
- There’s this technological change that’s happening.
- Mrs. Little was trained as a pianist in Cologne,
- was apparently quite good, and wanted to use this room for dual purposes:
- both to have the family live there and use it and enjoy it, but her piano was
- firmly planned as part of the room.
- She always meant to be able to give small concerts.
- Although it’s probably about fourteen feet high,
- it comes off as low, horizontal room.
- You’re both in a space that feels comfortable,
- but at the same time
- feels very grand. Wright is working with piercing every wall and trying to get light from all directions.
- A lot of people do think that the skylight is the sky. It isn’t a skylight, it’s a light fixture.
- He intentionally made the living room, a free-standing pavilion.
- The most important room in the house, is gonna be its own structure. It’s a country house, you’re there to relax, and the space
- somehow transmits that. It is a room that engenders great relaxation, great calmness, great peace.
- I don’t think there’s any other room that I know that makes me feel quite like this. This is a work of art meant to be lived in.
Modern LivingAmelia Peck
Living room from the Little House, Wayzata, Minnesota, 1912–15
Frank Lloyd Wright (American)
Purchase, Emily Crane Chadbourne Bequest, 1972 (1972.60.1)
Frank Lloyd Wright (American)
Purchase, Emily Crane Chadbourne Bequest, 1972 (1972.60.1)
Episode Tags
Amelia PeckAmelia PeckClose
