Short article on re-painting the Guggenheim in NYT

[DavidC]

From the New York Times (9/26/07) - a short blurb (third from the top) on re-painting the Guggenheim in Wright's true chosen color:

Painting Guggenheim Wright’s Color


David

[Roderick Grant]

Finally! The writer is right, Wright hated white. The owner of the Davidson House in Buffalo showed, I believe it was, H. Allin Brooks that the original color of the long-white house was a pale grayish blue. Color was of great importance to FLW, and getting it wrong can totally upset the order of the piece. It would be like redoing Picasso's blue period in mauve.

[Unbrook]

Has the Davidson house ever been painted the grayish-blue color?

[jlesshafft]

If you do a google search for "benjamin moore hc-35" one of the links will show you a color chart.

This color is a lot darker than I imagined.

[pharding]

Nothing beats the original FLW colors.

[SDR]

Tha fact that many of us grew up with black-and-white pictures of all our favorite buildings means that the appreciation of color, and the way it was used by the major architects of the late nineteenth and early-mid twentieth century, is something that still surprises.

I recall reading that the Guggenheim (I was present at the Artist's Opening) was not painted as Wright had intended; the interior was white as opposed to his preferred color, perhaps identical to the exterior ?

SDR

[Paul Ringstrom]

To see what that exact color was go to: http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin- ... 006996.htm

HC-35 is called Powell Buff.

[DavidC]

Thanks, Paul. I thought it might be helpful to add the color chip directly to the discussion, too. And it's so vastly different than what's been on the building since inception, that's for sure. I wonder if the Commission will approve it - or stick to the white that has been 'historically' (though incorrectly) there for the past 50 years - since the change in colors would certainly be rather dramatic?





David

[JimM]

Wright or wrong, I believe the change will be too dramatic for anyone to be willing to take responsibility for.

[SDR]

If it can be demonstrated that this was Wright's original intent, I imagine most will applaud; accurate restoration is more and more appreciated, by the public and by specialists, isn't it ?

That color looks only a little darker, if any, than what was originally on the exterior of the Guggenheim, it seems to me.

SDR

[Paul Ringstrom]

Another thought on color... the new slab-sided high rise addition that has been built behind the original building is an off-white and kind-of blends with the off-white Guggenheim. If they change it, it will look like two separate buildings. It will be very interesting to see what they decide. This will not be a quick decision.

[SDR]

I saw a photo recently that seems to show a Gehry-style silver object somewhere above and to the left of the main mass of the Gugg, in front of the tower addition. Was this temporary ? Anybody know what it was (is) ?

SDR

[pharding]

Thanks, Paul. I thought it might be helpful to add the color chip directly to the discussion, too. And it's so vastly different than what's been on the building since inception, that's for sure. I wonder if the Commission will approve it - or stick to the white that has been 'historically' (though incorrectly) there for the past 50 years - since the change in colors would certainly be rather dramatic?





David

Beautiful color. Very Frank Lloyd Wright, however I do not know enough to comment on the most appropriate color for this project.

[Roderick Grant]

Unbrook, I believe Davidson was never painted anything but white. As originally built, the plaster had been tinted to the desired color, as was FLW's usual wont. The owner took a jack knife and dug out a chip of stucco to reveal the original to Brooks.

Powell Buff is a beautiful color, and much nicer than the flat gray that I recall from the early 70s when I lived in NY.

[RJH]

Well, I swung by the Benjamin Moore dear to pick up HC-35 sample. It is a nice color. Much darker and more brownish then what appears on my flat panel PC monitor. It looks like the color that Jack Howe used on some of the exterior stucco walls on his houses. It will take some getting used to seeing the Gug in this color.