Wright Chat

OAD Archives · Joined: 13 Jun 2018 Posts: 3

JOURNAL OF
ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
VOL. 6 / NO. 1

:: DOUBLE-SIZED ISSUE ::

80 pages :: Essays by Kathryn A. Smith and Donald G. Kalec

Frank Lloyd Wright and Taliesin, his residence and studio in southern Wisconsin, are famous in American architectural circles and are well known internationally as well. The same cannot be said for Henry Fuermann (1861-1949) or for his two sons, Clarence (1883-1982) and Leon (1886-1968). The name Fuermann is attributed to some of the most significant photographs of Wright buildings ever published. Especially Taliesin. Yet, almost nothing is known about who the photographers were and what was the background behind their work.

This landmark double-sized issue explores the life and work of the Fuermanns by identifying and reproducing in chronological order fifty-one photographs of Taliesin, all uncropped and some never-before-published. With essays uncovering new information about the photographers and their work by Kathryn A. Smith and Donald G. Kalec.

Follow the link to order your copy:

http://www.oadarchives.com/product/journal-oa-d-6-1

JimM · Joined: 06 Jan 2005 Posts: 1378

Waiting by the mailbox!

SDR · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 16027 Location: San Francisco

The OAD people just keep on delivering the goods, don't they. The quality of the publications can't be faulted: content, graphic design, printing and stock
are all of exceptional quality, resulting in a pleasurable reading experience and a memorable addition to one's architectural library.

SDR

Roderick Grant · Joined: 29 Mar 2006 Posts: 8457

One fascinating historic photo of T-II is plate 34, page 58, the porch with its wicker furniture. Another view I have never seen in T-III is the studio alcove fireplace, plate 51, page 77.

RonMcCrea · Joined: 05 Apr 2008 Posts: 328 Location: Madison, Wisconsin

There seems to be one photo missing, a variation on Plate 1 that shows two children under the port cochere, one on a horse. I think they could be the Cheney children, who visited in August.

One arresting feature is the "Flower" statue lurking in the woods near the lower entryway in Plate 39. She has been cast out of the courtyard garden!

OAD Archives · Joined: 13 Jun 2018 Posts: 3

Hello all. Thanks for the kind words and interest in the "Fuermann Photographs Taliesin" issue of the Journal of Organic Architecture + Design.

To help address Ron's question about the photo of the children and the horse not being included, I figured I'd pass on some information about the process of researching and creating this issue.

The authors of the journal, Kathryn Smith and Don Kalec, discussed at length this particular image, others from the Wisconsin Historical Society, and a few additional sources of photos that were ultimately not included in the journal.

After much back and forth, the authors finally agreed on a methodology for attribution and inclusion:

They relied on the fact we had one collection of photographs that had an unimpeachable straight line of provenance from the Fuermanns to The Chicago Architectural Photographing Co. to David Phillips to OA+D. These images were also for the most part visibly numbered on the negative with a verifiable system that was known to be used by Fuermann. With respect to other images outside this collection and which didn't have this number present, we could not be as sure. The WHS images, for instance, did not have the same level of provenance and no numbers.

In the end, the hallmark of art history is consistency. The images selected for this issue were based on this methodology being applied in a completely consistent manner.

Kathryn states in the text of her essay that there are many Fuermann images in public and private collections that we were not included in this publication because they did not carry a Fuermann number.

Of course, as soon as you print something new info comes to light, and a photo not included in the issue has been identified in a private collection that fits the methodology. So there will always be a need for ongoing research.

Perhaps at some point, new information will surface that can provide the empirical evidence needed to 100% attribute the WHS (and other photos) as unequivacally Fuermann's. We hope definitely hope so.

The authors hoped that this OA+D issue would be another step in bringing greater attention to the Fuermanns and encourage discussion and more research by many others, now and into the future. We are happy to hear from you!