FLLW / Prairie Houses 2006

[Tom]

Found a great copy of FLLW / Prairie Houses; Weintraub and Hess (photographer and author) at local used bookstore; hardback, Rizzoli, 2006.

Wonderful photographs and extensive interior look at many of these homes.

The dining room ceiling of the Isabel Roberts House is what motivated me to post on the first place. I wanted to link a drawing from the archives. But strangely there is only one drawing of the Roberts house in the archives - exterior perspective with hipped roof.

The ceilings in the Roberts House are lapped wood. The dining room ceiling the same but down the center is a perforated screen over electric lights. t's very simple and struck me as later Wright/1950, but the Roberts House is 1908.

Anybody got a shot of that?

[DavidC]

David

[Roderick Grant]

That ceiling is not original. It was plaster when built in 1908, changed in the 50s by FLW himself. The brick exterior was done earlier by Drummond, I believe.

[DRN]

Yes, that is Wright's renovation of the Isabel Roberts dining room, but have you ever seen a better scene for a Heritage Henredon dining set? Perfection.
I hope no one ever attempts to restore the Roberts house back to its 1908 appearance....to see Wright's treatment of his earlier grammar with a later one is priceless.

[SDR]

Photo by Judy Karnia



While no one room by Frank Lloyd Wright can be said to exemplify his work of the period---any period---it is possible to draw some conclusions when contrasting early and late work. In this comparison we see a fussier early Wright and a "streamlined" and simplified later interior by the same man.

S

[Tom]

Thanks everybody.
Makes SO much more sense.
Had no idea Wright renovated Roberts in the 50's

Great Ceilings both.