FLW Quiz Questions

[Wrightgeek]

I found a FLW quiz online this AM, published by a recognized authority on the subject. Thought it might be fun to post it here and let everyone take a shot at it. Once a correct reponse to a question has been posted here, I'll reveal the answer provided by the author of the quiz. So have at it!

1. Who was Harry K. Thaw?

Answer: One of Wright’s great hates was the firm of McKim, Mead and White. To him they personified the predominant force that held back Organic Architecture, and they fostered the classics and European tradition. Partner Stanford White was well known as a ladies’ man, and his demise was the result of his being shot at Madison Square Garden in New York (which he designed) on June 25, 1906. The assassin was the husband of a former lady friend, Harry K. Thaw. Often, when anyone brought up the name of McKim Mead and White, Wright would emphatically state, “Harry K. Thaw killed Stanford White for the wrong reason�.

2. We all know that Wright arrived in Chicago from Wisconsin in 1887 and went to work for Lyman Silsbee. Wright’s next employer was not Louis Sullivan. Wright worked for a very short time for another firm before going to Sullivan’s office. What was the name of the firm?

Answer: According to the 1943 edition of An Autobiography,Wright was working for Silsbee for $12 a week and requested a raise to $15. Silsbee refused and Wright quit.Wright went to Beers Clay & Dutton, a firm he had previously been interested in and applied for a job. There he asked for $18 and because of his “experience� with Silsbee was hired for $18 per week. Wright soon “found myself entrusted with work beyond me,� realized he had made a mistake and went back to Silsbee’s office. Silsbee hired him back at $18 per week.


3. Upon the death of one of his clients, Wright was quoted as saying – “I only wish I had been less taking and more giving where he was concerned….� Name the client.

Answer: Darwin D. Martin. Martin had a stroke in early December of 1935 and died soon after, but not before calculating that Wright still owed him exactly $37,976.29, most of it thought to be a mortgage on Taliesin.


4. In 1889, the year Frank Lloyd Wright was married and the year that he built his Oak Park house, what was the highest point in the city of Chicago?

Answer: The tower portion of the Auditorium Building, designed by Dankmar Adler and Louis H. Sullivan.Wright was working for Adler and Sullivan at the time and their offices were located in the tower.


5. Who, prior to quitting high school, entered an architectural drawing contest - the first prize of which was an appraisal of his work by Frank Lloyd Wright - and winning first prize and attending the interview led to a successful Academy Award winning career as an actor?

Answer: Anthony Quinn. Quinn’s interest in art began early and he won numerous awards for both his painting and sculpture. The young Quinn wanted to be an architect and one competition earned him a chance to meet Frank Lloyd Wright – a meeting that changed the teenager’s life. Quinn had a severe speech impediment as a child. “Wright told Quinn that, while he had great talent, no one would ever buy a house from him because of his speech problem,� Quinn had oral surgery to fix his speech impediment and returned to Wright’s Taliesin studio. But the architect sent him home once more – this time to learn how to speak correctly. Quinn began taking acting lessons to improve his diction and became interested in acting, securing a few roles. When Quinn mentioned he was drawn to acting, Wright encouraged him. Quinn said he had been offered $800 a week by a film studio and didn't know what to do. Wright replied, "Take it, you'll never make that much with me."

BTW, the questions and answers came from a publication of the FLW Preservation Trust.

[Pat Mahoney]

#3 Refers to Darwin D. Martin

[Wrightgeek]

You are indeed correct, Mr. Mahoney.

[Jeff Myers]

Is number 5 Edgar Tafel?

[Wrightgeek]

Sorry, Jeff. Incorrect.

[JimM]

1.Harry Thaw murdered Stanford White.
2.Beer's, Clay, and Dutton
4.Adler Sullivan's Auditorium
5.Anthony Quinn?

[Wrightgeek]

Congrats JimM, you just made short work of the remaining questions. I'll post the full answers shortly.

Thanks for playing, and please enjoy your parting gifts.

[Jeff Myers]

Ah.
This was a good quiz. Thanks Wrightgeek or posting this.

[Wrightgeek]

Glad you liked it, Jeff, and thanks for joining in.