'Frank Lloyd Wright's Southwestern Pennsylvania' opens soon at the National Building Museum
By Josh Niland|
Thursday, Apr 11, 2024
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The next exhibition on view this spring at Washington, D.C.’s National Building Museum will focus on a popular region for fans of Frank Lloyd Wright.
Inside Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania, which runs through March 17th, 2025, a vision for the region's future is presented via a careful look at key projects and five unrealized designs that were proposed in the Pittsburgh area between 1930 and the early 1950s.
The exhibition was co-organized by curators from The Westmoreland Museum of American Art and Fallingwater. It includes a special section dedicated to animated flythrough films depicting, among others, the unrealized 1952 Rhododendron Chapel and gate lodge that was planned for the grounds of Fallingwater.
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Wright's most famous work in the eastern states was commissioned by Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr., a local department store magnate whose legacy and influence will also receive a valuable investigation, along with other individuals who guided his work in the region.
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“We are thrilled to have Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania on view at the Museum,” Aileen Fuchs, the president and executive director of the National Building Museum, said in a preview. “We feel fortunate to have a new window into the mind of this legendary architect. By presenting both realized and unrealized projects, the exhibition encourages visitors to consider ‘what might have been.’”
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“This aligns beautifully with the Museum’s institutional Pillars, most notably the pillars of Wonder and Innovation. We hope it sparks curiosity and a better understanding of the impact architecture can have on urban, suburban, and rural landscapes,” Fuchs added finally.
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Additional items of interest include 3D models, architectural drawings, and historical photos that further contextualize the unrealized project animations created by Skyline Ink Animators + Illustrators.
The exhibition opens on April 13th with special extended hours to visitors through 7 PM on April 15th.
Another look at visualizations of Wright's unrealized designs from the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation can be found here.
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RELATED EVENT Frank Lloyd Wright’s Southwestern Pennsylvania
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