“Hayes shines a welcome light on a shadowy period in the life of an American luminary. His story is filled with intrigue, conflict, and, always, the protean creativity of Frank Lloyd Wright at his most democratic.”
Here is what other readers are saying.)
When Nick and his wife Angela started restoring the tiny, century-old, and newly rediscovered Elizabeth Murphy House — the last completed American System-Built Home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright — they began to unearth clues that reveal a monumental fiasco that risked reputation and relationships and caused Wright to pause and rethink democratic architecture. “Frank Lloyd Wright’s Forgotten House – How an Omission Transformed the Architect’s Legacy” (University of Wisconsin Press) tells of Wright’s cover up, the acquiescence of his contemporaries, and what became of the secret.
With a forward by Barbara Gordon of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, photos by the incomparable Sara Stathas, and peer reviews by noted architectural and regional historians, the book unpacks the mysterious ending of one of Wright’s most ambitious projects – a System designed to build beautiful while still affordable houses for the American working class.
Milwaukeeans and Shorewoodians may prefer to support Boswells, our nearest local bookseller: https://www.boswellbooks.com/book/9780299331801. Folks in other places are urged to order at your own local bookstore.
This blog will serve as place to continue to learn and explore: to see images of one of the best preserved ASBH homes, to read about renovations and new clues as they are found, and to build on our understanding of Frank Lloyd Wright’s lifelong quest to make art available to everyone.
The Elizabeth Murphy House 