Property from a Private American Collection
Frank Lloyd Wright
Clerestory Window from the Avery Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois
Auction Closed
December 6, 05:52 PM GMT
Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private American Collection
Frank Lloyd Wright
Clerestory Window from the Avery Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois
circa 1912
opak and clear glass, copper-plated zinc came, original oak frame
23⅞ x 38¼ in. (60.6 x 97.2 cm) including frame
17⅝ x 33⅝ in. (44.8 x 85.4 cm) excluding frame
Thence by acquisition of the Avery Coonley Playhouse, 1920-1967
Private Collection
Christie's New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Frank Lloyd Wright: Art in Design, exh. cat., Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York, 1983, pp. 30 (for a period photograph of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior)
David A. Hanks, Frank Lloyd Wright, Preserving an Architectural Heritage, Decorative Designs from The Domino's Pizza Collection, exh. cat., New York, 1989, pp. 74-81 (for the commission and a period photograph of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior) and 79 (for a related window)
Anthony Alofsin, Frank Lloyd Wright: The Lost Years, 1910-1922, A Study of Influence, Chicago, 1993, p. 73 (for a period photograph of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior)
Terence Riley, ed., Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, exh. cat., The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1994, p. 165 (for a period photograph of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior)
Thomas A. Heinz, Frank Lloyd Wright: Glass Art, Berlin, 1994, pp. 149-153 (for the commission and period photographs of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior)
Julie L. Sloan, Light Screens: The Complete Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, 2001, pp. 284-293 (for the commission, illustrations, period photographs of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior and artist sketches) and 291, no. 371 (for a related window)
Dean Eastman, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Coonley House: Story of a Masterpiece, 2012, pp. 71-77 (for the commission and period photographs of the Avery Coonley Playhouse interior)
As one of the foremost American architects and designers of the 20th century, Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered the Prairie School movement of architecture. Borrowing aesthetics from the Arts and Crafts movement, the architectural style sought to celebrate the natural landscape through flat roofs, simplistic compositions and bold, horizontal lines. Although its official start date was around 1900, this style was born decades earlier during Wright’s childhood in which he was exposed to geometric forms in his kindergarten curriculum, specifically the Froebel blocks, later credited as a major influence on his architectural style.
Coming from a single private collection and held for over 15 years, this selection of Frank Lloyd Wright works from the early part of his career represent key elements of his design philosophy. Commissioned by industrialists throughout the midwest, Wright saw an opportunity to perfect his Prairie style, insisting upon the relationship between architecture, interior design and nature as an essential alliance. The Spindle Arm Chair designed for the William E. Martin house, for example, greatly informed the complete architectural framework of the space. Each aspect plays an integral role in transforming the home into a humane environment.
Among his finest glass compositions, the clerestory windows from the Avery Coonley Playhouse encapsulate Wright’s ability to effortlessly combine abstract geometric design with spiritedness and innovation. Placed along the upper edge of a wall, clerestory windows represent the crown of the home, allowing light to filter into a space without the interference of any players that may inhabit the ground level. The present windows employ colored glass panes, reminiscent of the circus or a parade with their bright balloons and confetti. The Avery Coonley Playhouse was commissioned by Mrs. Queene Ferry Coonley as a kindergarten for her daughter and neighborhood children. As a testament to this ideal pairing between commissioner and architect, Mrs. Coonley shared an interest in the educational theories of Friedrich Froebel, as well. Other windows from the playhouse clerestory are held by esteemed institutions globally including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and Die Neue Sammlung, Munich.