Frank Lloyd Wright

Avery Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois
Domino's Center for Architecture and Design, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Christie's, New York, June 11, 1999, lot 13
Christie's, New York, December 14, 2012, lot 47
Acquired from the above by the present owner

David Hanks, Frank Lloyd Wright, Preserving an Architectural Heritage, Decorative Designs from The Domino's Pizza Collection, exh. cat., Seattle Art Museum, Chicago Historical Society, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, The Denver Art Museum, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Dallas Museum of Art, New York, 1989, pp. 74-79 (for the commission and illustrations), 81 (for the present lot in context in the Avery Coonley Playhouse)
Terence Riley, ed., Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, exh. cat., New York, The Museum of Modern Art, 1994, p. 165 (for the present lot in context)
Thomas A. Heinz, Frank Lloyd Wright: Glass Art, Berlin, 1994, pp. 149-153 (for the commission and illustrations)
Julie L. Sloan, Light Screens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, 2001, pp. 112-122 (for the commission, illustrations, period photographs including with the present lot in context and artist sketches)
Judith A. Barter, Apostles of Beauty:  Arts and Crafts from Britain to Chicago, Chicago, 2009, p. 184 (for an illustration of a related window from the same commission)

When viewed in person, compared to the catalogue illustration, the orange and green elements are both very slightly more yellow and the blue elements are very slightly less purple. The colored glass tiles are all original with some very light scattered surface scratches and light surface dirt, consistent with age, gentle handling, and exposure. The largest panel of transparent glass with a small chip measuring approximately 1/2 inch in length along its bottom border. The two largest panels of clear glass have possibly been replaced at some point in a manner that is consistent with the original. The lead caming is original and is in good condition with some light surface dirt in the recessed areas. The fourth horizontal caming from the bottom with a very minor undulation on the proper left side. The wood frame is likely original and is in good condition with light surface scratches, abrasions, and edge abrasions, possibly refinished at some point in the history of the piece. The frame with hinges on the left side. The left side of the frame with a small dent measuring approximately 1/4 inch in diameter at approximately mid-height. The upper right vertical seam of the wood frame with slight separation, stable. The reverse of the frame with scattered wormholes along the left vertical side. An iconic work by Frank Lloyd Wright from the Avery Coonley Playhouse. 23 3/4 x 39 7/8 in. (60.3 x 101.3 cm) (including frame)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Wright’s Kinder-Symphony

Among Frank Lloyd Wright’s most important designs in glass are the windows he designed for the Avery Coonley Playhouse. Wright designed the main Coonley house, in the Chicago suburb of Riverside, Illinois, in 1908, and the playhouse was added in 1912. Unlike the Coonley house with its hipped roof and rambling, asymmetrical, multilevel plan, the playhouse had a flat roof and formal cruciform plan. Wright called it a playhouse because it had a stage at one end and could be used as a small theater; it was, however, a school for Queene Ferry Coonley’s daughter, Elizabeth, and her friends, based on the progressive education ideas advocated by John Dewey.

According to Wright, the design of the Coonley Playhouse windows was inspired by a parade, with motifs he felt were suitable for a kindergarten. A preliminary study for the clerestory windows carries the inscription, “Balloons and Confetti.” Wright’s oldest son recalled that his father “bought colored gas balloons by the dozen—released them in the playroom [in his own house]—arranged and played with them by the hour.” This window is one of the most complex and elaborate of the clerestory windows executed for the project. Its asymmetrical composition includes a conventionalized American flag, a partial circle for a balloon, and small colored squares for confetti. The clerestory windows as a group contributed to Wright’s intention to integrate his decorative designs with his architecture.

Between the two Coonley projects, Wright spent most of a year in Europe, where he was preparing the publication of the Wasmuth portfolio in Germany, which brought his work to the attention of European architects. While abroad, Wright also saw modern European architecture firsthand, including modern works in Vienna by Adolph Loos and Otto Wagner, among others. The abstract window designs in the playhouse are related to nonobjective painting and design that Wright saw abroad, such as paintings by Francis Picabia and Frank Kupka. The windows represent a transition in his stained glass from symmetrical compositions in earth tones to abstract designs in primary colors. Although each window is a unique variation on a basic theme, they are unified by a strong horizontal leading near the top. The band of windows, placed end to end, encircled the room to form a continuous line, which Wright called a “kinder-symphony,” seen in the interior view.

The three tall windows in the front of the Coonley Playhouse were acquired in 1967 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the same year, the clerestory windows were removed from the house and sold; replicas of all the windows were later installed in the playhouse. Many of the original windows are now in museum collections.

—David A. Hanks, Curator, The Liliane and David M. Stewart Program for Modern Design