OA+D NEWS & EVENTS
ADOPT A FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT / HENRY FUERMANN PHOTO NEGATIVE
2023 will certainly go down as an amazingly transformative year for the OA+D Archives. In addition to all the great publications we've produced, the new collections we've saved, and the materials we've digitized for the growing online catalog, there's now a brand new reason to celebrate!
The OA+D Archives is pleased to announce that we were successful in securing the Frank Lloyd Wright Photographic Negatives by Henry Fuermann & Sons, which feature some of the most iconic images of Wright's works ever produced!
An extraordinary group of glass plates and other negatives documenting the early work of Frank Lloyd Wright has been acquired by OA+D Archives.
The collection is comprised of one-hundred and seventy glass plate negatives and fifty-two film negatives (222 images total) with interior and exterior views of seminally important Wright buildings, exhibition installations, and several portraits of the architect. The majority of the images were photographed by the early 20th century photography studio of Henry Fuermann and Sons. A full list of the buildings depicted can be seen HERE.
In describing the significance of these photographs, noted Wright historian Kathryn Smith said: "It is almost certain that Wright commissioned the Fuermanns and directed the photography at the site with them. The negatives represent Wright’s intentions of how he wanted his architecture to be portrayed. These rare views are like Wright talking to us."
Smith added: "These unique surviving glass negatives include the evolution of the Prairie House from Willits house to the Robie House with the Hickox, Thomas, and Coonley houses as well as Unity Temple in between. All three Taliesins, the Coonley Playhouse, and Midway Gardens are well represented. When Wright made a visual record of his first 20 years of practice in the Wasmuth photobook almost all images were by Fuermann and Sons. Wright was recognized in Europe as the first modern architect by Mies, Gropius, and Rietveld only through these photographs."
OA+D Archives wants to make these important historical images available to researchers on the internet for the first time. Because OA+D Archives has acquired the original media for these early Wright photographs, the plates and film negatives can be scanned at high resolution. Enlargements can be made to permit inspection of significant details not readily visible in existing prints.
FOR THIS TO HAPPEN WE NEED YOUR HELP!
We’re asking generous donors to contribute $150 towards digitizing each negative. Please consider "adopting" one or more of the photographs to support their online presentation on the OA+D Archives website. For each image whose processing you sponsor, your name will be added to the permanent online catalog display in honor of your contribution.
And there's no limit! Your contributions are tax-deductible so the more negatives you adopt, the more you help the cause and yourself! So please dig deep, be generous, and let us know you're donating to the Fuermann Negatives Project by following the link below!