Taliesin Studio(PART 2 OF 3)
Midlife Crisis
Local gossips noticed Wright's flirtations, and he developed a reputation in Oak Park as a man-about-town.
His family had grown to six children, and the brood required most of Catherine's attention.
In 1903, Wright designed a house for Edwin Cheney, a neighbor in Oak Park, and immediately took a liking to Cheney's wife, Mamah Borthwick Cheney.
Mamah Cheney was a modern woman with interests outside the home.
She was an early feminist and Wright viewed her as his intellectual equal.
The two fell in love, even though Wright had been married for almost 20 years.
Often the two could be seen taking rides in Wright's automobile through Oak Park, and they became the talk of the town.
Wright's wife, Kitty, was sure that this attachment would fade as the others had, and refused to grant him a divorce.
Neither would Edwin Cheney grant one to Mamah.
In 1909, even before the Robie House was completed, Wright and Mamah Cheney went together to Europe, leaving their own spouses and children behind.
The scandal that erupted virtually destroyed Wright's ability to practice architecture in the United States.
SOURCE: Frank Lloyd Wright
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So, Kitty considered her husbant to be a womanizer, didn't she?
...seems like it.
Since he became world-famous, the scandal didn't actually destroy his career, did it?
No, it didn't. But the above scandal wasn't the last.
Oh...? Are you saying, Kato, Frank Wright had another one?
Yes, I am. A much worse one was in store.
More personal turmoil
On August 15, 1914, while Wright was working in Chicago, Julian Carlton, a male servant from Barbados who had been hired several months earlier, set fire to the living quarters of Taliesin and murdered seven people with an axe as the fire burned.
The dead included Mamah; her two children, John and Martha; a gardener; a draftsman named Emil Brodelle; a workman; and another workman's son.
Two people survived the mayhem, one of whom helped to put out the fire that almost completely consumed the residential wing of the house.
Carlton swallowed muriatic acid immediately following the attack in an attempt to kill himself.
He was nearly lynched on the spot, but was taken to the Dodgeville jail.
Carlton died from starvation seven weeks after the attack, despite medical attention.
In 1922, Wright's first wife, Kitty, granted him a divorce, and Wright was required to wait one year until he married his then-partner, Maude "Miriam" Noel.
In the following year, Wright's mother, Anna Wright, died.
Wright wed Miriam Noel in November 1923, but her addiction to morphine led to the failure of the marriage in less than one year.
SOURCE: Frank Lloyd Wright
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wow! What an aweful midlife crisis!
Yes, it was indeed.
I suppose, Frank Wright overcame the problem somehow.
Yes, he did. Another woman was coming along for that.
Kato, you must be kidding!
You believe it or not, this woman appeared like an angel.
Frank and Olga
In 1924, after the separation but while still married, Wright met Olga (Olgivanna) Lazovich Hinzenburg at a Petrograd Ballet performance in Chicago.
They moved in together at Taliesin in 1925, and soon Olgivanna was pregnant with their daughter, Iovanna, born on December 2, 1925.
On April 20, 1925, another fire destroyed the bungalow at Taliesin.
Crossed wires from a newly installed telephone system were deemed to be responsible for the blaze, which destroyed a collection of Japanese prints that Wright declared invaluable.
Wright estimated the loss at $250,000 to $500,000.
Wright rebuilt the living quarters again, naming the home "Taliesin III".
In 1926, Olga's ex-husband, Vlademar Hinzenburg, sought custody of his daughter, Svetlana.
In October 1926, Wright and Olgivanna were accused of violating the Mann Act and arrested in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
The charges were later dropped.
Wright and Miriam Noel's divorce was finalized in 1927, and once again, Wright was required to wait for one year until marrying again.
Wright and Olgivanna married in 1928.
SOURCE: Frank Lloyd Wright
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wow! What a dramatic life! I couldn't imagine a more tumultuous life.
I agree with you, Diane.
So, Frank Wright was interested in Japanese prints, wasn't he?
Yes, he was.
What are those Japanese prints?
They are primarily ukiyo-e woodblock prints---something like this.
Look at that!...This is a woodblock print of a salacious nature, isn't it? I wonder if Frank Wright was a pornographic collector.
Oh, no. Don't jump to a hasty conclusion. Though most famous as an architect, Wright was an active dealer in Japanese art---mostly ukiyo-e woodblock prints. He frequently served as both architect and art dealer to the same clients. That is, he designed a home, then provided the art to fill it.
I see. He had an acute business sense as well, I suppose.
Yes, I think so, too. In fact, Wright made more from selling art than from his work as an architect.
Is that right? So, he had some Japanese connections.
Yes, he did.
Now, I understand how come the creator of the theme park in Karuizawa also called his park "Karuizawa Taliesin" and wanted to make it as a base for new cultural power. This person knew Frank Wright quite well, didn't he?
You're telling me, Diane.
So, Frank went to Japan, didn't he?
Yes, he did.
What did he do over there? Did he meet another Madame Taliesin by any chance?
Well..., I'll tell you about it some other time.
(To be followed)