Frank Lloyd Wright

A major, candid reappraisal of Frank Lloyd Wright's enduring legacy, this handsomely illustrated survey accompanies a retrospective at Manhattan's Museum of Modern Art. The study probes two sides of Wright: the visionary organic architect steeped in the spiritual idealism of Emerson and Whitman, and the autocratic advocate of a democratic architecture. Wright's fertile dialogue with modernism (which he at times vehemently denied) and his grounding in 19th-century notions of family and community are discussed. Special attention is paid to his designs for housing projects and Broadacre City, an unrealized utopian enclave which reflected his weaknesses in its wasteful overreliance on the automobile, its rigid class hierarchy and its consumerist vision leaving little space for public interaction. Five sensitive essays by noted scholars are accompanied by 484 plates (183 in color) including scores of Wright's color drawings. Riley and Reed co-curated the exhibit. (May)