This Is Frank Lloyd Wright

Gr 9 Up—Volner sets up Frank Lloyd Wright as a man of paradoxes: "a designer who always claimed to be expounding universal truths, but who also had a keen eye on his competition and a remarkable capacity to adapt." Wright created innovative and influential designs with his Prairie School style of architecture, while these same designs often suffered from leaks and structural imperfections. He was celebrated and supported by the community where he built his Taliesin residence in Wisconsin, but it was also plagued by fire and misfortune. Volner highlights the restless spirit of the architect through quotations and anecdotes from Wright and his family members and associates. Following on a current trend in art publishing, the series combines graphic illustration with actual reproductions of the artist's work. The pairing proves successful, as Kirkham diagrams and characterizes the life and works of the maverick alongside photographs of some of his famous buildings. Chapters are episodic and offer a brief but approachable look at the artist.