Frank Lloyd Wright's Secret Career as a Japanese Art Dealer
Frank Lloyd Wright, the celebrated American architect, had a significant interest in Japanese woodblock prints, which shaped his design principles. By 1959, he had collected approximately 6,000 ukiyo-e prints, later sold by his estate to address financial obligations. His interest began in his teenage years while working with architect Joseph Silsbee, whose cousin was the expert Ernest Fenollosa. At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Wright likely encountered the works of Hokusai and Hiroshige. In 1901, he journeyed to Japan to acquire prints, and by March 1906, he showcased his Hiroshige collection at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1913, he returned and spent over three years in Japan, designing the Imperial Hotel (1917-1922), and published a book on ukiyo-e in 1912, appreciating its simplicity and order.
Key facts
- Frank Lloyd Wright owned about 6,000 Japanese woodblock prints by the end of his life in 1959.
- His estate had to sell prints to pay Japanese art dealers and American tax collectors.
- Wright first traveled to Japan in 1901 to acquire prints.
- He exhibited his Hiroshige collection at the Art Institute of Chicago in March 1906.
- Wright worked on the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo between 1917 and 1922, spending over three years in Japan.
- He published a book on ukiyo-e in 1912.
- Wright was influenced by Hokusai and Hiroshige, among other ukiyo-e masters.
- He credited Japanese prints with changing his architectural vision, emphasizing simplicity and design.
- Ernest Fenollosa, a cousin of architect Joseph Silsbee, was a leading Western expert on Japanese art.
- Wright may have seen Hokusai and Hiroshige's works at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Entities
Artists
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Vincent van Gogh
- Hokusai
- Hiroshige
- Julia Meech-Pekarik
- Kevin Nute
- Colin Marshall
Institutions
- Open Culture
- The Conversation
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Wikipedia
Locations
- Chicago
- United States
- Japan
- Tokyo
- Oak Park