Celebrating Fallingwater
Date: Sunday, May 31, 2009 -- 1-4 p.m.
Location: Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park
Join us for a celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birthday on the grounds of the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park. The event will feature the opening of an exhibition of paintings of Fallingwater by Spanish painter Félix de la Concha.
Our special guest will be Franklin Toker, professor of art and architecture at the University of Pittsburgh and author of the book Fallingwater Rising. Professor Toker will speak about Fallingwater and the extraordinary relationship of Wright to its owner, E. J. Kaufmann.
Enjoy delicious food, listen to the banjo and harmonica music of Sandy Weltman and view the Kraus House. The benefit will support projects and programs of the Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park. Tickets are $125. To receive an invitation or to serve on the committee, please e-mail info@ebsworthpark.org.
Exhibition:
Fallingwater en Perspectiva: Félix de la Concha
Paints Frank Lloyd Wright’s House on the Waterfall
Date: May 31-August 9, 2009
Location: Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park
Fallingwater is recognized as one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most acclaimed works. In a 1991 poll of members of the American Institute of Architects, it was voted “the best all-time work of American architecture.”
For Fallingwater, designed in 1935 for the Edgar J. Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh, Wright responded to the family’s love for a waterfall on Bear Run, a rushing mountain stream. Mimicking a natural pattern established by its rock ledges, Wright placed the house over the falls in a series of cantilevered concrete “trays” anchored to masonry walls made of the same Pottsville sandstone as the rock ledges. Although the house rises 30 feet above the falls, strong horizontal lines and low ceilings help maintain a sheltering effect. Almost as much floor space is taken up by outdoor terraces as indoor rooms.
Spanish-born painter Félix de la Concha was invited to live and work on site at Fallingwater for a 14-month residency in 2005 and 2006. His paintings of interior and exterior views capture Wright’s masterpiece in different seasons, times of day and lighting conditions.
Félix de la Concha was born in León, Spain, in 1962 and studied at the Facultad de Bellas Artes in Madrid. In 1989, he was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome at the Academia de Bellas Artes and lived and worked in Rome until 1994. He has had solo exhibitions at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, the Frick Art and Historical Center in Pittsburgh, Columbus Museum of Art, Museo de Bellas Artes in Santander, Museo del Chopo, México, D.F., Centro Cultural la Recoleta in Buenas Aires, and Rómoulo Gallegos in Caracas.
A model of Fallingwater serves as a three-dimensional accompaniment to the paintings, giving viewers a reference to compare the canvases to the building itself.
The exhibit was organized by Fallingwater and the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
Twilight Tours:
Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park
Dates: June 18, 2009 -- 6-7:30 p.m. and July 23, 2009 -- 6-7:30 p.m.
Join a special twilight tour of the FLWHEP and the new Fallingwater en Perspectiva exhibit. Enjoy a glass of wine and cheese prior to the tour. Minimum eight people, maximum 10. Tickets are $25 per person.
To make a reservation, please call 314-822-8359.
Architecture Trip:
Philip Johnson’s Glass House -- New Canaan, Connecticut
Guggenheim's 50th Anniversary -- New York
Date: August 11-16, 2009
The trip will feature a tour of Philip Johnson’s Glass House, a 47-acre property in New Canaan, Connecticut. The group will also tour mid-20th century modern houses designed by the Harvard Five — Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Eliot Noyes and Philip Johnson.
In addition, help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in New York by viewing the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. See Storm King Sculpture Park and take part in several private house tours, too.
For further information, please e-mail info@ebsworthpark.org.
The Frank Lloyd Wright House in Ebsworth Park
Mailing Address:
40 Upper Ladue Road — St. Louis, Missouri 63124
314-822-8359 — info@ebsworthpark.org