Photographing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West

March 23, 2013

1–2 minutes

abstract, Architecture, Arizona, art, AZ, black and white, creative, desert, iconic, landscape, Lifestyle, nature, Oregon landscape, photography, Photos, Recent Trip, Scottsdale, southwest, stock, sunrise, sunset, Taliesin West, travel

The Main Building from the Brow of the roperty — The Main Building from the Bow of the Property

Taliesin West was architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home and school in the desert near Scottsdale, AZ from 1937 until his death in 1959 at the age of 91. Today it is the main campus of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture. The complex drew its name from Wright’s summer home, Taliesin, in Spring Green Wisconsin. Here is what you might see:

These vignettes throughout the property denote an entrance

This is a working school so you will need to take a guided tour. You can buy the tickets on-line or just show up. It has a great bookstore with a lot of nice merchandise. The tour was very interesting and was really about the property and not about the man. If you are interested in FLW, this may not satisfy you. If you want to see a very unique property with interesting architectural history, this is a great tour.

My concluding impression is really a reverse of what I expected. I expected an architectural gem with really impressive features and details. What I did not know beforehand, is that this was really a “camp” that was built up over a long period of time by FLW’s students. It is simple, crude, unadorned, and functional. It is no palace or show piece. Once you get over this idea, the interesting architecture does take over and you see the genius in the small and large decisions that he made.

A modern sculpture on site from the artist in residence

The door to the old theatre — The door to the old theater

The fountain from the property's well and the entrance to the school — The fountain from the property’s well and the entrance to the school

To see more of photos, please go to www.pamphotography.com.

2 responses to “Photographing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West”

janina

March 31, 2013 at 5:31 am

I’d certainly like to see this place as it would give me a feel for the man through his ideas. From what you’ve shown, he has had many influences yet, overall, it is organic and fits in very well with the environment, and is the sort of home I’d feel very comfortable in. Good photos. Is there a Frank Lloyd Wright website?

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pamphotography

March 31, 2013 at 5:47 pm

Thanks for the note. This is the official website, http://www.franklloydwright.org/about/TaliesinWestTours.html. You’ll have a great time.

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