Frank Lloyd Wright Inside the Walls – Kirkland Museum

Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art is excited to announce the significant gift of a unique lamp, constructed from two pieces of art glass (1903–1904) designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This exhibition will be its first time on public display as a lamp. Renée Albiston, Associate Museum Director, says, “Kirkland Museum’s decorative art collection celebrates good design. The gift of this lamp, which is a combination of two pieces by Frank Lloyd Wright, speaks to the importance of good design and the reimagining of beautiful objects for everyday use.”

THE DONOR’S STORY

In 1964, an art collector and Wright enthusiast, Bertie Slutzky, purchased two art glass pieces at a Chicago antiques store. She recognized the glass as works by Frank Lloyd Wright. A local metalsmith joined the glass pieces together to create a table lamp, which Mrs. Slutzky presented to her son, Louis Newman, as a graduation gift. In celebration of Bertie Slutzky’s dedication to art and learning, Mr. Newman and his husband, Justin Ferate, generously donated the lamp to Kirkland Museum in 2018.

AUTHENTICATION

In order to verify that the glass was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Museum contacted Wright glass expert and author Julie Sloan, who was able to identify and authenticate the pieces of the lamp. Sloan said, “It’s so exciting for long-lost pieces of Wright’s decorative arts to appear like this!” She will discuss the lamp further in a lecture on October 13, 2022, organized by Kirkland Museum.

1907 EXHIBITION

In 1907, Wright curated a selection of his work for the Chicago Architectural Club, exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. Sloan found that both glass pieces from the lamp were included. They were likely leftover from Wright’s recently completed Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois (1902–1904). Despite continuing research, where these pieces went after the 1907 exhibition and how they ended up in a Chicago antique store in the early 1960s remains unknown. Wright chose the art glass—now in the lamp—for his 1907 exhibition, and this lamp is now a highlight in Kirkland Museum’s exhibition.