Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright & the Making of the Modern Museum

Published on the occasion of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's fiftieth anniversary, and in association with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, this fascinating, beautifully designed volume is the first to fully explore the process behind one of the greatest, most iconic Modern buildings in America-and the world. The Guggenheim: Frank Lloyd Wright and the Making of the Modern Museum examines the history, design and construction of Wright's masterwork with preliminary drawings, models and photographs, as well as three major essays that consider the building in three important contexts. Hillary Ballon discusses the obstacles Wright faced in getting the Guggenheim built, and how his complex relationship with New York City was reflected in his design; Neil Levine explores why Wright's Guggenheim had much greater impact on museum architecture than museums designed by Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe; and Joseph Siry writes about the museum's novel construction and how it impacted the work of a later generation of architects including Frank Gehry, Louis Kahn and I.M. Pei. Through archival materials, letters and a richly illustrated timeline, the book also traces the relationship between the architect and his clients during the 16-year construction process.