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Frank Lloyd Wright and the Myth of the Prairie

Frank Lloyd Wright is often associated with a Prairie School of Architecture characterized by horizontal lines and abstract geometries that purportedly harmonized with the Midwestern landscape and advanced an American style of design.

Jennifer Gray, vice president and director of the Taliesin Institute at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, takes a closer look at this familiar story and explores how the myth of the prairie related to broad questions about colonization, immigration, and national identity that pervaded social and architectural discourse at the turn of the 20th century.

This class is coordinated with our partners at the Westcott House. The Westcott House is an important rediscovery, a notable, newly-unearthed and revitalized example of Wright’s legacy.

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Instructor: Jennifer Gray Jennifer Gray is the Vice President and Director of the Taliesin Institute at the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Her research focuses on modern architecture and how designers and activists used architecture, cities, and landscapes to advance social change at the turn of the 20th century. Her work has been published in journals of architectural history and critical heritage. She has curated several exhibitions and published catalogues on Wright, including Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and most recently the Imperial Hotel at 100: Frank Lloyd Wright and the World that toured three venues in Japan. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy. She has taught at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) at Columbia University; the school of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University, and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, and she is the former Curator of Drawings and Archives at Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University. Gray received her PhD from Columbia University.

Conservatory Members

During the month of October, Conservatory members will be able to visit the Westcott House for free, by appointment only.
After you choose your date, select Franklin Park Conservatory Member.

reserve tickets

This class is coordinated with our partners at the Westcott House