Chicago’s Driehaus Museum’s upcoming exhibit on architect Frank Lloyd Wright will explore the famous architect through his own photos, as well as photos of others of his iconic works.
Opening on Oct. 24 and running through Jan. 5, 2025, the exhibit is the first of its kind to examine Wright’s relationship to photography.
Guest curator David Hanks said that it can sometimes seem like there is little more for the world to discover about Wright. He noted that most people in Chicago are very familiar with Wright ading, “Almost nothing is new.”
While people might have seen some of the previously published photos that other photographers took of Wright’s work, people don’t realize that Wright was a photographer himself, Hanks said.”
The Frank Lloyd Wright Trust is a collaborating partner in the exhibit, and Hanks said that the trust shared the album from Wright’s 1905 trip to Japan, which is one of the most important albums of his photographs.
The trust also provided photos from Wright’s Home & Studio that capture Wright and his family.
Exterior view from downstream of the Edgar Kaufmann residence, also known as Fallingwater, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. This residence was built in 1937 on Bear Run in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and photographed for Architectural Forum by Bill Hedrich. 
Avery Coonley Residence, Riverside, Illinois, 1907. Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, Henry Fuermann, photographer. Courtesy Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago 
Warren J. Hickox Residence, Kankakee, IL, 1900. Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, Henry Feurmann, photographer. Courtesy Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago 
Midway Gardens, 1914. Image courtesy OA+D Archives, Henry Fuermann and Sons Frank Lloyd Wright Negative Collection. All Rights Reserved 
Exterior view of the Lloyd Lewis residence at 153 Little Saint Mary’s Road, Libertyville, Illinois, July 7, 1941. The home and furniture were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Photographed for Architectural Forum by Ken Hedrich.
The first part of the exhibit focuses on Wright’s photos as the architect experimented with the new hobby of photography. Along with photos from Wright’s 1905 trip to Japan, Hanks chose photos from the Avery Library Collection at Columbia University, which purchased the architect’s archives from Taliesin.
Some of Wright’s nature photography from the 1890’s is showcased too. Hanks said he was excited about a photo originally featured in House Beautiful magazine that pictures the weeds and flowers in front of Wright’s Oak Park home.
The trust contributed more than photos to the exhibit.
“The most exciting thing for me is that the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust lent one of the dining room chairs from the Home and Studio dining room to the exhibit,” Hanks said. “It’s always interesting to take something out of its original context. You put it up on a platform, and it becomes a piece of sculpture.”
Also included in the exhibit are photos Wright took of the Hillside Home School in Wisconsin, which was owned by his aunts. Hanks said the photos of the progressive school are interesting because they show people in everyday activities such as sports or cooking.
The second part of the exhibit covers photographers who documented Wright’s career.
West gate, Higashi-Honganji Temple, Nagoya-Betsuin, Nagoya. Photographer/ Frank Lloyd Wright. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Chicago 
Japan. Photographer/ Frank Lloyd Wright. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Chicago 
Sutra library, Higashi-Honganji Temple, Nagoya-Betsuin, Nagoya. Photographer/ Frank Lloyd Wright. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Chicago 
Sutra library, Chion-in Temple, Kyoto. Photographer/ Frank Lloyd Wright. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Chicago 
Vancouver harbor, British Columbia, Canada. Photographer/ Frank Lloyd Wright. Collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Trust, Chicago
Architectural photographer Henry Fuermann photographed Wright’s Prairie years.
“We have Fuermann’s own camera,” Hanks said. “We try to show a little bit of the technology because that interested Wright. He often worked closely with the photographers.”
Moving on to Wright’s work on Midway gardens and the first Taliesin, the exhibit showcases the work of Julius Shulman, who captured a lot of Wright’s later work in California.
Hanks said that photographers Edmund Teske and Torkel Korling are less well-known but were considered artist’s photographers. It raises the argument, he said: “Is architectural photography art itself or just showing off the architecture?”
Teske photographed Taliesin at Spring Green, Taliesin West and then the Hollyhock House in California, living on the estate grounds for several years.
Wright’s wife, Catherine Tobin Wright, and son, Llewellyn, c. 1907, photograph attributed to Wright. Courtesy Frank Lloyd Wright Trust 
Dining room at the Lloyd Lewis residence at 153 Little Saint Mary’s Road, Libertyville, Illinois, July 7, 1941. The home and furniture were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Photographed for Architectural Forum by Ken Hedrich. 
Front Porch of Wright’s Oak Park Home, photograph attributed to Wright. Courtesy Frank Lloyd Wright Trust 
Midway Gardens, Winter Garden Interior, Chicago, IL, 1914. Courtesy Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago 
Wright seated on Front Porch of his Oak Park Home, Frank Lloyd Wright. Collection of Columbia University, Avery Drawings & Archives, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives
Korling photographed the Johnson Wax Headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin for Life Magazine in 1939.
Hanks also pointed out the photography of Hedrich-Blessing, Ken Hedrich and Henry Blessing, who captured Wright’s work.
Hedrich was engaged to photograph Falling Water in Pennsylvania.
“He had to put on wading boots to get that famous view,” Hanks said. “This is one of the most iconic architectural photos of all time.”
Photographer Pedro Guerrero met Wright in 1939 and photographed Wright’s work, including the Usonian designs, until the architect died in 1959.
Ezra Stoller worked in the 1950s and 1960s and captured iconic photos of the Guggenheim Museum, Wright’s final commission before his death.
Tickets for visiting the Driehaus Museum include access to the exhibit Photographing Frank Lloyd Wright and can be purchased two weeks in advance at: https://driehausmuseum.org/
During the duration of the exhibit, the Driehaus Museum and the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust will offer reciprocal member benefits that include admission to the Driehaus Museum, the Robie House Museum and Wright’s Home and Studio.