Ceiling Fixture, Entrance Hall, Henry J. Allen Residence, Wichita, Kansas
Classification
lighting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Museum purchase from Smithsonian Regents Collections Acquisition and Friends of Drawings and Prints Funds
Accession Number
1983-1-22
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This stunning ceiling fixture, crafted by Frank Lloyd Wright in1917, originally graced the entrance hall of the Henry J Allen Residence in Wichita,—a Prairie-style home built for the newspaper publisher and future Kansas governor between 1915 and 1918. Wright, a pioneering American architect (1867–1959), the entire residence as a harmonious whole, where custom lighting like this piece enhanced the building's expansive, horizontal lines and connection to the landscape. As a key element of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's collection, it exemplifies Wright's philosophy of "organic architectu...