Frank Lloyd Wright, designer

Believing that a building was like a living organism in that all parts are equally important, Frank Lloyd Wright often saw to the design of interior decoration as well as external structure. For the Martin House in Buffalo, Wright’s philosophy of incorporating art into everyday life was expressed in his selection of furniture, textiles, lighting fixtures, even the clients’ clothing and art collection. Relying on stylized natural forms, Wright designed these stained-glass casement windows for the Martins with the recurring “Tree of Life” motif used throughout the house. The abstract tree trunk and cascading branches rising up the side of each window owe much to Wright’s appreciation of Japanese art. He admired how Japanese art traditions use abstraction to shape a natural form so that it evokes the universal without losing individuality.