Frank Lloyd Wright was introduced to Japanese art and architecture in Chicago as a young architect, first through prints and then the Japanese Pavilion at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. He travelled to Japan in 1905 and lived in Tokyo between 1916 and 1922 to oversee the design and construction of the Imperial Hotel. Wright built a handful of additional structures in the country while amassing a large collection of Japanese art: prints, screens, scrolls, sculptures, textiles, and ceramics. These objects would be integrated into the architect’s own Wisconsin home, Taliesin.

Wright’s love of Japan often extended into his clients’ lives, and Melvyn and Sara Smith became interested in Japanese culture after moving into their own Usonian Wright house in 1950. The Smiths hosted Japanese visitors and students at the home, immersed themselves in the art of chanoyu (the traditional Japanese tea ceremony), and received many small tokens of appreciation in the form of Japanese ceramics, dolls, and books that remain on display in the home. In 1968, Wright’s apprentice and protégé William Wesley Peters designed a small tea house to be constructed alongside the pond behind the house.

This lecture will trace Wright’s career as a collector of Japanese art, as an architect working in Tokyo, and the lifelong impact of Japanese architecture and gardens on Wright’s designs for American homes.