Architecture's odd couple: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson

Description

In architectural terms, the twentieth century can be largely summed up with two names: Frank Lloyd Wright and Philip Johnson. Wright (18671959) began it with his romantic prairie style; Johnson (19062005) brought down the curtain with his spare postmodernist experiments. Between them, they built some of the most admired and discussed buildings in American history. Differing radically in their views on architecture, Wright and Johnson shared a restless creativity, enormous charisma, and an outspokenness that made each man irresistible to the media. Often publicly at odds, they were the twentieth century's flint and steel; their repeated encounters consistently set off sparks. Yet as acclaimed historian Hugh Howard shows, their rivalry was also a fruitful artistic conversation, one that yielded new directions for both men. It was not despite but rather because of their contentious--and not always admiring--relationship that they were able so powerfully to influence... Conté: Prologue: The master and the maestro -- Part I: a meeting of minds -- Two conversations -- Plotting a comeback -- European travels -- Part II: The MOMA moment -- The new museum -- An invitation issued -- Wright vs. Johnson -- The show must go on -- Part III: Acting out their antagonism -- The banks of Bear Run -- Politics and art -- Wright's Manhattan project -- Philip comes out classical -- The whiskey bottle and the teapot -- Epilogue: A friendly wrangle