The Japanese and Chinese Paintings at Taliesin: Their Display and Conservation

ABSTRACT

Taliesin is the home and working facility that Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) began for himself in 1911 and which remained a work in progress for the rest of his life. Integral to its esthetic is the display of the Japanese and Chinese paintings of which Wright was a discriminating collector; these were mounted specifically to fit locations in the important public rooms. Their conservation was framed by the restoration of the building to address inherent compromises, later unsympathetic changes, and mitigation of internal environmental extremes. It considered the decision to display the original works rather than seasonal removal or replacement with photo-reproductions. Importance was attached to the conservation objectives, procedures, materials, techniques, and sensibilities inherent in the treatment of large format Asian paintings, with particular emphases on the variations from traditional practices that have proved valuable for treatment of works displayed in Western contexts. Attention was given to how the paintings could be reintegrated into their original locations with protective glazing and framing that are sympathetic to the original decorative schemes. The place of specialization within the conservation profession is considered, the rationales that substantiate it, and what value it has in the cross-pollination of technical developments.

KEYWORDS:

• Taliesin
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• Japanese folding screen
• mounting

Acknowledgements

Lisa Berk served as Project Technician at Studio TKM for the treatment of all paintings at Taliesin. The paintings were installed at Taliesin in coordination with the staff at Taliesin Preservation Inc. under the supervision of Ryan Hewson, Collection and Preservation Project Manager, Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, who designed the framing elements. The Optium glazing was generously donated by Tru Vue, and the seamed Optium used to glaze the large format six-panel Japanese folding screen in the Studio was generously donated by SmallCorps.

Materials and suppliers

Machine-made kozo paper: Paper Nao, 4-37-28

Hakusan Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 112–0001 Japan.Optium glazing: Tru Vue Inc., 9400 W. 55th St.,

McCook, Illinois 6052 USA; SmallCorp, 19 Butternut Street, Greenfield, MA 01301 USA.Fluid acrylics: Golden Artist Colors Inc., 188 Bell Rd.,

New Berlin, NY 13411–9527 USA.Shell gold: Horikin Metal Leaf and Powder Co., 356

Gokomachi Higashi-iru Nakagyo-ku Kyoto, Japan.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 Hewson, R. n.d. Tru Vue at Taliesin. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://tru-vue.com/2015/05/tru-vue-at-taliesin. Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation relies on Tru Vue® Optium® to protect & display recently reinstalled Japanese screen at Taliesin. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://tru-vue.com/2018/05/frank-lloyd-wright-foundation-relies-on-tru-vue-optium-to-protect-display-recently-reinstalled-japanese-screen-at-taliesin/

2 Tsuzuri Production Process. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://global.canon/en/tsuzuri/process.html

3 Three of the Japanese paintings were conserved in 1997 by the Stichting Siebolt using Japanese studios (Living Room; Mr Wright’s Bedroom; and Studio) (Narita 1997); one Chinese painting was conserved by Studio TKM in 2002 (Loggia, 297 h); and three Japanese (Living Room, 525 h; Loggia, 762 h; and Mr Wright’s Bedroom, 201 h) and two Chinese paintings (Guest Room, 25 h and Loggia, 1623 h) were conserved pro bono by Studio TKM in 2014–2017.