Frank Lloyd Wright and New York with Anthony Alofsin, FAIA

Frank Lloyd Wright denounced New York as an “unlivable prison,” but in the 1920s the city gave him a refuge from personal and creative troubles, provided key clients and commissions, and helped to resurrect his foundering career.

The massive, sprawling metropolis unlocked new creative energies and later served as a foil for Wright’s work in the desert and in promoting “organic architecture.” And at the end of his life, Wright spent many of his final years at the Plaza Hotel working on the Guggenheim.

Within this previously unknown history a major cultural contest occurs: the battle for what will become of the future for modern architecture in America. Will it be Art Deco, the International Style, or Wright’s vision of organic architecture? This struggle takes place while Wright—like countless others—experiences New York as a crucible to challenge and to define himself. Without New York Wright would not be the architect we know today.

The 92nd Street Y will host prize-winning author and leading Wright authority Dr. Anthony Alofsin, FAIA, as he discusses Wright’s complex relationship to New York City. He is the author of Wright and New York: The Making of America’s Architect, Yale University Press, 2020.

This program will take place live online with an opportunity for audience Q&A following the lecture.