FY10 Highlights
Collections
New acquisitions to collections include:
Family Letters: The David and Gladys Wright Residence, Phoenix, AZ (1950) – The typewritten correspondence between Frank Lloyd Wright and his son David regarding the design and creation of the David and Gladys Wright Residence.
A custom-created volume of illustrated plates of architectural plans and structures from various Architectural Review issues from the years 1900 through 1915 – This compilation of hundreds of plates includes Wright’s Heller House, Husser House, the Oak Park Drafting Studio, Nathan Moore House and Winslow House.
Chicago Architectural Annual, 1902 – The Annual was published by the Chicago Architectural Club in 1902 for their fifteenth annual exhibit. The catalog was one of the club’s most elaborate publications and features fourteen pages of Wright’s work, including several sketches and photographs.
The Grammar of Ornament by Owen Jones, 1856 – Noted as one of the most important publications of decoration and design theory from the nineteenth century, the book contains 100 chromolithographed plates derived from the ornamentation of nineteen different styles of historic and world ornament. It also includes several essays, 37 propositions on the arrangements of form and color, as well as a final chapter on nature. Frank Lloyd Wright owned a copy of this book.
Wright Way Travel
Five Wright Way tours offered participants unique architectural travel experiences, including VIP tours of landmark buildings, homeowner-led tours of private homes, and behind-the-scenes tours with architects. The year’s destinations ranged from the Darwin Martin Residence in Buffalo, NY and the Elizabeth and Robert Llewellyn Wright Residence outside Washington D.C., to art deco architecture of Coral Gables, FL.
In FY10, 51 percent of participants were first-time Wright Way travelers. More than a quarter of participants signed up to travel again with Wright Way in FY11.
Volunteer Resources
The department changed its name from Volunteer Services to Volunteer Resources to better reflect its role. During FY10, 913 volunteers contributed 30,749 hours to delivering the Preservation Trust’s programs and fulfilling its mission, and 86 new volunteers enrolled in the new interpreter training courses.
MoodleWright, a new online learning environment, was introduced to the volunteer corps.
The 2010 Wallis Austin Outstanding Volunteer Award went to Joan B. Mercuri in recognition of her nine years of volunteer service prior to becoming the Preservation Trust’s President and CEO.
The 2010 Catherine McLoughlin Award for Volunteer Hospitality was awarded to Vicki Crawshaw Kwarciany for her dedicated service as a dayleader, Wright Plus house captain, and training lecturer.
An enrichment program series was launched in honor of founding volunteer Lyman Shepard and his wife Anna. Lyman Shepard passed away in December 2009. He was the organization’s first volunteer coordinator and gained a reputation for his performances as Frank Lloyd Wright.
ShopWright
Direct catalog and ShopWright.org Web sales represented almost half of total merchandise sales in this fiscal year. In total, direct and shop sales were up slightly to FY09. Top selling products were the LEGO® Fallingwater and Guggenheim sets, Studio Skylight placemats and runners, and our own publications.
ShopWright customers continue to give us high ratings. One customer summed it up with: “Beautiful product, fair value, and good service; who could ask for more?”
