Lightscreens: The Leaded Glass of Frank Lloyd Wright. by Julie Sloan.

With an introduction by David G. De Long. New York: Exhibitions in association with Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., © 2001. ISBN 0-848-2305-9 hardcover, 0-8478-379-4 paperback.

Gee for this good of an in-depth book it's missing some of Mr. Wrights art glass work. It appears to the author SLOAN of the book that Mr. Wright's executed art glass ended in 1924. HOW UNTRUE. What about the artglass in the Southern Florida University chapel? Or what about the Greek church in Madison Wisconsin? or what about the 1954 Beth Shalom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA....the artglass above the pulpit??? GEE GOOD research on the rest of it though.....lots of detail but she didn't do a good job on the rest of it.....by the way a sketch in Wright's drawings was done for the Greek Church in Madison, Wisc. originally to be Christian "figurines"...the only sketch by Wright in artglass that was realistic other than his unexecuted "waterlilies" artglass that is known of and printed in color form today on rugs and prints. And gee I didn't even spend time to research this data, it was all known to me as an architect, & enthusiast. I'm also a member of the FLLW Conservancy,FLLW Home & Studio, Taliesin Fellows, and Taliesin Associates member.

The Pennsylvania church mentioned above has artglass over the pulpit, the Florida campus 'little chapel' narthex is entirely artglass, as is the littledome inside the now public area of the Guggenheim in NY. I also haven'tseen personally but have heard there is artglass even at Marin Countybuilding in the ceiling domes. I hope someday to go out there and look for myself. I'm sure I missed a few others herein but that was my mainpoint of the book.

Sloan went in-depth into the history of the early period but missed the very early co-authored commissions and she incorrectly came to a'conclusion' with her 'matrix's" of charts showing 'shapes he used inartglass' and the periods used.

I doubt if she went out and actually saw a lot of the 'Wright buildings' of the 40's and late 50's which have artglass in them. Her remark in the book prologue that no 'artglass' of FLLW's designs was ever executed after 1923 with the Charles Ennis home in LA.

Wrong! A mere mentioning at the very end of the book isn't good enough in it's few dedicated pages - those buildings needed to be given much more attention and also being written about. The original patterns FLLW designed for the Madison Unitarian Meeting House even though unexecuted, he still did an interesting design on the built windows of the pulpit also. To envision what the church pulpit glass may have looked like one needs to travel to Spring Green, WI and see the St. Johns CatholicChurch that was designed by Taliesin Architects, and see the pulpit there, artglass done by Susan Jacobs Lockhart of Taliesin.

Sloan should stick to what she is good at -'research', and not draw her own conclusions or show anything more than presenting the data itself and sticking to the artglass subject which she seemed to do well at. Some minor errors but overall an informative and well done book with a lot of new material and seldom seen photos and artglass designs, details, and background. I consider this the starter book for enthusiasts and for well read researchers they will have to wait a little while until some newer evidence comes out that will reshape the front-end of her books findings.

For non-architects who do books....CLUE: next time do more thorough research 'suppositions' since it makes your efforts and detailed work look shabby for so lengthy of detailed data excerpted in your book. Good luck next time and PLEASE add a GOOD redone 2nd edition.

Daniel D. Watts