Made by Frank Lloyd Wright (American, 1867–1959)
Oak
40 1/8 x 15 x 18 7/8 in. (101.9 x 38.1 x 47.9 cm)
Gift of William and Mary Drummond, 1981 (1981.437)
Frank Lloyd Wright designed this side chair as part of a large set for the employees restaurant in the Larkin Building, Buffalo, New York, which was demolished in 1950. Like the office furniture (1979.130), the dining chairs are spare in decoration and linear in form. In his 1943 autobiography, Wright described the Larkin project as "the first emphatic outstanding protest against the tide of meaningless elaboration sweeping the United States." Unlike the steel and magnesite office furniture, the oak dining chairs reveal the distinctive influence of De Stijl designers, especially Gerrit Rietveld. The donor, William Drummond, was a protégé of Wright and used this chair in his home after the Larkin factory was demolished. Few others from the restaurant are extant.
