MORRISON HECKSCHER: Frank Lloyd Wright referred to this joyful triptych as part of his “kinder-symphony,” or symphony for children. The triptych was the focal point of a long band of side and clerestory windows, each one different, that decorated a small building a playhouse on the Avery Coonley estate, outside Chicago, Illinois. The playhouse served as a kindergarten run by Mrs. Coonley for neighborhood children. Wright, who completed the playhouse in 1912, was considered America’s foremost architect. He was also one of America’s top innovators in stained glass windows. Wright considered his windows as part of an ensemble. They were integral to the design of the whole building. And the Coonley windows are hailed as his masterpiece. Curator Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen.

ALICE COONEY FRELINGHUYSEN: And yet they are a direct departure from anything he had done prior to that time.

MORRISON HECKSCHER: His earlier windows tended to be loosely geometric interpretations of nature, with a palette of soft earthtones. But here, primary colors flood the window.

ALICE COONEY FRELINGHUYSEN: It's totally geometric and its inspiration was really things for children. It was said to have been a parade. So you have circles of primary colors, which look like balloons. You even have the American flag. And it's punctuated with little squares of black which are meant to evoke confetti. It's bright. It's vibrant. It's in a sense, you know, it's really long before, Piet Mondrian, whose work it's often compared to