This led him to conceive buildings in their totality, designing interiors, furniture, metalwork, ceramics, stained glass, textiles, lighting and murals wherever possible. He fully subscribed to the notion that a building was a complete work of art requiring that each element contribute to the effect of the whole. The high-back chair was a form he employed since 1895- before similar designs by C.R. Mackintosh - as a means of creating a separate, almost consecrated space within the dining room. Wright paid much attention to the symbolic content of his buildings and placed great importance on family rituals.

Provenance

One of a set of six chairs for Ward Willits House, Highland Park, Illinois; removed 1950, purchased by Mrs Cameron Brown who consigned the chair to Christie's New York, 1986; Mr Thomas S. Monaghan.