Description:

F.L. Wright TLS to Friend Re: WWII Disagreement: "I know little of politics"

A 1p typed letter signed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), as "Frank L Wright" above his printed signature as "Frank Lloyd Wright" at lower left. April 29, 1941. [Spring Green, Wisconsin.] On custom watermarked stationery with "Taliesin Spring Green Wisconsin" letterhead featuring a stylized red cartouche. Bearing several dockets in pencil, colored pencil, and red ink at upper right. Expected wear including flattened paper folds, some griminess along the left fold, and minor smudging verso, else near fine. 11" x 8.5."

Frank Lloyd Wright wrote this letter to friend Lewis Mumford (1895-1990), the historian and architectural critic, inviting him to his studio in Taliesin after the two had had a political disagreement.

Wright wrote in part:

"We will be glad to see you this summer whenever the spirit moves you to stop with us.

It is a real pain to me to find ourselves in disagreement. I know little of politics. What opinions I hold are based only upon principles I apprehend. So I am sure we have no quarrel outside what expedients to employ…"

The United States was not yet directly involved in World War II in April 1941--eight months before Pearl Harbor--yet the prospect of impending involvement had already demarcated American society into two halves: isolationists and pacifists like Frank Lloyd Wright, and anti-Fascist interventionists like Lewis Mumford. This fundamental difference in opinion about America's role in World War II prompted Lewis Mumford to break with Frank Lloyd Wright and other friends in 1941.

Lewis Mumford had condemned a policy of American neutrality as early as 1938. In books such as "Men Must Act" (New York: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1939) and "Faith for Living" (Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1940), Lewis passionately lobbied against Fascism and argued that the United States must employ arms in order to defend democracy. Lewis joined the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, an organization founded in May 1940, whose primary mission was to mobilize military and economic support for Great Britain and the Allies.

Frank Lloyd Wright was in direct political opposition to Lewis Mumford. Wright was a member of America First, the isolationist group created in September 1940, and did not believe it was in America's best interest to become further entangled in an overseas war. In addition to isolationism, Wright also advocated for pacificism. Wright was investigated by the FBI after December 1942 on suspicion that the master architect was urging his Taliesin apprentices to dodge the draft by applying for conscientious objector status. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was also concerned over claims that Wright had made statements minimizing the war in general, criticizing the Allies, and expressing sympathy for the Axis.

The World War II question alienated the two friends for years, but Frank Lloyd Wright and Lewis Mumford eventually resumed their correspondence in the early 1950s.

Frank Lloyd Wright created over 1,000 architectural plans over his 70-year-long career, of which more than half were constructed. Wright's pioneering design approach incorporated function, aesthetics, and the environment, and fundamentally changed late 19th and early 20th century architecture. In addition to architectural design, Wright wrote many books, served as a mentor, and also designed furniture and decorative arts.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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