Wright Chat

[DRN]

It would appear the second of two desks from the Sweeton house may have been sold on September 17, 2011. The first was auctioned at the Wright auction house in Chicago (wright20.com) a few years ago. On the bright side, the attached link has good pictures of it, and a scan of the furniture sheet from Taliesin.

http://tomclosserauctions.com/flwrightdesk.htm

I saved copies of the pics for the house archive.

BTW, the square footage of the house noted in the description is inaccurate. The actual enclosed/conditioned square footage is 1288 SF.

[DRN]

I corresponded with the Sweeton's daughter yesterday. She indicated that the desk did not sell as bidding did not reach the reserve amount (not disclosed to me).
It would seem a well used 1951 redwood plywood desk from a modest house designed by FLLW did not appeal to the clientele at the sale. The sale consisted mostly of items of American, Asian, and European origin dating from 1900 to 1700. A piece of mid-century American modernism was something of an anomaly. The daughter cited the economy as a factor, I'm more inclined to think it was the audience. To them, the desk probably appeared to be crude and "carpenterly", which it is outside of the context of the house...in the house, it becomes an integral part of the whole, and quite elegant.

[PrairieMod]

Do you think you'd be able to (or want to) acquire the desk to put back in the house?
_________________
PrairieMod
www.prairiemod.com

[DRN]

Regarding this desk in particular, it is neat, but the larger niche designed for it causes the closet in that room to be smaller than the others. The Danish mod dresser in its place is more practical for our needs at this time.

Given the amount of money we need to put into the house itself to keep it sound and repair its years of deferred maintenance and neglect, we cannot afford to buy the original furniture back. Based on the prices items sold for at Wright in Chicago, which are influencing the Sweeton's daughter and other holders of the furniture, we cannot afford to pay thousands for things that can be reproduced for hundreds, or even less if I DIY.

Besides, we have a collection of MCM and Danish pieces that we like, that have history for us, and look good in the house in our opinion. I would like to reproduce some hassocks at some point, but rebuilding rotted doors and windows, tending to sagging eaves, damaged ceilings, an inoperative oven, and aging radiant water pumps must take precedence.

[PrairieMod]

Sounds like the wise and pragmatic approach to me. It's a shame the desk had to leave the house, but I agree getting the house secured and restored is priority #1.
_________________
PrairieMod
www.prairiemod.com

[FarmerBill]

[DRN]

The auction house is located in Endwell, NY, near Binghamton. It is her intention to try to sell the desk again at a later date.

The other Sweeton desk was sold in 2006 (by a different owner) at the Wright auction house in Chicago for $9600. At the same auction in 2006, much of the house's furniture was sold: a pair of chairs sold for $10,800; another pair sold for $12,000; a set of 4 chairs sold for $22,800; and a set of 3 chairs sold for $20,399. The coffee table sold for $10,800; and a set of 4 hassocks sold for $7,800. The total was $94,199. I could never spend that on furniture, when I have a restoration ahead of me that will cost considerably more.

If I want Wright furniture, I'll reproduce it from the prints I have.

[PrairieMod]

Here's the link to the Wright20 auction DRN is referring to:

http://www.wright20.com/search/Sweeton/1

Kind of unbelievable a bunch of screwed together plywood was worth almost $100k
_________________
PrairieMod
www.prairiemod.com

[BBuck]

DRN,

Seems as though someone with the financial means to purchase the simple, but elegant furniture could do the right thing and just donate it back!

I'm loving the updates to your progress on Sweeton. One step at a time. I certainly enjoyed my visit this summer. Thank you!

[Wrightgeek]

Dan-

It was great to meet you and Christine this weekend. It is always good to mate a face with a screen name, and it was so awesome for you to open your home to us, especially inlight of the roofing issues you have been dealing with recently at the house.

Everyone enjoyed the visit and we were all captivated by the spaces that Wright created on such a modest budget. Thanks to both of you for saving this important aspect of Wright's ouvere, and for sharing it with all of us. And let us not ever forget that this is not just a restoration project, but more importantly, your home.

Thanks again, Dan and Christine. We'll look forward to further updates on the progress of the Sweeton Residence. One thing is certainly for sure; we know that this property is now in very good hands.

[DRN]

BBuck and Wrightgeek:

Thank you for your kind words, we enjoyed meeting you too. Each of you please let us know if you will be in the Philly area again.