LIVING WITH
AND IN ART
Highlighting the Kaufmann family’s collection
In the world of architecture, Fallingwater is studied as one of the pinnacles of Frank Lloyd Wright’s career. While Wright is responsible for the house’s design and its signature black walnut furniture, the Kaufmanns amassed a remarkable collection of fine and decorative art. Representing a lifetime of collecting, these objects exhibit notions of flexibility, beauty, rusticity, and sophistication in their assemblage and arrangement. Each piece serves to tell a story, and each story a reflection of the object’s designer, maker and owner.
In April, Fallingwater released its first-ever publication focusing on the Kaufmann family’s collection, Fallingwater: Living With and In Art, published by Rizzoli. Edited by Fallingwater’s Director Justin Gunther and Senior Director of Preservation and Collections Scott Perkins, the six scholarly essays and beautiful photography reveal a deeper understanding of the Kaufmanns as influential modern tastemakers. Each essay contributor explores the collection through a thematic geographical approach, one that further reflects the Kaufmanns’ international ties and influence.
Gunther invited Glenn Adamson, a curator, writer and historian, to write the foreword. Adamson previously served as the director of the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, head of research at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and curator of the Chipstone Foundation. An expert in design history, modern craft and contemporary art, Adamson is currently the artistic director for Design Doha, a biennial in Qatar, curator at large for the Vitra Design Museum, and editor of Material Intelligence.
In his foreword, Adamson points out, “Modernism has a reputation for absent-mindedness. Not as in forgetting, though perhaps there was quite a bit of that too, but rather as in glorious emptiness. White walls, clear glass, hard steel. These, we are told, were the elements of the International Style, enclosing volumes that were open in plan, rigorously geometric, and above all, uncluttered.”
However, he goes on to say, if you “have a look at period photography of modernist homes, whether by Walter Gropius, Charlotte Perriand, Eileen Gray, or Erno Goldfinger . . . you’ll see that they were richly populated. It was only under extremely artificial conditions that
Fallingwater: Living With and In Art, published by Rizzoli is the first-ever book to focus on the collection.
“ So much else at Fallingwater seems not to follow the modernist program. In Fallingwater’s intimate nested rooms, you will find an eclecticism rivaling that of any Victorian parlor.”
this architecture maintained a lofty distance from everyday inhabitation, in demonstration pieces like Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion or speculative renderings of unbuilt (sometimes unbuildable) structures. Most of the modernist architects, and their clients, too, brought heterogeneous crafts and folk art into their spaces.” And as Adamson points out, “Nowhere is this surprising synthetic approach more enthralling than at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater.”
Today, curators preserve the rooms as they were left by Edgar Kaufmann jr., who as Adamson points out is “arguably the twentieth century’s most influential American curator of modernist design.” So it’s no surprise to see bentwood chairs by Bruno Matthson, organic form glass vases by Alvar Aalto, and an egg-like marble sculpture by Jean Arp. But, as Adamson states, “so much else at Fallingwater seems not to follow the modernist program. In Fallingwater’s intimate nested rooms, you will find an eclecticism rivaling that of any Victorian parlor. Sculpture from ancient India. Native American basketry. Peruvian blankets. Japanese ukiyo-e prints (gifts from Wright). A figure group by the Mexican folk carver Mardonio Magaña.”
All of these objects reflect the Kaufmanns’ discerning eye and sophisticated yet relaxed approach to decoration. They surrounded themselves with items they loved, ones that served as memories of travels abroad, friendships with artists and designers, and interests in local and regional crafts. The collection’s eclecticism was also representative of the modern movement’s interest in building aesthetic appreciation across cultures and eras to better understand the sources of art.
The Kaufmanns were champions of the modern movement, both at home and in their Pittsburgh department store. As readers of Fallingwater: Living With and In Art will discover, their contributions through commercial, social and artistic spheres were widespread, making the Kaufmanns one of modernism’s most dynamic and influential families.
Pittsburgh-based photographer Bryce captures Fallingwater’s collection through photographs.
STUNNING IMAGES PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CONTEXT: AN INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER DAVE BRYCE
When Justin Gunther, Fallingwater’s director, called photographer Dave Bryce to work on this project, he knew Bryce was uniquely qualified. Growing up outside Clarion, Pa., Bryce’s family owned a property with a stream running through it. “I photographed that stream so many times throughout life that getting the opportunity to shoot at Bear Run felt so familiar. It seemed like the natural course of things,” Bryce said. After earning a degree in media arts and animation from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and working several years in New York City, Bryce founded his Pittsburgh photography business over nine years ago. His work with some of today’s most talented American architects and designers has appeared in numerous publications.
“When I first got the call, I knew that hardly any photographers would ever have the opportunity to do something like this.”
Luckily, with his background photographing nature in his early days and architecture as a professional, it was a natural fit.
Bryce was humbled to be working alongside experts in their field. “Walking through the house with Scott Perkins was such a wonderful way to see Fallingwater. He had a story about every piece in the house, which is more of a living gallery. That’s what makes it such a special place. The art has the opportunity to interact with the light that Wright so expertly invites inside each room. This played a huge role in how I photographed a lot of the pieces.”
“Fallingwater is a place to feel and see and be present with. You can look at a million pictures but to stand where I stood and hear the water and smell the moss and the earth – to see how the art interacts with the light firsthand, it’s an experience I hope everyone has.”
WINTER WORK
World Heritage Preserved Update
Fallingwater’s comprehensive World Heritage Preserved project entered its second year this past winter, with visitors finding a significant portion of the house under scaffolding from December to mid-April. The three-year, $ 7 -million project, partially funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through its Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) as well as private donations, has allowed for repairs and upgrades to all of the house’s building systems—roofing, concrete, stone, steel especially.
In December, BrandSafway Industries erected scaffolding along the south and west façades of the main house, where its cantilevers extend above Bear Run and over the waterfall. The scaffolding extended from the bottom of the falls to above the chimney mass, nearly four stories of pipes and planks that allowed crews to work safely. Fallingwater’s preservation maintenance team constructed insulated plywood enclosures to provide warm working conditions and added generators to bring 24-hour heat and electric power to each level of the scaffolding. A scaffold of this magnitude has been constructed at Fallingwater only once before, when the cantilevers were stabilized 25 years ago.
Once in place, Allegheny Roofing and Sheet Metal began removing existing roofing materials on a thin “visor” roof over the west Living Room windows and the waterproofing membranes beneath the flagstone of the West Terrace. New membranes were installed before the flagstone was replaced and repointed by Fallingwater’s team.
The conservators from H.P. Steel Window Restoration made repairs to the exterior steel windows and door frames in the Living Room, Kitchen, and West Terrace—all unreachable without scaffolding in place. They also worked alongside the roofers to address areas such as the threshold under the West Terrace doors, helping to improve the functionality of the doors where a new membrane was placed.
On the masonry list of projects, the team from Graciano removed deteriorated concrete along the parapet of Liliane Kaufmann’s Terrace and the third floor terrace, including the “herb garden.” They also applied fiber mesh reinforcement to the concrete atop the stepped canopy roof between the
Main House and the Guest House where water infiltration from an adjacent stone pier had degraded the concrete.
Masonry Solutions International injected grout into the voids between the west and north stone walls of Edgar Sr.’s and Edgar jr.’s studies and into the entirety of the upper chimney mass. Graciano then completed a full repointing of the joints. To ensure the voids were filled, engineers form Atkinson Noland Associates performed subsurface scans of the stone walls to search for pockets the grout had not reached. This major step was completed in early March.
The majority of the scaffolding was removed in April, and a number of smaller projects will be conducted in the coming months, with temporary enclosures erected to protect the work from weather conditions. In late 2025, the north façade of the main house will be scaffolded as well as the tower of “cornerless” casement windows that extends the height of the house. The full extent of the World Heritage Preserved initiative will be completed by spring 2026
Scaffolding surrounds Fallingwater as historic preservation work takes place.
The south parapet on Liliane’s Terrace after removal of unsound concrete.
THE SPIRIT OF PLACE
Artist Ron Donoughe’s Observation of Wright’s Architecture
M“ost people don’t look at anything for three to four hours consistently, besides their phone or computer screen,” says artist Ron Donoughe in a video interview about his Fallingwater Institute Artist Residency. “When I’m out working, I’m looking at a particular place for an extended period of time. The subject in front of me becomes so important that it’s almost embedded into my mind. It allows me to be connected, very closely, with the structure, light and shadow, so it really is a spiritual experience.”
Donoughe’s Fallingwater Institute Artist Residency began in 2020 with multiple site visits to paint Fallingwater en plein air or “in the open air.” When pandemic conditions
allowed, Donoughe invited other artists to join him for educational workshops focusing on observational, plein air painting techniques. Over the last few years he has led 10 educational workshops for artists who traveled from near and far, including one workshop for sixth grade students from Queen of Angels Middle School in Westmoreland County. Fallingwater En Plein Air workshops challenged participants to do the kind of sustained, close-looking that Donoughe is known for. He is a natural educator who enjoys sharing his process with Fallingwater’s visitors and staff.
Donoughe has created countless compositions of Fallingwater in oil paint, from recognizable and surprising vantage points, always capturing the spirit of both the place
and a moment in time. Donoughe’s ability to convey the spirit of a place has been honed over the course of 30 years as an artist, painting every single day. He first focused his attention on Western Pennsylvania’s skylines, steel mills and neighborhoods. His work is included in numerous museum collections, scholarly institutions, corporate and private collections, including his famous Pittsburgh Neighborhoods series that is on permanent display at the Heinz History Center. Donoughe is the recipient of many awards, including a proclamation by the City of Pittsburgh that named August 1, 2018 “Ron Donoughe Day.”
Donoughe’s paintings from his time inresidence at Fallingwater will be showcased in an upcoming exhibition at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art ( SAMA ) in Ligonier, from May 2 to August 3 The exhibition includes observational works of art by Donoughe and workshop participants, including the group of local middle schoolaged artists.
“Fallingwater is actually a natural location for a plein air artist because Frank Lloyd Wright was integrating architecture and nature. When you’re there, if you’re a documentary plein air painter like myself, you’re documenting what he did with light, color and shape…creating shapes and building foundations with different layers in a similar fashion to Wright.” Donoughe is known for his truthful observation that enables him to capture the spirit of a place, so it’s fitting that he trains his eye on Wright’s “honest” work of organic architecture.
1. “Bear Run” by Donoughe, November 2020.
2. “Birds Eye” by Donoughe, November 2020.
3. Donoughe painting the classic view in November 2020.
4. Donoughe leads one of his educational plein air workshops at Fallingwater.
THE KAUFMANN FILMS:
A LEGACY IN MOTION
The subject of countless professional and amateur photographers for nearly 90 years, Fallingwater has captured the imagination of those attempting to freeze a moment in time. Rarely, however, has Fallingwater, and especially the Kaufmanns or their architect, been captured on moving images during its early years. Now playing in the Fallingwater Visitor Center’s Speyer Gallery is a collection of those films, assembled in the exhibition The Kaufmann Films: A Legacy in Motion.
Drawing from the Fallingwater archives and those of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, visitors will be able to view five short films on large-screen video monitors in the gallery. Accompanying them to provide context will be photographs and documents from the Fallingwater collection. Guest curator Michael Savisky, a multidisciplinary storyteller whose work bridges film, literature and music to explore the human experience, has brought the Kaufmann family, Frank Lloyd Wright and Fallingwater to life.
FALLINGWATER INSTITUTE
The exhibition is focused on five themes, each delving into a particular aspect of the Kaufmanns’ or Fallingwater’s history. “Onward and Upward” features 1933 footage of the demolition of the annex of the Kaufmann’s Department Store, founded by Edgar Kaufmann’s and Liliane Kaufmann’s fathers and uncles in 1871 . The planned expansion, occurring only a few years after the 1929 remodel of the store’s interiors by Pittsburgh architect Benno Janssen, was a daring one, especially during the throes of the Great Depression. But the ambitious project signaled the Kaufmann family’s involvement in relief efforts aimed at putting individuals back to work as well as their commitment to the City’s future.
“Kaufmann’s Summer Camp” showcases Bear Run through the home movies of the Kaufmanns with their employees and friends in the late 1920s. Supported with postcards of the camp’s many structures, the former masonic campground became an escape from the polluted Pittsburgh smog and an idyll for swimming, horseback riding, fishing, hiking and relaxation in the fresh air and sunshine. While none of the camp buildings remain, the spirit of the place has carried through in Wright’s incorporation of nature into the design of Fallingwater.
The Kaufmann family purchased a prefabricated cabin from the Aladdin Company of Bay City, Mich., and assembled it within the camp for their own use. Perched atop
1. Edgar Kaufmann Sr., Liliane Kaufmann and Edgar Kaufmann jr. on the steps of The Hangover, circa 1920s. Fallingwater Archive, 2024.9.
2. Edgar Kaufmann jr. overlooking Bear Run from Fallingwater’s West Terrace, 1982. Photograph by Ken Love, 1989.71.
3. Edgar Kaufmann jr. (far right) with Fallingwater staff, 1964. Photo by Roy Crimm, courtesy of Donna Miner.
a stone ridge, the house became known as “The Hangover,” reflective of the double entendre. Though it had no electricity or plumbing, the cabin was ample enough for a large family gathering.
“Realizing a Vision” introduces viewers to the construction process of Fallingwater. Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann visited Frank Lloyd Wright at La Hacienda, his early studio and camp in Chandler, Ariz., to check in on Edgar jr.’s apprenticeship with the architect. Early construction footage includes the selection of Pottsville sandstone from the onsite quarry, building the masonry walls, and Edgar Sr. meeting with Wright, Edgar jr., and supervising apprentice Bob Mosher on the house’s West Terrace.
Finally, the exhibition includes images and words from Edgar jr. himself. His gift of Fallingwater to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963 set the standard for the sharing of a modern historic house with the public. “Sanctuary for All” is Kaufmann jr.’s 1985 tour of the site, recorded a few years before his death. It is interspersed with images and video of the recent past that showcase the importance of Fallingwater to those who have made a pilgrimage to experience its beauty and setting, leading them into the present day and culminating in a meaningful journey of their own.
The Kaufmann Films: A Legacy in Motion will be on view through December 31, 2025.
Fallingwater Institute draws inspiration for its educational mission from those who champion human expression, in all its richness and diversity of forms. Through architecture that harmonizes with nature and challenges conventions, Fallingwater Institute seeks to change perceptions of what is possible.
Join us for these upcoming learning opportunities for adult professionals in the coming year.
2025 Highlights
INSIGHT/ONSITE: A CREATIVE RETREAT FOR MUSICIANS
June 9 – 13
Professional and college-aged musicians are welcome to apply for this weeklong creative retreat, directed by Mike Block and Hanneke Cassel. All instrument types and stylistic backgrounds are welcome, but acoustic and portable instruments are best.
INSIGHT/ONSITE: IKEBANA SUMMER STUDIO
August 22 – 24
This three-day dynamic program led by Sogetsu Pittsburgh will embrace what Sogetsu ikebana school founder and artist Sofu Teshigahara encouraged in his distinctive approach to ikebana: that it could be practiced “Anytime, Anywhere, by Anyone.”
INSIGHT/ONSITE: CREATING AND COLLAGING FROM MEMORY
September 19 – 21
Join Fallingwater Institute Artist-inResidence Jameelah Platt for a series of guided studio explorations designed to energize your creative practice with time spent immersed in nature, reflection and personal storytelling.
Scan this QR code for more information and to register.
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
800 Waterfront Drive, FL 2
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
412-288-2777
WaterLandLife.org
Fallingwater.org
MUSEUM STORE
Fallingwater: Living With and In Art
The Kaufmanns drew from their own interests in fine and decorative arts at Fallingwater, placing sculpture, paintings, textiles and furniture throughout the house. This year, Fallingwater released the first-ever publication focusing on its collection. Edited by Fallingwater’s Director
Justin Gunther and Senior Director of Preservation and Collections
Scott Perkins, this collection of essays and new photography reveals the stories behind Fallingwater’s collection.
Price: $65.00
Items are available online at Fallingwater.org.
Fallingwater Advisory Committee:
David Barensfeld
Linda McKenna Boxx
Michael D. Cheteyan, II
Carrie S. Cox
David G. DeLong, member emeritus
Steven G. Elliott
Christopher Fromboluti
Felix Fukui
Anthony Wolf Greenberg
Austin Hill
Henry P. Hoffstot, III
Donna Holdorf
William Kolano H. Lewis Lobdell
Vases Inspired by Art and Architecture
In 2021, local ceramic artist Jen Allen created one-of-a-kind, hand-built vases made from stoneware slabs and glazed in a palette reflecting the Fallingwater property. She drew inspiration from the house and the Kaufmann’s collection. Textures, lines, shapes, forms, spaces and colors all come together in this exclusive collection of vases.
Price Range: $86.00 – $175.00
Richard Longstreth
Kilolo Luckett
Dennis McFadden
Jack H. Millstein, Jr.
Leslie Nutting
Max Protetch
Aldo Radoczy
Toby Smith
Alexander C. Speyer, III, chair
Michael Strueber
Lynda S. Waggoner, director emerita Marigil M. Walsh