Gary Arseneau: June 2017

NOTE: Footnotes are enclosed as [FN].

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model D101), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Delineator Antonin Raymond, Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.13, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/242?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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The Museum of Modern Art [MOMA], in their June 12–October 1, 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive exhibition [and/or collection] contains some three dozen or more non-disclosed reproductions [from MOMA and/or outside collections] falsely attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright as lithographs a.k.a. original works of visual art making them "something that is not what it purports to be"[FN 1] which is one legal definition of fake.

Frank Lloyd Wright never created a lithograph in his life.

What evidence is there to prove this allegation?

One example can for found on MOMA's website where it states: "You Can Own an American Home," trumpeted a 1917 Chicago newspaper's full-page advertisement for Frank Lloyd Wright's new "System-Built Houses"-low-cost houses assembled from factory-produced elements. Customers requesting plans and brochures from the Richards Company would have received prints like these illustrating the many house models from which they could have chosen. Modeled on Japanese woodblock prints, the style of Wright's lithographs evinces his life-long love of Japanese art. The high horizon line, the planar flatness of foreground and sky, the silhouetted foliage, and the red square (or "chop") framed by the text-all suggest a studied japonisme. Most likely the originals were prepared by Antonin Raymond, Wright's assistant on the contemporary Imperial Hotel project in Tokyo." [FN 2]

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Even if the "originals were prepared" by the assistant Antonin Raymond, instead of Frank Lloyd Wright, would that make Antonin Raymond the true artist who created his own original drawings or a chromist who reproduces by their hands, fingers and fingerprints the drawings of Frank Lloyd Wright? Either way drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright or chromist-made reproductions by Antonin Raymond or some combination of the two reproduced would result in reproductions, not lithographs.

Who was Antonin Raymond? That is answered in the October 12, 2006 publication titled Crafting a Modern World: The Architecture and Design of Antonin and Noémi Raymond by Mari Sakamoto Nakahara, Ken Tadashi Oshima, and Christine Vendredi-Auzanneau. On page 22, the authors wrote: "Wright's method of instructing Antonin at Taliesin remained similar to the way in which he had trained his apprentices at the Oak Park studio before 1909. Initially the apprentice learned to master Wright's forms or mannerisms through a role process, which he likened to a kind of total immersion using the term 'saturation.'"[FN 3] So, once "Raymond had thoroughly mastered this vocabulary of forms by the end of his stay at Taliesin, achieving a level of proficiency on which Wright relied. Wright allowed Raymond to prepare drawings on which Wright himself would subsequently work."[FN 4]

So, Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect who mentored his architect apprentices like Antonin Raymond to become a Frank Lloyd Wright mini-me a.k.a. "a person closely resembling a smaller or younger version of another." The original creative medium of lithography requires a shop with a press and support group of equipment and material, along with those with the knowledge and training to successfully create and print their editions of lithographs. Not one reference to this labor intensive creative medium by the hands and fingers of Frank Lloyd Wright, much less his mini-me Antonin Raymond is mentioned even once.

Any artist who actually creates and prints an edition of lithographs would take pride not only in the aesthetic accomplishment of the original works of visual art i.e., lithographs he created but the labor and technical skill to successfully pull it off. This aesthetic accomplishment and labor was not mentioned by Frank Lloyd Wright and his mini-me Antonio Raymond [or referenced by the authors of any known publication] because they were not artist/printmakers of original works of visual art i.e., lithographs. Frank Lloyd Wright was an architect with his mini-me apprentices who were trying to make money selling houses, along with reproductions of those architectural drawings, or his mini-me aprentices' chromist-made reproductions and/or some combination thereof and it seems no one until now has successfully tried to call them and others out on it.

Figure 17. Antonin Raymond for Frank Lloyd Wright, perspective of a typical American System-Built House, Richards Company, 1916.
Figure 18. Antonin Raymond for Frank Lloyd Wright, perspective of a typical living room of an American System-Built House, Richards Company, 1916.
Excerpt from page 22 from Crafting a Modern World: The Architecture and Design of Antonin and Noémi Raymond by Mari Sakamoto Nakahara, Ken Tadashi Oshima, and Christine Vendredi-Auzanneau
ANTONIN RAYMOND FOR FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

In other words, mini-me Antonin Raymond was being trained to be a chromist for Frank Lloyd Wright. Remember, a chromist is someone who copies the work of another.

Just in case there was any doubt, the authors for the same publication wrote: "Once a mastery of forms had been achieved, the pupil was assigned a project carefully conceived in Wright's mind, the development of which he followed 'throughout all its phrases in drawing room and field, meeting with the client himself on occasion, gaining a all-round development impossible otherwise, and insuring an enthusiasm and a grasp of detail decidedly to the best interest of the client." Wright's project for Antonin began with the creation of an abstracted logo-embodying the symbolism within Wright's geometrical forms for his ongoing American System-Built Homes for the Milwaukee entrepreneur Arthur L. Richards (1877-1955). Wright then asked Raymond to prepare presentation drawings (printed using a special woodblock print inspired lithograph process) associated with the promotional pamphlet he produced [Figs. 17, 18]."[FN 5]

The chromist a.k.a. mini-me Antonin Raymond's "prepared drawings" that were reproduced resulting in reproductions, not lithographs. Lithograph is being used as an euphemism for reproduction. The non-disclosed reproductions of mini-me Antonin Raymond's "prepared drawings" was a marketing strategy to sell houses. Either then and/or somewhere along the line the term lithograph was used to mask their true disclosure as reproductions. This misrepresentation by MOMA in their collection website of reproductions of [chromist-made and/or original] drawings as Frank Lloyd Wright lithographs continues to this day.

To belabor a fact, lithographs are original works of visual art and would never be trivialized as being from "prepared drawings" even if they were actually by Frank Lloyd Wright. That fact is confirmed by U.S. Custom's May 2006 An Informed Compliance Publication titled Works of Art, Collector`s Pieces Antiques, and Other Cultural Property, which -in part- states: "The expression original engravings, prints and lithographs means impressions produced directly, in black and white or in color, of one or of several plates wholly executed by hand by the artist, irrespective of the process or of the material employed by him, but excluding any mechanical or photomechanical process."[FN 6]

So, what now should be quiet obvious, Frank Lloyd Wright never created a lithograph in his life.

Therefore, despite MOMA's assertions that the "exhibition seeks to open up Wright’s work to critical inquiry and debate, and to introduce experts and general audiences alike to new angles and interpretations of this extraordinary architect"[FN 7], will the organizers MOMA's Department of Architecture and Design curator Barry Bergdoll, and Project Research Assistant Jennifer Gray continue the misrepresentation of MOMA's collection of non-disclosed reproductions as Frank Lloyd Wright "lithographs?"[FN 8] and "Wright's work?"[FN 9]

This monograph will briefly document that Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings were, at best, reproduced resulting in reproductions not lithographs using the history surrounding the 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio published by Ernst Wasmuth Verlag which raises serious doubts that Frank Lloyd Wright even did the drawings that were subsequently reproduced resulting in at best reproductions, not lithographs.

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model A231), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.3, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/84845?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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The Museum of Modern Art [MOMA] is located in the United States of America at 11 West 53 Street, New York, NY 10019.

Under U.S. Copyright Law 106A, the Rights of Attribution "shall not apply to any reproduction."[FN 10] Therefore, Frank Lloyd Wrights' drawings reproduced result at best in reproductions that under U.S. Copyright Law 106a cannot not be attributed to him.

Additionally, New York Civil Code 15.01 (2.) states: "Article fifteen of the New York arts and cultural affairs law provides for disclosure in writing of certain information concerning multiples of prints and photographs when sold for more than one hundred dollars ($100) - whether the multiple is a reproduction."[FN 11] The penalties for violation of New York Civil Code statutes under 15.15 may include but not limited to refund, treble damages, court costs, expert witness fees, attorney fees and civil fines.

Now, aside the $25 price of adult admission for the exhibition, MOMA is not selling these non-disclosed reproductions of Frank Lloyd Wright but would MOMA want to argue that artists in New York are held to a higher standard of disclosure that the museum?

Furthermore, the MOMA is a member of the Association of Art Museum Directors [AAMD].[FN 12] As an AAMD member it endorses the 2011 Professional Practices in Art Museum publication. On page 32 in the AAMD's published 2011 Professional Practices in Art Museum publication, it states: "museums must clearly indicate, through the use of integral markings on the objects, as well as signs, labels, and advertising, that these items are reproductions - signatures, editions numbers, and/or foundry marks on sculpture must not appear on the reproduction. - The touting of exaggerated investment value of reproductions must be avoided because the object or work being offered for purchase is not original and the resale value is highly in doubt. - When advertising reproductions, museums should not use language implying that there is any identity of quality between the copy and the original or lead the potential buyer to believe that by purchasing any such reproduction, he or she is acquiring an original work of art."[FN 13]

In other words, the MOMA's own endorsed ethical guidelines require disclosure of reproductions as reproductions because failure to do so could lead the potential buyer of a $25 admission ticket to their Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition to believe and act on the belief that they are viewing original works of art a.k.a. lithographs when they are not.

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model B11), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.5, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/84846?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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ERNST WASMUTH VERLAG

In 1908, Frank Lloyd Wright "received a letter from the Berlin publishing firm Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, soliciting his cooperation in the publication of a book of photographs of his executed work."[FN 14] Ernst Wasmuth Verlag was a Berlin publisher of expensive art books who invited Frank Lloyd Wright "to produced a monograph of his best buildings."[FN 15]

On page 38 of the 2002 published Frank Lloyd Wright, Graphic Artist by Penny Fowler, the author wrote: "Wright signed a publishing contract with Wasmuth on 24 November 1909. The contract allowed Wright total control over the presentation of his work."[FN 16]

Additionally, on page 42 of the 2002 published Frank Lloyd Wright, Graphic Artist by Penny Fowler, the author wrote: "According to Lloyd Wright, 'The medium for regularizing and transferring the drawings was crow quill on tracing paper. When finished, the drawings were taken to Germany where they were photographed, at which time they were reduced or enlarged to a uniform size and then transferred to lithographic stones and printed in proof.'"[FN 17]

As noted earlier, Frank Lloyd Wright drawings a.k.a. renderings photographically reproduced, reduced or enlarged, result in reproductions, not lithographs.

Once again, this factual perspective is confirmed by U.S. Custom`s May 2006 An Informed Compliance Publication titled Works of Art, Collector`s Pieces Antiques, and Other Cultural Property, which -in part- states: "The expression original engravings, prints and lithographs means impressions produced directly, in black and white or in color, of one or of several plates wholly executed by hand by the artist, irrespective of the process or of the material employed by him, but excluding any mechanical or photomechanical process."[FN 18]

Lithographs are original works of visual art wholly executed by hand by the artist and would never be trivialized as photographically reduced and/or enlarged and transferred to lithographic stones.

In other words, in 1909 Frank Lloyd Wright hired chromists to reproduce his drawings and German publisher Ernst Wasmuth Verlag to publish those reproductions. The resulting 1,000 sets of reproductions titled: 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio, were then falsely attributed as original works of visual art i.e., lithographs to Frank Lloyd Wright for sale to the vastly unsuspecting public and this deception by many in the academia, museum and auction house industry continues till this day.

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model B23)

1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.6, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/250?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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Reproductions of drawings versus original works of visual art i.e., lithographs wholly executed by hand by the artist are -not- interchangeable, much less the same.

This factual perspective is confirmed in the 1991 The Fifth Edition of the Artist’s Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer, the author wrote: “The major traditional graphic-arts processes of long standing and continued popularity are lithograph, etching, drypoint, woodcutting or wood engraving, aquatint, and soft-ground etching. ...The term “graphic arts” excludes all forms of mechanically reproduced works photographed or redrawn on plates; all processes in which the artist did not participate to his or her fullest capacity are reproductions.”[FN 19]

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model C3),1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 1 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.8, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/83010?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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TAYLOR WOOLLEY, CHROMIST

So, were these even reproductions of Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings? Not according to a "Frank Lloyd Wright's Wasmuth Portfolio" monograph by ArchiTech Gallery's David Jameson who wrote: "Wright brought the only renderer left in his office, Taylor Woolley, to Italy to work on the transfers. 20 year old Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. (preferring to be known by the sole name, Lloyd) was a gifted renderer as well and was brought to the villa in Fiesole to draw for the project."[FN 20]

BAU published research article titled: "The Red Square: Frank Lloyd Wright, Theosophy and Modern Conceptions of Space," the "Endnote 9" stated: "All the drawings were not actually in Wright's own hand, he was assisted by his son Lloyd and his draftsman Taylor Woolley. In H. Allen Brooks, "Frank Lloyd Wright and the Wasmuth Drawings," The Art Bulletin 48/2 (June 1966), 193-202, the author discusses the various assistants' contributions to the drawings."[FN 21]

“Figure 7. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for the Richards Company, 1915-17. Interior perspective, model C3; lithoprint. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund and Jeffrey P. Klein Fund”

MOMA published 1994 Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect catalogue edited by Terence Riley with Peter Reed, essays by Anthony Alofsin, William Cronon, Kenneth Frampton, Terence Riley and Gwendolyn Wright

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION IN 1994

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Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Interior perspective of model A101), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number 155.1993.9, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/83031?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION IN 2017

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Rhetorically, what is the difference between MOMA using "lithoprint" in their 1994 published Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect catalogue as an euphemism for reproduction than 23 years later in 2017 listing the same non-disclosed reproduction as a "lithograph" on their collection website?

Once again, in the 1991 The Fifth Edition of the Artist`s Handbook of Materials and Techniques by Ralph Mayer, the author wrote: "The major traditional graphic-arts processes of long standing and continued popularity are lithograph, etching, drypoint, woodcutting or wood engraving, aquatint, and soft-ground etching. ...The term `graphic arts` excludes all forms of mechanically reproduced works photographed or redrawn on plates; all processes in which the artist did not participate to his or her fullest capacity are reproductions."[FN 22]

Remember, Taylor Woolley and Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. were some of the chromists who reproduced by their hands, fingers and fingerprints the drawings of Frank Lloyd Wright. Therefore, some, if not all, of the subsequent "1,000 copies, 500 for sale in Europe and 500 for exportation to America"[FN 23] a.k.a. non-disclosed reproductions reproduced from those chromist-made reproductions in the 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio were not even direct reproductions of Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings but 2nd-generation-removed fakes.

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model A101), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number 155.1993.1, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/84844?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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MARION MAHONY, CHROMIST

Then as if the chromist Taylor Woolley and Frank Lloyd Wright Jr. were not enough, some of the drawings, reproduced in the 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio, were actually drawn by the chromist Marion Mahony. This is confirmed in "Frank Lloyd Wright's Wasmuth Portfolio" monograph by ArchiTech Gallery's David Jameson who wrote: "The studio renderings of Marion Mahony for various Oak Park houses and unbuilt projects were retraced down to the foliage for the lithographic stones. Her foliage is almost the only way to tell that the image originated with her drawing, being more naturalistic with outlines in an "Arts and Crafts" language. Wright's trees and flowers are constructed, at close inspection, like architectural forms; triangles, circles and snowflakes."[FN 24]

Rhetorically, if the MOMA were to fully disclosed that chromists actually made, with their hands, fingers and fingerprints, the images reproduced in the 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio and not Frank Lloyd Wright, might the public be able to give informed consent on whether to attend this exhibition with non-disclosed fakes, much less pay the $25 price of adult admission?

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model E3), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 5/8" (27.9 x 21.9 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.14, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/243?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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Unfortunately, for over a hundred years this misrepresentation of 2nd-generation-removed reproductions, reproduced in part from chromist-made 1st-generation-removed reproductions of drawings, as Frank Lloyd Wright's 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio of Lithographs has been perpetuated for monetary considerations including but not limited to: museum admission fees, city-state-federal grants, corporate sponsorship, outright sales and tax write-offs.

Remember, reproductions of an artist's work are not attributable to that artist. That factual perspective is confirmed by U.S. Copyright Law 106 A, “The Rights of Attribution - shall not apply to any reproduction.”[FN 25]

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model J401), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.19, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/163801?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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Additionally, this perspective: “the Rights of Attribution - shall not apply to any reproduction" is confirmed by the Printing Industries of America, Inc. in their published Printing Trade Customs, which, in part, states: “6. PREPARATORY MATERIALS Working mechanical art, type, negatives, positives, flats, plates, and other items when supplied by the printer, shall remain his exclusive property unless otherwise agreed in writing.”[FN 26]

In other words, if an artist, and/or a company, authorizes a printer and/or chromist to reproduce their work, the resulting reproductions cannot be attributed to the artist and/or company artist. That printer that reproduced those reproductions would own them. That printer would only be contractually obligated to give the artist the reproductions they paid for. The artist pays for 1,000 reproductions, they get a 1,000 reproductions. All of the reproduction overruns [potentially dozens or more], all plates, negatives, digital files and the like used to reproduce those reproductions, would be owned by the printer and if they chose to do so that printer [or future new owner] could reproduce more reproductions without the knowledge or permission of the artist.

U.S. COPYRIGHT LAW COMPILATIONS AND DERIVATIVE WORKS

Furthermore, under U.S. Copyright Law 103. “Subject matter of copyright: Compilations and derivative works,” it states: “The copyright in a compilation or derivative work extends only to the material contributed by the author of such work.”[FN 27]

So, the artist and/or the company owns the "material" i.e., painting contributed by the artist and/or company, but not the derivative work a.k.a. reproductions. Those reproductions manufactured by the printer, may have been authorized by the artist and/or company but until they are paid for, the printer owns them.

There is no free lunch.

This is an undated German edition [1924] and was published by Wasmuth in Berlin. 100 Plates but reduced to 13 x 19". All one hundred plates are placed in one portfolio like the 1963 version, and the portfolio is similar to that version. The emboss is missing. This was an unauthorized version, and Wright was not pleased by the poor quality of printing. The text and list of plates included as a separate booklet (see 157b). (1st Edition) (Sweeney 157)" (quoted from steinerag) This is quite a rare edition, though not as rare as the 1910 one which sold at auction for c$90,000 . The one hundred plates are in excellent condition, though some are damaged at the edges where they overshot the portfolio; the portfolio is chipped at the edges and only one of the cloth ties is left, and that is damaged. The text and list of prints in this copy is made up of 7 double sized loose folio sized sheets.

https://www.abebooks.com/Ausgef%C3%BChrte-Bauten-Entw%C3%BCrfe-Wasmuth-Portfolio-Wright/10273080055/bd

UNAUTHORIZED VERSION

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Just in case anyone would doubt the fact that reproductions have no limitation. On page 37 of the Architectural Excursions: Frank Lloyd Wright, Holland and Europe, the authors Donald Langmead and Donald Leslie Johnson wrote: “in 1924 when Wasmuth reissued the 1910 portfolio (without Wright’s knowledge).”[FN 28]

To be absolutely clear, in 1910 no lithographs were created by Frank Lloyd Wright, any more than lithographs were created in 1924 without Frank Lloyd Wright. The 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio were at best reproductions and in 1924 they were at best reproductions. The only difference is instead of Frank Lloyd Wright and his publisher Ernst Wasmuth Verlag cashing in at the expense of the public along with unfairly competing against artist/printmakers of lithographs, the publisher Ernst Wasmuth Verlag alone [without Frank Lloyd Wright's knowledge] cashed in at the expense of everyone including Frank Lloyd Wright.

A den of thieves.

Yet, the MOMA states: "we're committed to sharing the most thought-provoking modern and contemporary art, and hope you will join us in exploring the art, ideas, and issues of our time."[FN 29] 1st to 2nd-generation-removed chromist-made reproductions of Frank Lloyd Wright's drawings can never be "thought-provoking modern and contemporary art." That is an oxymoron.

So, once again, despite the MOMA's assertions that the "exhibition seeks to open up Wright’s work to critical inquiry and debate, and to introduce experts and general audiences alike to new angles and interpretations of this extraordinary architect"[FN 30], organizers for the exhibition continue the 100 year plus deception of falsely attributing non-disclosed 1st to 2nd-generation-removed reproductions as "Wright's work"[FN 31] and as original works of visual art i.e., "lithographs."[FN 32]

On page 933 of the Seventh Edition of Black's Law Dictionary, lie is defined as: "To tell an untruth; to speak or write falsely."[FN 33]

Museum of Modern Art [MOMA] is only one of many cultural institutions, corporations, and academic institutions who have drank the Kool-aid and are perpetuating a lie, with or without intent, that Frank Lloyd Wright created lithographs. Here are just a few of those cultural institutions, corporations and academic institutions.

Date: 1985, Title: Frank Lloyd Wright - The Early Years. Presented by IC Industries and The Art Institute of Chicago. (Published by IC Industries, Inc., and The Art Institute of Chicago), Author: Zukowsky, John; Glassman, Paul

Description: The Frank Lloyd Wright 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio Calendar. IC Industries and The Art Institute of Chicago presents this calendar featuring illustrations from the 1910 Frank Lloyd Wright Wasmuth Portfolio. The portfolio consists of one hundred original lithographs documenting Wright’s architectural designs from 1891-1909. This historic document is part of the extensive collection of architectural materials owned by the Art Institute of Chicago. IC Industries acquired the Wasmuth Portfolio for the Corporate art Collection in the summer of 1985. (From page 1.) A spiral bound week by week 1986 desk calendar, inserted into a paper covered hard cover case. Includes 31 illustration from the Wasmuth Portfolio, and an earlier Wright drawing while he worked for Adler and Sullivan. Two Copies. (First Edition), Size: 11.5 x 8.3, Pages: Pp 88

http://www.steinerag.com/flw/Books/a0087.htm

ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

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Frank Lloyd Wright (American, 1867–1959), Bank and Office Building for the City National Bank in Mason City, Iowa (Tafel IL Bank-und Bureaugebäude für die City, National Bank in Mason City, Iowa), plate 49 from the portfolio Ausgeführte Bauten und Entwürfe von Frank Lloyd Wright, 1910, Lithograph, sheet: 15 15/16 × 25 3/8 in. (40.48 × 64.45 cm), Purchase, with funds from the Edward U. Demmer Foundation M2014.54.55b, Photo credit: John R. Glembin, © Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

http://collection.mam.org/details.php?id=34924

Frank Lloyd Wright: Buildings for the Prairie
July 28–October 15, 2017
Bradley Family Gallery

Frank Lloyd Wright: Buildings for the PrairieIn celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright’s 150th birthday, the Milwaukee Art Museum presents Frank Lloyd Wright: Buildings for the Prairie featuring a selection of the famed architect’s designs from the Wasmuth Portfolio and examples of his furniture, stained glass and textiles. Named for its German publisher, the Wasmuth Portfolio is considered the most significant collection of Wright’s early work, showcasing the breadth and beauty of his output. The portfolio lends insight into the master’s early development and affords the opportunity to see the evolution of the Prairie School of architecture.

Although highly regarded as one of the best American architects of his generation, by 1909 Wright had reached a professional impasse. Spurred by his inability to gain commercial commissions and his scandalous affair with a former client, Wright left for Italy and Germany in 1910. In Florence, Wright found inspiration in his architectural surroundings, and there he worked on illustrations and text for a monograph on his work to be published by the Berlin firm of Ernst Wasmuth. The Wasmuth Portfolio introduced the architect’s work to his European contemporaries and is largely credited with profoundly influencing the direction of 20th-century architecture. Collectors and museums alike prize the portfolio for its historic importance and for the beauty of the images.

https://mam.org/exhibitions/details/Frank.php

MILWAUKEE ART MUSEUM

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Cottage for Mrs. Gale in the Suburb of Oak Park, Illinois (Landhaus für Frau Gale im Vorort Oak Park, Illinois), ARCHITECT: Frank Lloyd Wright (American, 1867 - 1959), DATE: 1910–1911, DEPARTMENT: Decorative Arts And Design, DIMENSIONS: Sheet dimensions: 25 1/4 × 15 5/8 in. (64.14 × 39.69 cm), MEDIUM: Lithograph, LOCATION: Currently Not On View, CREDIT LINE: Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Robert O. Lane Estate in memory of Roy E. Lane, A.I.A., ACCESSION NUMBER: 2000.372.45

https://www.dma.org/collection/artwork/decorative-arts-and-design/cottage-mrs-gale-suburb-oak-park-illinois-landhaus-f-r

Dallas Museum of Art Debuts New European Art Galleries Reconfigured and Redesigned to Provide More Intimate Viewing Experiences

On View January 30-July 11. Exhibition Complements Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement Opening February 13

On January 30, the Dallas Museum of Art presents an exhibition of sixteen Frank Lloyd Wright prints from a rare example of the Wasmuth portfolio, first published in 1910 and now widely recognized as one of the most important architectural publications of the 20th century. The portfolio includes ground plans, sections, perspective views, and interior details of Wright’s work to that date. The designs for residences, churches, and commercial buildings, skillfully presented in amazing detail, are drawn from the Museum’s collections.

https://www.dma.org/press-release/dallas-museum-art-debuts-new-european-art-galleries-reconfigured-and-redesigned

DALLAS MUSEUM OF ART

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Perspective, plan, and detail elevation of the city dwelling for Isidore Heller, Chicago, Illinois, Architect: Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (American, Richland Center, Wisconsin 1867–1959 Phoenix, Arizona), Publisher: Ernst Wasmuth (Berlin), Published in: Berlin, Date: 1910, Medium: Lithographic print with dark grey ink, Dimensions: sheet: 25 1/4 x 17 5/8 in. (64.1 x 44.8 cm), Classification: Prints, Credit Line: Purchase, Emily Crane Chadbourne Bequest, 1972, Accession Number: 1972.607.49(4), Rights and Reproduction:© 2017 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Photo: http://metmuseum.org/pubs/bulletins/1/pdf/3258755.pdf.bannered.pdf

Text:http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/381644?sortBy=Relevance&deptids=9&ft=FRANK+LLOYD+WRIGHT+LITHOGRAPHIC+PRINTS&offset=0&rpp=100&pos=30

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

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The Robie House in Chicago

Photo: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sc-johnson-kicks-off-tour-season-with-exclusive-access-to-frank-lloyd-wrights-rare-world-renowned-wasmuth-portfolio-300074718.html

The Wasmuth Portfolio- Hailed by contemporary architectural scholars as one of the most important publications of the early modern architecture movement, visitors will have the unprecedented opportunity to see Wright’s rare Wasmuth Portfolio up close.

Following a tumultuous time in Wright’s life filled with creative and personal struggles - he was broke and embroiled in a scandal over his estranged marriage and relationship with a client’s wife - he retreated to Europe where he focused on the creation of the Portfolio and worked with the notable architectural publisher Ernst Wasmuth beginning in 1909. The completed collection of 100 commercial and residential lithograph prints provides a one-of-a-kind view into Wright’s most famous works, including the Larkin Administration Building in Buffalo, N.Y.; the Robie House in Chicago; and Unity Temple in Oak Park, Ill.

The Portfolio signaled a turning point in his career as it established him as one of the most prominent American architects of the 20th century and influenced his style for decades, including his work seen on SC Johnson’s campus. Starting in May, nearly 50 of the lithographs will be on display in The SC Johnson Gallery.

http://www.scjohnson.com/en/press-room/press-releases/04-30-2015/SC-Johnson-Kicks-Off-Tour-Season-With-Exclusive-Access-to-Frank-Lloyd-Wright-Wasmuth-Portfolio.aspx

S.C. JOHNSON

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Wright, Frank Lloyd. Ausgeführte Bauten und Entwürfe von Frank Lloyd Wright. Berlin (Ernst Wasmuth), [1910].

2 portfolios 30, (2)pp., 100 lithographs on 100 full-page plates (of which 28 printed on tissue, as overlays to plates 1-64). All contents loose, as issued. Folio. 640 x 400 mm. Publisher's original cloth-backed board portfolios, ties. Tissue overlay no. 58 restored, portfolios with very slight scratches, one slightly stained at upper corner). A very fine set.

First edition of this magnificent and monumental work, a legendary rarity described by Hitchcock as “practically unobtainable and lacking even in many large libraries.” Apart from its fragility, and from the widespread practice of breaking up copies for individual plates, most of the sets reserved for America were damaged or destroyed in a fire at Wright’s home, Taliesin.

“A total of one hundred plates prepared from drawings made at Wright’s Oak Park studio illustrate seventy buildings and projects between 1893 and 1909. Seventy-two of the plates are numbered I-LXIV and include eight plates with a or b numbers. The remaining twenty-eight are tissue overlays printed with drawings related to the plates to which they are attached. The plates include perspective views, plans, sections, and interior and exterior details. The illustrations are printed variously in brown, gray, gold and white inks on gray and white papers and tissue. Each plate and tissue is embossed with the stamp of Frank Lloyd Wright. Some of the drawings are by Wright; others are the work of his assistants. According to conversations with Lloyd Wright, the architect’s son, the drawings were taken to Fiesole, Italy, where they were traced in their original size and scale during the years 1909-1910 by a team of draftsmen including Lloyd Wright and Taylor Wooley working under Frank Lloyd Wright’s supervision. The tracings were then photographically reduced or enlarged to a uniform size and the images transferred to lithographic stones for printing” (Sweeney).

https://library.osu.edu/documents/rarebooks/AlbrechtLibrary/AlbrechtLibraryNewAcq2014.html

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY

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PUBLIC DOMAIN WORK HAS NO COPYRIGHT

Despite the 1910 Wasmuth Portfolio and other non-disclosed reproductions [falsely attributed to Frank Lloyd Wright as original works of visual art i.e, lithographs] being in the public domain, the Museum of Modern Art [MOMA], Milwaukee Art Museum [MAM], and others have applied a copyright "Copyright © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York" to photographs of public domain work posted on their websites. The following court case is applicable:

"Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999), was a decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which ruled that exact photographic copies of public domain of images could not be protected by copyright in the United States because the copies lack originality.”[FN 34]

In other words, a slavish reproduction of a public domain work has no inherent copyright.

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Perspective of model A221), 1915–1917, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 1/8 x 8 5/8" (28.3 x 21.9 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira, Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.2, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/248?locale=en
NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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LAW, ETHICS AND THE VISUAL ARTS

On page 816-817 of Kluwer Law International’s published 1998 Law, Ethics and the Visual Arts, Third Edition by John Henry Merryman and Albert E. Elsen, they wrote about “Counterfeit Art.” Under the subtitle “Truth,” the authors wrote: “The most serious harm that good counterfeits do is to confuse and misdirect the search for valid learning. The counterfeit objects falsiﬁes history and misdirects inquiry.”[FN 35]

Additionally, under the subtitle “Resource Allocation,” the authors wrote: “Museum and art historical resources are always limited. What gets acquired, displayed, conserved and studied is the result of a continuous process of triage, in which some objects can be favoured only at the expenses of others. Counterfeit objects distort the process.”[FN 36]

Furthermore, under the subtitle “Fraud,” the authors wrote: “There remains the most obvious harm of all: counterfeit cultural objects are instruments of fraud. Most are created in order to deceive and defraud, but even “innocent” counterfeits can, and often will, be so used. The same considerations of justice and social order that make deliberate fraud of other kinds criminal apply equally to fraud through the medium of counterfeit art…”[FN 37]

Frank Lloyd Wright, American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Exterior perspective), 1915-17, Medium: Lithograph, Dimensions: 11 x 8 1/2" (27.9 x 21.6 cm), Credit: Gift of David Rockefeller, Jr. Fund, Ira Howard Levy Fund, and Jeffrey P. Klein Purchase Fund, Object number: 155.1993.10, Copyright: © 2017 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Department: Architecture and Design
https://www.moma.org/collection/works/84849?locale=en

NON-DISCLOSED REPRODUCTION

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CONCLUSION
Finally, would it be "a knowing misrepresentation of the truth or concealment of a material fact to induce another to act to his or her detriment"[FN 38] which is one legal definition of fraud by the Museum of Modern Art [MOMA], if it leads the public to believe and act on the belief, for monetary consideration including but not limited to: adult admission fees of $25[FN 39], city-state-federal grants, and corporate sponsorship,[FN 40] that they are viewing Frank Lloyd Wright lithographs in one of their exhibitions when in fact they are not?

FOOTNOTES:

2. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/242?locale=en

"Publication excerpt from Matilda McQuaid, ed., Envisioning Architecture: Drawings from The Museum of Modern Art, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 2002, pp. 44-45"

3.https://books.google.com/books?id=SyzU6DG0TloC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=%22frank+lloyd+wright%22+%22Richards+Company%22+and+%22lithograph%22&source=bl&ots=n6OlJGV35O&sig=79a4YPOligfvsPLWdbzzpS4FmUY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiB0Krk6LbUAhVBKCYKHXPBBSMQ6AEIXjAK#v=onepage&q=richards&f=false

Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (October 12, 2006)

ISBN-10: 1568985835

ISBN-13: 978-1568985831

4. Ibid

5. Ibid

6.Works of Art, Collector's Pieces, Antiques, and Other Cultural Property

icp061.pdf

http://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/works-art-collectors-pieces-antiques-and-other-cultural-property

7. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1660?locale=en

8. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/84844?locale=en

9. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1660?locale=en

10. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html106a

11.http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/LAWSSEAF.cgi?QUERYTYPE=LAWS+&QUERYDATA=$$ACA15.01$$@TXACA015.01+&LIST=LAW+&BROWSER=BROWSER+&TOKEN=27067392+&TARGET=VIEW

12. https://aamd.org/our-members/members

13. Published in 2001 by the Association of Art Museum Directors, 41 East 65th Street, New York, New York 10021, ISBN 1-880974-02-9

14. page 27, Wright on Exhibit: Frank Lloyd Wright's Architectural Exhibitions By Kathryn Smith

15.http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_info/exhibit_docs/exhibits_2007/wright_wasmuth_essay.html

16. ISBN 0-7649-2017-0

17. ISBN 0-7649-2017-0

18. Works of Art, Collector's Pieces, Antiques, and Other Cultural Property

icp061.pdf

http://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/works-art-collectors-pieces-antiques-and-other-cultural-property

19. Viking Adult; 5 Rev Upd edition (May 31, 1991), ISBN-10: 0670837016, ISBN-13: 978-0670837014 [This fifth edition has been prepared by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art.]

https://books.google.com/books?id=fe6mQgAACAAJ&dq=1991+FIFTH+EDITION+OF+ARTIST%27S+HANDBOOK+BY+Ralph+Mayer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_zuQVLr-PMerggTE-IOQCw&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAA

20.http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_info/exhibit_docs/exhibits_2007/wright_wasmuth_essay.html

21. http://www.bauarchitecture.com/research.redsquare.shtml

22. Viking Adult; 5 Rev Upd edition (May 31, 1991), ISBN-10: 0670837016, ISBN-13: 978-0670837014 [This fifth edition has been prepared by Steven Sheehan, Director of the Ralph Mayer Center, Yale University School of Art.]

23. http://www.bauarchitecture.com/research.redsquare.shtml

24.http://www.architechgallery.com/arch_info/exhibit_docs/exhibits_2007/wright_wasmuth_essay.html

25. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#106a

26. http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/Graphic_Services/pdf/trade.pdf

27. http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#103

28. ASIN: B001GIOFKQ

29. https://www.moma.org/about/

30. https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1660?locale=en

31. Ibid

34. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridgeman_Art_Library_v._Corel_Corp.

35 © Kluwer Law International 1998, ISBN: 90-411-0697-9

36. Ibid

39. https://www.moma.org/tickets/select

Adults $25, Seniors [65 and over with ID] $18, Students [Full-time with ID] $14

40. https://www.moma.org/support/corporate/

MOMA PRINCIPALS:

Link: http://press.moma.org/2016/06/frank-lloyd-wright-150/

Organized by Barry Bergdoll, Curator, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University; with Jennifer Gray, Project Research Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.

Link: https://www.moma.org/about/senior-staff/

Glenn D. Lowry

Director
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019

Quentin Bajac
The Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Chief Curator for Photography

Ramona Bronkar Bannayan
Senior Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Collections

Klaus Biesenbach
Director MOMA PS1, and Chief Curator at Large, MOMA

Todd Bishop
Senior Deputy Director of External Affairs

Christophe Cherix
The Robert Lehman Foundation Chief Curator of Drawings and Prints

Stuart Comer
Chief Curator of media and Performance Art

James Gara
Chief Operating Officer and Assistant Treasurer

Kathy Halbreich
Associate Director and Laurenz Foundation Curator

Kate Lewis
The Agnes Gund Chief Conservator

Peter Reed
Senior Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs

Rajendra Roy
The Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film

Martino Stierli
The Philip Johnson Chief Curator of Architecture and Design

Ann Temkin
The Marie-Josie and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture

Wendy Woon
The Edward John Noble Foundation Deptury Director for Education

MOMA's COLLECTION CHECKLIST:

LINK: https://www.moma.org/search?query=FRANK+LLOYD+WRIGHT+LITHOGRAPHS

1. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

2. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

3. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

4. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

5. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

6. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

7. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

8. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

9. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

10. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

11. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

12. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

13. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

14. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

15. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

16. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

17. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

18. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

19. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

20. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

21. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

22. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

23. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

24. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

25. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

26. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

27. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

28. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

29. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

30. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

31. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

32. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

33. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

34. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

... Medium Lithograph Dimensions 11 x 8 1/2 ... full-page advertisement for Frank Lloyd Wright's new "System ... the style of Wright's lithographs evinces his ...

35. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

36. Frank Lloyd Wright. American System-Built Houses for The ...

Gary Arseneau

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Museum of Modern Art's non-disclosed FAKES falsely attributed as Frank Lloyd Wright lithographs

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