The art of Fallingwater

Pittsburgh merchant extraordinaire Edgar Kaufmann once declared that "no part of a dollar spent for beauty is ever wasted." Looking upon his onetime retreat home Fallingwater, located just outside the small hamlet of Mill Run, Pa., 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, it's difficult to argue against his statement.

But for all the breathtaking beauty of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous design, there is yet more beauty contained within and around the house, which often gets overlooked by most who tour this architectural marvel in awe: the original artworks that line its walls and dot its various balconies and walkways.

More than 50 pieces in all, they include drawings, paintings and sculpture by such esteemed artists of the 20th century as Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Jean Arp and Jacques Lipchitz, to name only a few, as well as important Audubon prints and Japanese woodblock prints from the 19th century. Even if the house weren't so magnificent, it would be worth the tour just to see all of the art.

Although many of the pieces were initially acquired by Liliane and Edgar Kaufmann Sr., such as the Audubon prints -- four in all that once hung in the Kaufmanns' first cottage that preceded Fallingwater -- it was Edgar Kaufmann Jr. who continued to add to the collection and refine it until his death in 1989 at the age of 79.

The younger Kaufmann spent much of his adult life living in Manhattan, where he initially worked with the Museum of Modern Art as a curator in the Department of Industrial Design and later at Columbia University, where he was an adjunct professor of architecture and art history.

However, after his parents died -- Liliane in 1952 and Edgar Sr. in 1955 -- he used Fallingwater as a weekend retreat of his own until 1963, when he entrusted the house and several hundred acres of land surrounding it to Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

But even after, he still would visit often, and occasionally bring pieces of art and decorative-arts objects he had purchased for Fallingwater in order to "keep (the interior) looking fresh," says Lynda Waggoner, vice president and director of Fallingwater.

"He called the art at Fallingwater 'accoutrements to fine living,'" Waggoner says, "and he assembled the collection because he loved art."

This love of art is noticeable throughout both the main house and the guesthouse behind it, where visitors will find the works tastefully arranged among numerous indigenous crafts and decorative-arts objects that fill them, such as American-Indian baskets and pottery as well as a variety of hand-woven textiles from Indonesia and South America, antique Bavarian wine casks, Tiffany lamps, vases and picture frames, Chinese tomb decorations, various Asian lacquerware and Pennsylvania pottery from New Geneva and Greensboro.

For example, in the dining area a nearly life-size painting dated 1929 of Edgar Kaufmann Sr. dressed in casual attire by Austrian artist and longtime family friend Victor Hammer hangs above an antique Balinese wedding chest. Nearby, a wall of shelves holds various pieces of pueblo and early studio pottery as well as a small ceramic model of a German stove and an Indian incense burner.

On the second floor, a guest bedroom holds a bold crayon portrait of a Mexican peasant by Diego Rivera that dates to the 1930s, while in the master suite a Picasso etching, "Le Fumeur" ("The Smoker") from 1964, and a 19th-century oil painting by Atkinson Grimshaw of a Scottish tarn hang opposite a Gothic wood sculpture of Madonna and Child (circa 1420).

In Kaufmann Sr.'s study can be found two busts by African-American sculptor Richmond Barthe that also date from the 1930s. One, a portrait bust of a young Kaufmann Jr., sits on a built-in corner desk unit of Wright's design.

Likewise, on the third floor a similar unit in Kaufmann Jr.'s study holds a small abstract sculpture (circa 1950s) made of white marble by German-French artist Jean Arp neatly arranged on the desktop below a watercolor of an abstracted landscape by American abstract artist and early cubist Lionel Feininger entitled "Church on the Cliff."

Beyond the study, visitors will find even more art crammed into a small alcove once used for sleeping by Kaufmann Jr. Included in the small space is a large print from Audubon's original elephant folio, which hangs above the bed, and a rather large, semi-abstract bronze sculpture by Lipchitz titled "The Harpist" (circa 1940s) that fills an entire corner niche.

Although the Kaufmanns themselves -- particularly Kaufmann Jr. -- placed much of the two-dimensional art, Wright sited most of the sculptures. Nearly all remain in their original locations today, such as another beautifully executed sculpture by Barthe of African-American actress Rose McClendon (circa 1930s) that is perfectly placed halfway up the canopied walkway that leads to the guesthouse.

In fact, Waggoner says, "When Wright would come back, he'd tweak where each was located," adding that one work in particular -- "Mother and Child" by Lipchitz, which is located on the corner edge of the plunge pool below the bridge near the entrance to the house -- was cause for contention.

"Wright turned this sculpture facing the building, almost like it was an homage to Fallingwater," Waggoner says about the piece, which features the mother figure reaching upward to the heavens. "Edgar (Sr.) turned it around again."

In the guesthouse, even more art abounds -- most notably a landscape painting of Jalapa, Mexico, dated 1877 that was painted by Jose Maria Velasco, and several Japanese woodblock prints by 19th-century masters Katsushika Hokusai and Ando Hiroshige.

"He loved Asian art," Waggoner says of Wright, who at one point in his long career turned art dealer and sold countless Japanese woodblock prints from his extensive collection.

That explains why outside the guesthouse, off to one corner of a terraced yard, the guesthouse pool has an abstract work by pioneering ceramic sculptor Peter Voulkos from 1958 that is neatly placed at one end like a stone perfectly punctuating a Zen garden.

"A lot of what one sees at Fallingwater was influenced by Wright's own taste," Waggoner says.

That goes a long way in explaining why art is so integral to this house, which is alone considered by many to be one of the most complete masterpieces of 20th-century art. Additional Information:

Details

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Fallingwater

When: Mid-March through Thanksgiving weekend. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Also open Labor Day, Columbus Day, Friday after Thanksgiving and weekends in December (weather permitting).

Admission: Weekdays: $12; $8 for ages 6 to 18; children's tour $6; grounds-only pass $6. Weekends: $15; $10 for ages 6 to 18; children's tour $6; grounds-only pass $6.

Where: State Route 381, between the villages of Mill Run and Ohiopyle

Details: (724) 329-8501 or www.paconserve.org

How to get there

From Pittsburgh area (approximate travel time 1.5 hours): Take Interstate 76 (Pennsylvania Turnpike) east to Exit 91 (Donegal). Turn left on Route 31 east, go 2 miles, turn right on Route 381 south. Follow Route 381 south for about 19 miles to Fallingwater.

'Twilight Tour and Dinner'

When: 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday

What: A special evening event beginning with wine and hors d'oeuvres on the bridge of Fallingwater followed by a leisurely self-guided tour of the house. At dusk, a candlelit, gourmet picnic dinner will be served in the meadow along Bear Run accompanied by the cool jazz of Trio Bravo.

Admission: $150 per person; $125 per person for Western Pennsylvania Conservancy members. Attendance is limited, and tickets must be purchased by Wednesday.

Details: (724) 329-8501, ext. 3