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Its nearly impossible to separate Marion Mahonys story from that of her husband, Walter Burley Griffin, and her earliest collaborator and one-time friend, Frank Lloyd Wright. But it wasnt the shy architect she married or the boisterous one she once worked for that defined her, but rather the work she did alongside them at a time when women were actively dissuaded from entering such spaces. She was really an anomaly for her time, says Alice Friedman, an architectural and design historian, professor at Wellesley, and author of the forthcoming book Queer Moderns: Max Ewing's Jazz Age New York.Mahony, sometimes referred to by her married name, Mahony Griffin, was a trailblazing architect, mesmerizing artist, and progressive urban planner. Her career began in Wrights Oak Park studio in the late 19th century and would take her as far as India and Australia, where she worked with her husband throughout the 20s and 30s. But for much of history, she was seen, at best, as a supporting player in the lives of the two men she worked with or, at worst, wholly forgotten.I think people are much more comfortable telling a story in which theres a single hero, Friedman adds. That narrative is certainly true for Wright, and its one he participates in. But like the editors and publicists behind a book, or the technical designers and seamstresses behind a fashion collection, it takes a collective to bring a novel or a spring line to life. A building is no different, and in Wrights early career, perhaps no one had such an impact on his work as Mahony.The early years: A childhood defined by freethinking women and unspoiled natureMahony was born in Chicago in 1871, the second of five children to Clara Hamilton (ne Perkins) and Jeremiah Mahony. Just six months after her birth, the Great Chicago Fire would force the family to move out of the city center to Lakeside, a suburb now known as Hubbard Woods, where Mahoney spent her formative years. Described as a shy girl with tomboyish ways and a rebellious spirit, she came of age exploring unspoiled prairie land, marshes, and the lake shore. Following her fathers death in 1882, she was largely raised by three women: her mother, aunt, and grandmother.Mahony was born a few months before the Great Chicago Fire, which would force her family to move out of the city center.Photo: Getty Images[They] instilled upon her this belief that she could do anything she wanted when she grew up, which was pretty unusual at that time, explains Debora Wood, a print and drawing curator and editor of Marion Mahony Griffin: Drawing the Form of Life. As the primary breadwinner, Mahonys mother became a principal at a prominent Chicago school and surrounded herself with activists, reformers, and suffragists, including Mary Hawes Wilmarth, a peace activist and Hull House trustee, and Ella Flagg Young, an education reformer. By this time, the family had moved back to Chicago, offering Mahony unparalleled access to a phoenix city, one rebuilt from ashes in a new, streamlined style born from a group of architects that came to be known as the Chicago School. She was particularly inspired by Louis Sullivan, who played a large role in reshaping her hometown.Its not hard to find similarities between Mahonys upbringing in Illinois and Wrights in Wisconsin. They had the same family structure (matriarchal), the same religious community (Unitarian), the same classroom (the midwest landscape). Wright even worked in Sullivans office between 1888 and 1893, declaring his early mentor one of only three influences he admitted to during his life. Raised in the same world of ideas, its likely the pair shared something of a common language when they met in 1895.Mahonys cousin, Dwight Perkins, had pursued a degree in architecture, and she very much wanted to follow in the same footsteps, Wood explains. When she graduated from high school, she applied to MIT and passed the entrance exams into their architecture program.Today, graduating from MIT would be an impressive feat, one proud parents might tell their friends around the dinner table. But for Mahony in 1894, it was nothing short of a Herculean effort. Not welcome in the field is probably too gentle of a way to put, Friedman says. At that time, there was a great deal of effort to actively discourage women from entering the profession. It makes it all the more satisfying that it was her female community that ensured she succeeded. In fact, it was the Wilmarths who financially supported Mahonys education.Soon after graduating from the prestigious program, only the second woman to have done so, she moved back to her hometown, where Perkins had a burgeoning architectural practice. In 1894, Mahony began working for her cousin as a draftsman.Life at Steinway Hall, where radical ideas about architecture shaped a new American styleRising 11 stories, Steinway Halls immediate verticalitycreated most notably through three columns of symmetrical windowsshould be the first clue that the building is not a Prairie school design. Indeed, one of the most defining characteristics of Prairie architecture is its emphasis on the horizontal.Steinway Hall, now demolished, was 11 stories tall and located in downtown Chicago.However, the Italian renaissance building is among the most important in the history of the Prairie school, for its largely where the distinctly American style was born. Commissioned by the New Temple Music Building Company, the lower floor is to be occupied by the music firm and the upper floors contain more than 100 offices, reads an 1895 article in the Chicago Eagle about the new construction.It was in these upper levels where a group of young architects worked, all full of grandiose ideas about a new American architecture. Perkins, who had designed the building, had an office there, as did Robert Spencer, Lawrence Buck, Myron Hunt, and, of course, Frank Lloyd Wright.Its here that Mahony and Wright began their professional relationship, introduced to each other through Perkins. He too was a very new, young, avant-garde architect and had no problem hiring a woman to work in his office, Wood says. I think there was a lot of admiration between the two of them. Wright could see her talent, and his philosophies about nature and architecture matched her own.Mahony worked on buildings, windows, furniture, and more at Wrights firm, and if modern titles were to be applied, historians agree that she likely would have been the chief designer. Later, in 1898, she became the first licensed female architect in Illinois. According to accounts by the other architects, she could stand up to Wright and engage in a very fluid and dynamic conversation. They said the days that both Marion and Wright were in the office were really entertaining, Wood adds.But its this kind of lively discussion that often extended beyond just one firm. Its clear that Steinway Hall was a center of intellectual activity, explains Stuart Cohen, an architect and author of Frank L. Wright and the Architects of Steinway Hall. It could be seen as an extension of the Chicago Architectural Club, and it was definitely a boys club.A group of young designers including Perkins, Hunt, and Wright would meet regularly to discuss the history and future of architecture and the arts. They called themselves the 18 (presumably for 18 members) and, according to PBS, were guided by Sullivans belief that designs should be free from historical precedents. Much of these conversations were the root of what would develop into the Prairie style. People were in and out of each others offices, and everybody took an interest in and knew what projects everybody else was working on, Cohen says. And I suspect that there was quite a lot of direct and indirect collaboration.As Cohen explains, most of the architects who worked out of Steinway Hall didnt leave many records about what exactly happened within the downtown building. With the absence of written descriptions of who did what, part of what inspired me to work on this book was comparing the projects that came out of Steinway to get an idea of what the idea sharing might have been like, he says. In doing so, he was able to piece together a number of instances that showcase a spirit of collaboration among all the architects.The Hunt House in LaGrange, IllinoisPhoto: Barry Driggs/Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust/Getty ImagesTechnically, all projects from Wrights firm are credited to him. Some of the other architects working in the office at the time said that they would even be reprimanded if they tried to say something was someone elses design, Wood explains. But given the trails that historians have been able to follow, its clear that the collaborative energy that spread more broadly throughout Steinway Hall likely influenced individual offices too. In Wrights Hunt House, there is a continuous window box with plantings that drip and soften the edge of balcony railing, Cohen says. I suspect, as do a lot of people, that it was Marion behind that.Friedman theorizes that Mahony may have played a large role in attracting and working with clients, specifically progressive female ones. She wrote about this in a chapter of the 2011 book Marion Mahony Rediscovered, edited by David Van Zanten. These female clients were my interest, people like Susan Lawrence Dana and Queene Coonley, Friedman says. I think they might have felt that she was a kindred spirit.Many of these women were interested in finding new ways to use domestic space. Dana for example, wanted not just a house, but a school, a childrens library, and community theater as part of the home. Its something that likely attracted her to Wrightafter Steinway Hall, he built a studio as part of his home in Oak Park, a rarity for the timebut also Mahony. Indeed, her thesis at MIT was titled The House and Studios of a Painter and explored a similar home-work typology. There are notations in the office histories about her going to Springfield [to the Dana House site] as the representative of the studio, Friedman says.The Dana-Thomas House in Springfield, IllinoisPhoto: Dietmar Rauscher/Getty IMagesIn the Dana House (known as the Dana-Thomas House), there is a fountain by Richard Boch that serves to separate the domestic areas from the community space. There is evidence that Marion collaborated with Boch on the fountain, Friedman adds. There is evidence that she worked on the light fixtures in the home. Together, it creates the image of not just a staff member supervising construction and reporting back, but a very active participant in the homes design and presentation.I dont have proof of this, but I can just imagine these two women having conversations about education reform, womens rights, the arts, and civic dutyall things both Dana and Mahony were interested in, Friedman adds. I wouldve loved to have been a fly on the wall.Branding the Prairie style with a sharp artistic eyeWhere Mahonys impact is not debated was in the artistry of her architectural drawings and renderings. Her graphic style was the first to include perspective, plan, and section on a single paper, and was immeasurably influential in the construction and commission of projects. In 1905, she created a watercolor for Wright for the Unity Temple, which had burned down. The congregation asked Wright for proposals, and her art helped sell the project, Wood says.Until 1909, she made several renderings for Wright, some of which depicted unbuilt projects and some finished ones. A very common characteristic of her work is a flattening of spaces and forms, explains Wood. She is particularly celebrated for her use of line and the application of nature to frame the structures. Additionally, there is clear inspiration from Japanese prints, which both she and Wright admired.I couldnt believe how gorgeous the drawings on silk were, they were like precious objects, Friedman remembers of her time studying Mahonys prints while working on Marion Mahony Rediscovered.A rendering of the K.C. DeRhodes House is often seen as the pinnacle of her work with Wright. A sparrow in the bottom left corner of the drawing is of particular note, which Wood says was likely inspired by the Japanese prints in Wrights collection. Many of them depict birds, tree branches, and flowers, and Ive looked through hundreds of the prints from his collection and have not found one that is an exact replica of that bird. This drawing in particular is so beautiful because she is clearly influenced by these Japanese prints, but she makes the bird and flower subject completely her own, Wood says.Hidden among the leaves on the lower left corner is also Mahonys monogram, MLM. The fact that it has any signature or monogram is pretty radical, Wood adds. Shes taking credit for her contributions, and thats big for the time. Mahonys work not only helped Wright gain commissions, but it more broadly publicized the aesthetics of the Prairie style. She illustrated approximately half of Wrights Wasmuth portfolio, which was published in 1911, and helped establish him as an international architectural superstar.A betrayal fractures the relationship for goodWright and Mahonys relationship expanded beyond the professional. The pair could be seen as friends, and Mahony was particularly close with Wrights first wife, Catherine. In an 1895 photo credited to Wright, Mahony and Catherine are captured together in an informal pose, suggesting a notable familiarity between the two. So when Wright fled to Europe in 1909 and left Catherine for Mamah Borthwick Cheney, a client and neighbor, it undoubtedly fractured his relationship with Mahony as well.Marion Mahony and Catherine Wright pose for a photo in the late 19th century.Photo: Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust/Getty ImagesWhile he was in Europe, Wright asked Mahony to take over the studio, but she declined. Another member of the practice, Hermann V. von Holst, ultimately managed commissions, who then once again approached Mahony for her help. This time, she agreed on a definite arrangement that I should have control of the designing, Mahony wrote in her memoir, The Magic of America. That suited himfor that period, I had great fun designing.During this time, she completed a number of Wrights commissions, including the Amberg House in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the Robert Mueller House in Decatur, Illinois; and the Adolph Mueller House also in Decatur. But her relationship remained strained with Wright. When the absent architect didnt bother to answer anything that was sent over to him, the relations were broken, she wrote in her memoir. Ironically, Wright spent much of his time in Europe working on the Wasmuth portfolio.Feeling betrayed, Mahony turned her attention towards championing a new architectural voice, a man who she had met in Wrights office and would later marry, Walter Burley Griffin. She convinced him to submit a proposal in 1911 to an international competition to design Canberra, the new capital of Australia. She illustrated the project in incredible detail, especially for a person who had never been to the country before. A big reason I believe that they won that competition was Marion Mahonys paintings, Cohen adds. In 1914, the couple relocated to Australia and together had a prosperous career. My wife is the genius, I am only the businessman, Burley said about Mahony and Canberra in 1913. When Wright came back from Europe in 1911, he was able to reinvent himself, rethink his practice, and create some of the most important architecture of the 20th century.Frank Lloyd Wrights Oak Park Home and Studio included both a residential and professional wing.littlenyNow working on different sides of the world, Mahonys and Wrights later years resemble something like Newtons Third Law: equal and opposite. Mahony and Griffin pioneered the knitlock construction method in Australia, which is constructed from interlocking concrete vertebrae. Wright fashioned his textile block system, which uses concrete blocks reinforced by steel rods. Mahony and Griffin designed and developed Castlecrag, a suburb of Sydney that emphasizes living with nature and strong community involvement. Though it was never built, Wright never stopped thinking about Broadacre City, his vision for a decentralized, democratic community embedded in nature. Both parties celebrated the arts outside of architecture: Mahoney designed an outdoor theater at Castlecrag and regularly directed and produced plays; Wright designed a theater at Taliesin and would often host public performances and movies.The pair harbored resentment towards each other for much of the rest of their lives. Though she never called him by name in her memoir, she refers to a cancer sore among the Prairie group architects who originated very little but spent most of his time claiming everything and swiping everything. Wright, for his part, called Mahony and Griffin imitators, dismissing their talents.But perhaps both parties inability to move past apathy shows a lingering, grudging respect. After all, they were each a foundation in the others lives. There are studies of the studio culture at Oak Park that indicate that Marion was the person who challenged Wright about his ideas, who had intellectual conversations with him about architecture, Cohen says. She played a really key role in his development, and consequently, the development of the Prairie school.
