Frank Lloyd Wright and Theosophy
John Algeo – USA
Although the architect Frank Lloyd Wright was not a member of the Theosophical Society (as far as the records indicate), he was strongly influenced by the wider range of modern theosophical insight, according to a recent article in Theosophical History 15.2 (April 2011, published in September): 5-24. That article is “The Red Square: Frank Lloyd Wright, Theosophy, and Modern Conceptions of Space,” by Eugenia Victoria Ellis. According to comments by the editor of Theosophical History, James A. Santucci, this article “offers revelatory insights in understanding . . . the vision of the apparently non-Theosophist and architect Frank Lloyd Wright . . . [whose] notion of interiority . . . space and light, rather than form, guided from ‘within outwards’ [correlates with HPB’s SD (1:274) statement:] ‘The Universe is worked and guided from within outwards.’ . . . And so we find Wright’s vision conforming to that of Blavatsky’s perspective. . . . The larger theme of Dr. Ellis’s article is that of the esoteric or occult milieu permeating the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”
Frank Lloyd Wright
Incidentally, the “Red Square” of the article’s title is not an allusion to Moscow, but a reference to a symbol Wright used to sign his early architectural drawings: “a red square circumscribing an encircled cross,” which combines three geometric forms (square, circle, cross) prominent in esoteric and Theosophical symbolism. This article is a demonstration of the prevalence of Theosophical thought, especially among artists, in earlier times and of its generally overlooked influence on one of the major architects of recent times.
Although not mentioned in this article, another architect similarly influenced but also formally connected with the Theosophical Society was Claude Bragdon, who like Wright was a student of Louis Sullivan, who has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism." Although Bragdon wrote directly on architecture, for example in The Frozen Fountain; Being Essays on Architecture and the Art of Design in Space (1932), he also wrote on many other subjects, including Theosophy, for example in Episodes from an Unwritten History (1910) and The Beautiful Necessity: Seven Essays on Theosophy and Architecture (1910). Bragdon also designed the gateway leading to the Wheaton headquarters of the Theosophical Society in America. Wright’s buildings are works of art, justly valued by history; but Bragdon’s domestic buildings are far more livable, as Bragdon was responsive to how people use architectural space, whereas Wright tended to be concerned solely with the abstract artistry of space. As this article expertly shows, however, Wright’s work was deeply influenced by Theosophy.
Betty Bland calls our attention to the fact that a new movie, “The Help,” includes a performance by Theosophist Dana Ivey, in the role of Gracie Higginbotham. Dana, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, comes from a Theosophical family. She is among the few actresses (the others including Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris) who have received five or more Tony nominations. She premiered Driving Miss Daisy in New York, playing the title role. In 2011, she appeared as Miss Prism in the Broadway production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Her earlier Broadway productions include Sunday in the Park with George, Major Barbara, Henry IV, and The Rivals. Her films include roles in The Color Purple, Sabrina, The Addams Family, and The Adventures of Huck Finn. She has received many awards and nominations for her acting roles on the stage, in films, and on TV. She has also recorded Light on the Path and At the Feet of the Master for the Theosophical Society in America.
