In a 1922 letter to H.P. Berlage, Wright confided that the Wendingen special on him had reached him by chance, and that he was flattered and heartened by the interest the Dutch had taken in him. Further, he detected in Berlage and his fellow Amsterdam School adherents the necessary “critical spirit” to make great and meaningful architecture. “We have a common cause,” he concluded.
However, as much as Wright admired Berlage and his cohorts, the Dutch were that much more enthusiastic about Wright. It is no wonder, then, that Wendingen went to such lengths to highlight the American architect. While there were other issues of the magazine dedicated to specific artists, there was nothing compared to the seven-issue spread devoted to Wright. The contributions also demonstrated the international interest in Wright, with words from his mentor Louis Sullivan as well as the French R. Mallet Stevens and the German Erich Mendelsohn.
Wright has become such a staple in the narrative of 20th century architecture it is difficult to think of him as ever being an outsider. But in the early 1900s, just as the avant-garde in Europe was beginning to take an interest in him, his popularity in America was at a low point (due in no small part to a scandalous extramarital affair and subsequent abandonment of his family). The Dutch, perhaps unaware of this turmoil, attributed his lack of stateside popularity strictly to his radical designs. No matter the reasons, it is clear that the avant-garde set were willing and able to embrace Wright and his designs. The American Lewis Mumford, in his contribution to the Wright Wendingen series, dubbed Wright “our most distinguished outcast,” expressing at once both his and the Amsterdam School’s dedication to the man himself, and their commitment to challenging the status quo.
- Wendingen vol. 6 no. 1, 1924, Architecture Related Sculpture.
- Wendingen vol. 5 no. 3, 1923, High Rises, featuring a model of Wright’s Call Press Building.
- Wendingen vol. 7 no. 5, 1925, Frank Lloyd Wright, Special Issue 3.