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CLARENCE SONDERN RESIDENCE (1939 - S.279) FLOOR PLAN MILLWORK DETAILS 1940 ORIGINAL DINING ROOM TABLE 1940 SONDERN/ADLER MILLWORK DETAILS 1948
KANSAS CITY STAR 1951 ADDITIONAL WRIGHT STUDIESDate: 1939
Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence, Kansas City, Missouri, Ground and Floor Plan, 1939 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Ground and floor plan for the Clarence W. Sondern Residence. FLLW Foundation #4014.03. The Sondern design is an “L” shaped Usonioan house. From the entry, the workspace, Living and dining rooms are to the left. Floor to ceiling doors opebn outward from the dining and living rooms. The bedroom wing, with two bedrooms is to the right. A balcony is off the end of the last bedroom. A detached shop is by the carport. Hand written lower left: “4014.03.” Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, Avery Library. See additional details...
Size: 10 x 8 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.103.0423Date: 1939
Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence, Kansas City, Missouri, Floor Plan, 1939 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Floor plan for the Clarence W. Sondern Residence, adapted by Douglas M. Steiner. The Sondern design is an “L” shaped Usonioan house. From the entry, the workspace, Living and dining rooms are to the left. Floor to ceiling doors opebn outward from the dining and living rooms. The bedroom wing, with two bedrooms is to the right. A balcony is off the end of the last bedroom. A detached shop is by the carport. Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, Avery Library. See additional details...
Size: 8 x 10 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.104.0423Date: 1940
Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence, Kansas City, Missouri, Millwork Details, Sheet 4, 1940 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Millwork plans for the Clarence W. Sondern Residence. Details include: Reflected Ceiling Plan, Master Bedroom Dressing Table, Library Table, Sectional Table, Detail of Perforated Board, Dining Chair, Hassocks, Upholstered Seats, Plan of Workspace, Linen Cabinet, Standard Bed, Bedside Tables, Typical Wardrobe. Text for Sectional Tables: 2'-0" x 2'-6” x 1" Plywood. Top Mitered All Around To 1 3/8" Edge. 2'-3 3/4" (Tall). Legs of table are staggered with a crosspiece between. “Sectional Table (4 Like This). Lower Text: “House for C. W, Sondern, Kansas City, Mo. Frank Lloyd Wright Architect. Revised April 15, 1940.” Hand written lower left: “4014.07.” Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, Avery Library. See additional details...
Size: 8 x 10 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.101.0423Date: Circa 1940 Title: 1) Clarence W. Sondern Residence during construction, circa 1939-40 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. John (Jack) Howe was the apprentice that supervised the construction. Viewed from the Southwest, the Living Room is on the left, Dining Room on the right. Brick work is completed, work has begun on the roof. Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Roanoke Protective Homes Association.
Size: 10 x 7 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.48.0915-1
Date: Circa 1940 Title: 2) Clarence W. Sondern Residence during construction, circa 1939-40 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. John (Jack) Howe was the apprentice that supervised the construction. Viewed from the East, construction workers are unloading the partitioned walls. The roof is complete. The carport is on the far left, the brick walls enclose the bathrooms, the bedrooms are to the right. Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Roanoke Protective Homes Association.
Size: 10 x 7 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.48.0915-2
Date: Circa 1940 Title: 3) Clarence W. Sondern Residence during construction, circa 1939-40 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. John (Jack) Howe was the apprentice that supervised the construction. Viewed from the Southeast, partitioned walls have been installed. The shop is on the far left, carport is on the left, Entrance and Baths in the center, the bedrooms are to the right. Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Roanoke Protective Homes Association.
Size: 10 x 7 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.48.0915-3
Date: Circa 1940 Title: 4) Clarence W. Sondern Residence during construction, circa 1939-40 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. John (Jack) Howe was the apprentice that supervised the construction. Viewed from the East, windows have not yet been installed. The carport is on the far left, the brick walls enclose the bathrooms, the bedrooms are to the right. Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Roanoke Protective Homes Association.
Size: 10 x 7 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.48.0915-4
Date: Circa 1940 Title: 5) Clarence W. Sondern Residence during construction, circa 1939-40 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. John (Jack) Howe was the apprentice that supervised the construction. Viewed from the South, windows and doors have not yet been installed. The Dining Room is through the opening in the center. The Workspace (Kitchen) is within the brick walls on the right. Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum and the Roanoke Protective Homes Association.
Size: 10 x 7 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.48.0915-5
Date: 1940 Title: 6) Clarence W. Sondern Residence Dining Room after completion, 1940 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. John (Jack) Howe was the apprentice that supervised the construction. Viewed from the North, the Dining Room table is built-in. The Workspace (Kitchen) is entered on the right side of the table. Floor to ceiling doors open outward. Wright designed the Dining Room chairs and table. See additional Wright designed chairs.
Size: 8 x 8 B&W photograph.
S#: 0531.48.0915-6
Date: 1940
Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence, Kansas City, Missouri, Two-Part Dining Room Table, 1940 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Two original sectional dining room tables for the Clarence W. Sondern Residence. Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. In 1944, Sondern moved and sold the home to Arnold Adler (1948 - S.307). In 1948, Adler commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design an addition that more than tripled the size of the house. Besides all the built-ins, Wright designed chairs, tables, hassocks and bed frames for the Sonderns. After the Adler addition was completed, an article was published on January 7, 1951, in the Kansas City Star about the housewarming at the Adler House. It included a photograph of the living and dining rooms, and it is interesting to note that none of the original Wright designed furniture was pictured in the space. Like other Dining Room tables from Wright’s Usonian period, the dining room table was modular in style. Sections could... Continue... See additional Wright designed furniture.
Size: Size: 26" tall x 24" wide x 30" deep (each).
S#: 0531.102.0223
See additional details...
See additional details...Date: 1949
Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence (1939 - S.279) / Arnold Adler Addition, Millwork Details, 1948, Kansas City, Missouri (1948 - S.307).
Description: Millwork plans for the Arnold Adler Residence Addition. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948. Details include plans for a new dining room table. Plans for the Adler revisions were dated 1949. On Sheet No. 8, Millwork, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a new dining room table for the Sondern/Adler House, a larger single pieced table measuring 8 feet long, the equivalent of four sections. Lower Text: “Additions to House for Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Adler, Kansas City, Missouri, Frank Lloyd Wright Architect.” Hand written lower left: “4907.12.” Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives, Avery Library. See additional details...
Size: 8 x 10 B&W photograph.
S#: 0798.40.0423Date: 1951
Title: Kansas City Star - January 7, 1951 (Section 3, Page 1 & 3
Author: Carlson, Conwell
Description: Sondern / Adler House, Kansas City, Missouri (1939/1948 - S.279/307) “The Guests Had Toasty Toes at this Housewarming. Kansas City's Only Home Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Is Heated by Pipes in Concrete Floors, Adding to Interest of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Adler's Visitors at 3600 Belleview...” An article about the Housewarming after the Adler Addition to the Sondern Residence. Highlights: The housewarming was for an addition to the house. The original house was designed for Mr. and Mrs. Clarence W. Sondern, who left the city in 1944 and sold to the alders...
It was agreed that the original living room should not be altered, should be kept as is for family use...
A mark of Wright’s ability is his creation of interesting patterns in the low, cypress ceilings, unpainted, which he prescribed for many rooms...
Lighting is indirect from coves niche into the flat roof, and from sunken electrical fixtures...
The floors under the whole house, original and added, are of concrete heated with pipes that run from a separate heating and laundry room. There is a terrace off the kitchen, for breakfasts. All doors and door jambs are plain, unornamented in rich wood for which the only finish is wax...
There were 37 glass doors, mostly in phalanxes, in the original house. So many more have been added in the big addition that Arnold Alder hasn't had time to count them yet. Furnishings for a Wright home, chairs and tables, have to be just right to seem not out of place: in fact, Wright prescribes his own brand of simple, bunk-like seats for his home designs See additional details...
Size: Two 8 x 10 B&W photographs.
Pages: Pp 1C, 3C
S#: 0857.61.0423Date: 1964
Title: Skylines and Midwest Architect - December-January 1964 (Digital Copy) (Published monthly by the Kansas City Chapter of The American Institute of Architects, A.I.A.)
Author: Hoffmann, Donald L.
Description: 1) “What Wright Wrought in Kansas City. ‘I'm not for going back to nature," said the shaggy man when he arrived in Kansas city. "I'm for catching up with it, co-operating with it."
It was odd that Frank Lloyd Wright was 70 years old before he got a commission in Kansas City. He had built hundreds of structures, spotted here and there from New York to Florida to California to Canada and Japan.
But all his life he had belonged to the Midwest. His work had been concentrated in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Kansas saw a fine example when the Allen home was built in Wichita during World War 1. But Missouri had nothing of Wright's...” Included in the article are the three Wright buildings in Kansas City, Sondern/Adler, Community Church and Bott. It also weaves into the article the relationship Wright had with the artist Thomas Hart Benton. Includes one portrait of Wright and Bentyon and seven photographs of the wright buildings.
2) “The Life The Robie House. The Frederick C. Robie house for 55 years has weathered Chicago soot and the neglect of its owners. Still it retains impact as a unique work of art. Prowl through it, pound on it, gaze at its elevations and ponder its plan; then realize how impossible it is to dissolve the mystery of this house.
What other project could conceivably bring together such diverse architectural talents as Walter Gropius, Kenzo Tange, Mies van der Rohe, Alden Dow, Philip Johnson, and Edward Durell Stone? All are members of the distinguished Committee for the Preservation of the Robie House. By the end of 1963 the committee had raised more than $40,000. The goal is $250,000...” Includes two photographs of the Robie House. See additional details...
Size: 7 x 10.75
Pages: 1) Pp 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27 2) 29, 31
S#: 1596.111.0423Date: 1993
Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence Cypress End Table, Kansas City, Missouri, 1993 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Perspective view of the Sondern end table. Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. In 1944, Sondern moved and sold the home to Arnold Adler (1948 - S.307). In 1948, Adler commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design an addition that more than tripled the size of the house. Besides all the built-ins, Wright designed chairs, tables, hassocks and bed frames for the Sonderns. After the Adler addition was completed, an article was published on January 7, 1951, in the Kansas City Star about the housewarming at the Adler House. It included a photograph of the living and dining rooms, and it is interesting to note that none of the original Wright designed furniture was pictured in the space. Copy photograph published in Christie’s Catalog, June 12, 1993, Lot 124. Caption: “A Cypress Table Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Clarence W. Sondern House, Kansas City, Missouri, Circa 1940. Realized price, $2,070. Rectangular top with rectangular slab legs 18.5 in. high, 27.75 in. wide, 18.625 in. deep.” See additional Wright designed furniture.
Size: 8 x 10 color copy photograph.
ST#: 1993.125.0423Date: 1993 Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence Armchair, 1993 (1939 - S.279).
Description: Clarence Sondern, a laboratory director of a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. Wright designed three chairs for the home, published in "Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph 1937-1941 (6)," Pfeiffer, p.183. 1) "Lounge Chair." This chair (pictured) appears to be different than what Wright designed. "Revised chair details:" 2) Upholstered seats and 3) Dining Chair. This chair (pictured) appears to be a closer representation of #2, but with a few minor changes. #3, Dining Chair was also produced, but again with changes. In 1948, Arnold Adler (1948 - S.307) purchased the home and hired Wright to remodel and double the size of the home. This armchair was manufactured of cypress and cypress-faced plywood with upholstery, 30.5 x 24.75 x 26.25. A matching chair was sold at Christie's on May 12, 2005, for $24,000. A pair of Dining Chairs (#3) sold at Wright's Auction on December 11, 2014, for $19,000. They were originally in the Domino Pizza collection. "Frank Lloyd Wright: Preserving an Architectural Heritage," Hanks, pp.106-107, cypress plywood, upholstery. Label pasted to verso: " The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Kansas City, Missouri. 93-12/1. Furniture - American. Wright, Frank Lloyd. Armchair, ca 1940. Cedar plywood, fabric, foam rubber. 30.5 x 24.75 x 26.25." Acquired from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of art archives. See additional Wright designed chairs.
Size: Original 8 x 10 B&W photograph.
ST#: 1993.80.0715
1) Armchair design 1939. "Lounge Chair for Mr. & Mrs. C. W. Sondern, Kansas City." Courtesy of "Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph 1937-1941 (6)," Pfeiffer, p.183.
3) Dining Room Chair design 1939. "Revised Chair Detail. House for C. W. Sondern." Courtesy of "Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph 1937-1941 (6)," Pfeiffer, p.183.
Date: 2005 Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence Armchair
Description: This armchair sold at Christie's on May 12, 2005, for $24,000. Courtesy of Christie's, New York.
Date: 2014 Title: Clarence W. Sondern Residence Dining Room Chair
Description: A pair of Dining Chairs sold at Wright's Auction on December 11, 2014, for $19,000. Courtesy of Wright's, Chicago.
SONDERN FLOOR PLAN (1939)
Clarence W. Sondern Residence, Kansas City, Missouri, Floor Plan, 1939 (1939 - S.279). Floor plan for the Clarence W. Sondern Residence, adapted by Douglas M. Steiner. The Sondern design is an “L” shaped Usonioan house. From the entry, the workspace, Living and dining rooms are to the left. Floor to ceiling doors opebn outward from the dining and living rooms. The bedroom wing, with two bedrooms is to the right. A balcony is off the end of the last bedroom. A detached shop is by the carport. (S#0531.104.0423) SONDERN MILLWORK DETAILS (1940) SONDERN DINING ROOM TABLE (1940)
Clarence W. Sondern Residence, Kansas City, Missouri, Two-Part Dining Room Table, 1940 (1939 - S.279). Two original sectional dining room tables for the Clarence W. Sondern Residence. Clarence Sondern, was a laboratory director for a chemical company in Kansas City. The Sondern house was designed by Wright as a Usonian home in 1939. In 1944, Sondern moved and sold the home to Arnold Adler (1948 - S.307). In 1948, Adler commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design an addition that more than tripled the size of the house. Besides all the built-ins, Wright designed chairs, tables, hassocks and bed frames for the Sonderns. After the Adler addition was completed, an article was published on January 7, 1951, in the Kansas City Star about the housewarming at the Adler House. It included a photograph of the living and dining rooms, and it is interesting to note that none of the original Wright designed furniture was pictured in the space.
Like other Dining Room tables from Wright’s Usonian period, the dining room table was modular in style. Sections could be moved and used as separate tables. Others included the Shavin (1950), Benjamin Adelman (Phoenix, 1951), Harold Price (Arizona, 1954), and Gordon (1956).
These two tables appear to be two of a three or four sectional table. Constructed of cypress plywood. Size: 26" tall x 24" wide x 30" deep (each). When placed together, 48" wide x 30" deep. The outside table appears to be constructed per the plans. The two legs are off centered or staggered. The leg is 6" from the edge, 7.5" wide, and 10.5" from the opposite edge. The second leg inverts the measurements. The underside has three labels: 1) “11 Jun 94, Sale 7940, Lot 236; 2) “86.02.7b - Sondern Table;3) The third isinscribed: ”86.002.0007b”.
The center table legs are still staggered and are wider, creating greater stability. These leg are 5" from the edge, 13" wide, and 6" from the opposite edge. The second leg inverts the measurements. The label on the underside is inscribed: “86.002.0007a”.
The tables can be locked together with a table latch. The table with the smaller legs has locks on one side. The table with the wider legs has locks on both sides.
Only one type of wood was used throughout the Sondern Residence which was cypress. This also included the furniture, tables and chairs which were finished in furniture wax.
Plans for the Adler revisions were dated 1949. On Sheet No. 8, Millwork, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a new dining room table for the Sondern/Adler House, a larger single pieced table measuring 8 feet long, the equivalent of four sections.
Side note: A Cypress Center Table, 1940, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Sondern Residence was sold at Christie’s on December 31, 1969. Size: 29.5" high x 59.5" wide x 59.5" deep. Price realized $2,070. Also, a Pair of Plywood (possibly cypress) Ottomans, 1940, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Sondern Residence was sold at Christie’s on June 9, 1999. Provenance: Mr. And Mrs. Clarence Sondern. Size: 14" high x 16" wide x 16" deep, with twin slab legs and drop in cushion. Price realized $920.
Providence: Michael T. Sillerman (1946 - 2021) Estate, originally purchased from Sotheby’s, 11 June 1994, Lot 236. Size: 26" tall x 24" wide x 30" deep (each). Acquired from a New York Auction House.
SONDERN/ADLER MILWORK PLANS (1948) KANSAS cITY STAR 1951 SKYLINE & MIDWEST ARCHITECT 1964
Additional Wright Studies SEE ADDITIONAL WRIGHT STUDIES Frank Lloyd Wright's First Published Article (1898) Photographic Chronology of Frank Lloyd Wright Portraits "Frank Lloyd Wright's Nakoma Clubhouse & Sculptures."
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