Edgar Kaufmann, head of a major department store in Pittsburgh, wanted a luxurious but thoroughly modern office in his renovate headquarters, and his son, Edgar, Junior, a former apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, convinced him that Wright was right for the job.
The office was completed in 1937, with specially-commissioned textiles by Loja Saarinen, a Finnish weaver and designer, as well as wife of Eliel Saarinen and mother of Eero Saarinen.
After Kaufmann’s death in 1955, it was inherited by Edgar Kauffman, Jr., who gave it to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1974. It is currently installed in the V&A Storehouse.
The office wasn’t the only Wright-Kaufmann collaboration; Wright’s famous Pennsylvania cliffhanger, Fallingwater, was built for Edgar Kaufmann, Sr. and was also finished in 1937.
Very interesting article. Your photos are excellent, too!
Thank you!