Aline Barnsdall
Encyclopedia
Louise Aline Barnsdall was an American oil heiress, best known as Frank Lloyd Wright
's client for the Hollyhock House
in Los Angeles
, now the centerpiece of the city's Barnsdall Art Park.
, Barnsdall was the daughter of oilman Theodore Newton Barnsdall. T.N. Barnsdall and his father, Aline's grandfather, had been early participants in the Pennsylvanian oil rush
of the late 1850s. From humble beginnings the family amassed a fortune estimated at $15,000,000, with large land holdings in Oklahoma and California.
As a young woman Barnsdall toured Europe with her father, developing an interest in feminism and radical causes. By 1913 she was producing experimental theater in Chicago. She's mentioned in Emma Goldman
's autobiography Living My Life
as a close friend who wrote out a $5000 check to ease Goldman's deportation to Russia.
In February 1917, her father died, leaving her half of the assets of the Barnsdall Oil Company. By some accounts she received $3 million. On August 19, 1917, she became an unmarried mother by design, a scandalous choice for the time. Her daughter was born in Seattle, took her mother's surname, and was known as "Sugartop". Also in 1917 she produced a season of Los Angeles Little Theater, engaging a young Norman Bel Geddes
as set designer.
She hired Frank Lloyd Wright
to design a home for her and a vaguely defined "progressive theatrical community". This commission ultimately became the landmark Hollyhock House
. Barnsdall bought the local 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) Olive Hill property in 1919. Construction began in 1923. Almost immediately, she began plans to give it away. Extensive correspondence between Barnsdall and Wright in these years shows a close, sympathetic relationship. Finally, though, she grew very unhappy with the house's impracticalities and staggering cost overruns.
Another longstanding feature of Olive Hill was Barnsdall's news-billboards meant to educate Angeleans about the Thomas Mooney
case, the presidential candidacy of Upton Sinclair
, and her other causes. She was a guiding force and important financial contributor for the Hollywood Bowl
, and a patron of architects Richard Neutra
, Rudolph Schindler, and photographer Edmund Teske
among others. Through the 1930s and 1940s, she continued to live on Olive Hill. She died in 1946.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
's client for the Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, now the centerpiece of the city's Barnsdall Art Park.
Biography
Born in Bradford, PennsylvaniaBradford, Pennsylvania
Bradford is a small city located in rural McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the United States 78 miles south of Buffalo, New York. Settled in 1823, Bradford was chartered as a city in 1879 and emerged as a wild oil boomtown in the Pennsylvanian oil rush in the late 19th century...
, Barnsdall was the daughter of oilman Theodore Newton Barnsdall. T.N. Barnsdall and his father, Aline's grandfather, had been early participants in the Pennsylvanian oil rush
Pennsylvanian oil rush
The Pennsylvanian oil rush was a "boom" in petroleum production which occurred in northwestern Pennsylvania from 1859 to about 1870. It was the first oil boom in the United States....
of the late 1850s. From humble beginnings the family amassed a fortune estimated at $15,000,000, with large land holdings in Oklahoma and California.
As a young woman Barnsdall toured Europe with her father, developing an interest in feminism and radical causes. By 1913 she was producing experimental theater in Chicago. She's mentioned in Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman
Emma Goldman was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century....
's autobiography Living My Life
Living My Life
Living My Life is the 993-page autobiography of Lithuanian-born anarchist Emma Goldman, published in two volumes in 1931 and 1934 . Goldman wrote it in Saint-Tropez, France, following her disillusionment with the Bolshevik role in the Russian revolution...
as a close friend who wrote out a $5000 check to ease Goldman's deportation to Russia.
In February 1917, her father died, leaving her half of the assets of the Barnsdall Oil Company. By some accounts she received $3 million. On August 19, 1917, she became an unmarried mother by design, a scandalous choice for the time. Her daughter was born in Seattle, took her mother's surname, and was known as "Sugartop". Also in 1917 she produced a season of Los Angeles Little Theater, engaging a young Norman Bel Geddes
Norman Bel Geddes
Norman Melancton Bel Geddes was an American theatrical and industrial designer who focused on aerodynamics....
as set designer.
She hired Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
to design a home for her and a vaguely defined "progressive theatrical community". This commission ultimately became the landmark Hollyhock House
Hollyhock House
The Aline Barnsdall Hollyhock House is a building in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright as a residence for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, built in 1919–1921...
. Barnsdall bought the local 35 acres (141,640.1 m²) Olive Hill property in 1919. Construction began in 1923. Almost immediately, she began plans to give it away. Extensive correspondence between Barnsdall and Wright in these years shows a close, sympathetic relationship. Finally, though, she grew very unhappy with the house's impracticalities and staggering cost overruns.
Another longstanding feature of Olive Hill was Barnsdall's news-billboards meant to educate Angeleans about the Thomas Mooney
Thomas Mooney
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Mooney was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916...
case, the presidential candidacy of Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
, and her other causes. She was a guiding force and important financial contributor for the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
, and a patron of architects Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
, Rudolph Schindler, and photographer Edmund Teske
Edmund Teske
Edmund Teske was an American photographer noted for his experimental techniques and work with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright....
among others. Through the 1930s and 1940s, she continued to live on Olive Hill. She died in 1946.