Frank Lloyd Wright

AVERY COONLEY RESIDENCE (S.135 - 1907)

Avery Coonley was born in Rochester, New York, on Oct 10, 1870 to John Clark and Lydia Arms (Avery) Coonley. They moved to Chicago In 1873. John Clark Coonley, a wealthy attorney and business man, past away in 1882. Lydia Avery Coonley was born in Virginia on Jan 31, 1845 to Benjamin Franklin and Susan Look Avery. Lydia Avery Coonley (Avery Coonley's mother) became the heiress to a fortune, derived from the manufacturing of farm machinery. She became a writer, publishing many poems and books. One poem entitled "Indian Summer", was published in the Nov 3, 1894 "The Outlook". She compiled a number of poems and published "Singing Verses for Children". She was also the author of "Under The Pines and Other Verses", published in 1895 by another client of Wright’s, Chauncey Williams, of Way & Williams. She also wrote and published "Washington and Lincoln". She was active in the women’s movement, and was president of the Chicago Women’s Club from 1895-1896. On March 18, 1897, Lydia Avery Coonley, a wealthy Chicago widow, married Naturalist Henry Augustus Ward. He owned the largest meteor collection in the world.
Avery Coonley graduated from Harvard, then took graduate work at M.I.T. He married Queene Ferry of Detroit, Michigan in1901. A businessman and industrialist, he was very active in a number of businesses. Manufacturing, publishing, merchandising, real estate and live stock to name a few. He was a director of

"The Dial Co.", owned by another of Wright’s clients, Francis Fisher Browne (Browne’s Bookstore). He coauthored "Christian Science and the Bible" in 1915.
       Queene Ferry Coonley, born Addie Elizabeth Ferry, (1874-1958), was born in Detroit to garden seed magnate Dexter Ferry and his wife Addie. Queene graduated from Vassar College in 1896, married Avery Coonley in 1901. They had one child, Elizabeth Ferry Coonley, born in 1902.
       Mrs. Avery (Queene Ferry) Coonley, a believer in early childhood education, attempted to enroll her daughter in Kindergarten. She was denied entrance because her daughter was not yet five. In 1906, Mrs. Coonley formed the Cottage School in Riverside, Illinois, a private independent school. In 1912, Wright designed the Coonley Playhouse to accommodate the growth of the Cottage School. The school continued to grow, and In 1916, moved to a new facility. In addition to her duties at school she was treasurer of the National Women’s Party; a trustee of Vassar College and vice president of the Progressive Education Association.
       In 1920, Avery Coonley past away at only fifty years of age. In 1929, in honor of her late husband, she changed the name to the Avery Coonley School. In 1954, Queene Ferry Coonley published "Great thoughts: an anthology of sayings, garnered over the years". She past away in the same year a Wright, 1959. The Avery Coonley still functions as a school today in Downer’s Grove, Illinois.

BOOKS CERAMIC PHOTOGRAPHS POSTERS

BOOKS

	Date: 1980 Publication: Frank Lloyd Wright: Drawings for the Coonley House Author: Hasbrouck, Marilyn Description: Printed in conjunction with an exhibition on Nov 15 - Dec 31, 1980, Prairie Avenue Bookstore. (First Edition) Pages: 8 1980.03.0902

CERAMIC

	Date: 1993 Description: Avery Coonley Teapot & Two Cups, Art Institute of Chicago 1993.17.0800

PHOTOGRAPHS

	Date: 1908 Description: Coonley Residence (1907 - S.135) 1908. View of the Pool and Terrace. Avery and Queene Ferry Coonley are on the right. Their daughter Elizabeth is playing by the pool in the center. Verso: "Photographed by Clarence Fuermann, The Chicago Architectural Photographing Co." Published in "Frank Lloyd Wright, Ausgeführte Bauten", Wright, 1911, p 119. Size: Original 10 x 8 B&W photograph. S#: 0085.20.0112

	Date: 1910 Description: Coonley Living Room (1907 - S.135 ) Circa 1910. View of the right side. Copper Urn on the right. Photographed by Henry Fuermann. High res digital image. For more information see our Wright Study on Browne’s Bookstore. Size: 8 x 5.5 0094.09.0311

	Date: 1910 Description: Coonley Living Room (1907 - S.135 ) Circa 1910. View of the left side. Copper Urn on the left. Photographed by Henry Fuermann. High res digital image. For more information see our Wright Study on Browne’s Bookstore. Size: 8.5 x 6.5 0094.10.0311

	Date: 1910 Description: Coonley Living Room Hall (1907 - S.135 ) Circa 1910. Hallway viewed from Living Room. Photographed by Henry Fuermann. High res digital image. For more information see our Wright Study on Browne’s Bookstore. Size: 10 x 7.5 0094.11.0311

	Date: 1910 Description: Coonley Living Room Hall (1907 - S.135 ) Circa 1910. Hallway looking toward Living Room. Two Urns were placed symmetrically in the Living Room. Wright used this same symmetry in the Waller Dining Room and possibly his own Dining Room. Photographed by Henry Fuermann. High res digital image. For more information see our Wright Study on Browne’s Bookstore. Size: 10 x 7.5 0094.12.0311

	Date: Circa 1914-15 Description: Mrs. Lydia Avery Coonley Ward. The Mother of Wright client Avery Coonley (1907 - S.135) Circa 1914-15. Lydia Avery Coonley was born in Virginia on Jan 31, 1845 to Benjamin Franklin and Susan Look Avery. Lydia Avery Coonley became a writer, publishing many poems. One poem entitled "Indian Summer", was published in the Nov 3, 1894 "The Outlook". She compiled a number of poems and published "Singing Verses for Children". She was also the author of "Under The Pines and Other Verses", published in 1895 by another client of Wright’s, Chauncey Williams, of Way & Williams. She also wrote and published "Washington and Lincoln". She was active in the women’s movement, and was president of the Chicago Women’s Club from 1895-1896. On March 18, 1897, Lydia Avery Coonley, a wealthy Chicago widow, married Naturalist Henry Augustus Ward. Courtesy of the New York Public Library. Size: Original 3 x 4.25 B&W photograph. S#: 0124.15.0112

	Date: 1921 Description: Mrs. Avery Coonley (1907 - S.135 ), October 14, 1921. Mrs. Avery Coonley and Miss Mary O. Wallace. This photograph taken one year after her husband, Avery Coonley past away. Queene Ferry Coonley, born Addie Elizabeth Ferry, (1874-1958), was born in Detroit to garden seed magnate Dexter Ferry and his wife Addie. Queene graduated from Vassar College in 1896, married Avery Coonley in 1901. They had one child, Elizabeth Ferry Coonley, born in 1902. Mrs. Avery (Queene Ferry) Coonley, a believer in the early childhood education, attempted to enroll her daughter in Kindergarten. She was denied entrance because her daughter was not yet five. In 1906, Mrs. Coonley formed the Cottage School in Riverside, Illinois, a private independent school. In 1912, Wright designed the Coonley Playhouse to accommodate the growth of the Cottage School. The school continued to grow, and In 1916, moved to a new facility. In addition to her duties at school she was treasurer of the National Women’s Party; a trustee of Vassar College and vice president of the Progressive Education Association. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Size: Original 7.25 x 10 B&W photograph. S#: 0144.03.0112

	Date: 1950 Description: Mrs. Avery Coonley (1907 - S.135 ), Circa 1950. Queene Ferry Coonley, born Addie Elizabeth Ferry, (1874-1958), was born in Detroit to garden seed magnate Dexter Ferry and his wife Addie. Queene graduated from Vassar College in 1896, married Avery Coonley in 1901. They had one child, Elizabeth Ferry Coonley, born in 1902. Mrs. Avery (Queene Ferry) Coonley, a believer in the early childhood education, attempted to enroll her daughter in Kindergarten. She was denied entrance because her daughter was not yet five. In 1906, Mrs. Coonley formed the Cottage School in Riverside, Illinois, a private independent school. In 1912, Wright designed the Coonley Playhouse to accommodate the growth of the Cottage School. The school continued to grow, and In 1916, moved to a new facility. In addition to her duties at school she was treasurer of the National Women’s Party; a trustee of Vassar College and vice president of the Progressive Education Association. In 1954, Queene Ferry Coonley published "Great thoughts: an anthology of sayings, garnered over the years". She past away in the same year a Wright, 1959. Courtesy of the Avery School. Size: Original 5 x 5.5 B&W photograph. S#: 0831.25.0112

	Date: 1974 Description: Coonley Residence Main Entrance. (1907 - S.135 ) 1974. Clipping pasted o verso: "Avery Coonley House. Evanston - Riverside is a lovely place. We’ve been thru it several times and thoroly (sp) enjoyed Sheldon Mix’s story about it ("Perfection, Your Name is Riverside," May 19). But was that the Avery Coonley House you pictured, or was it the playhouse? Mrs. Joseph Standard. Indeed it was the playhouse. Here is a photo of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Avery Coonley House, a national landmark. Sorry for he mix-up -- Ed." Stamped on clipping: "Jun 16 1974". Stamped on verso: "Apr 24 1974, J. Austad." Note: Ed still seems to be mixed-up. This is the main approach to the Coonley Residence, not the Playhouse. The Bedroom Wing in on the left, the Guest Room Wing on the right. See Select Houses 1, p170-173. Photographed by J. Austad. Size: Original 10 x 7 B&W Print. 1963.04.0311

	Date: 1990 Description: Coonley Print Cabinet. Birch Print Cabinet designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1908) for the Avery Coonley Residence (S.135 - 1907). Three-quarter view. Stamped on verso: "Apr 11 ‘90". Label on verso: "Curly Birch Print Cabinet, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, for the Coonely (sp) estate complex, Riverside, Illinois, 1908. $250,000 / 300,000." Caption pasted on verso: "A curly birch print cabinet, designed in 1908 by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Coonley estate complex in Riverside has a pre-sale estimate of $250,000 to 300,000." Acquired from the archives of the Associated Press. Size: Original 7 x 5 B&W photograph. 1990.80.1110

POSTERS

	Date: 1988 Publication: “Frank Lloyd Wright: The Art Institute of Chicago” (Published by Art Institute of Chicago) Author: Art Institute of Chicago Description: “Frank Lloyd Wright (American 1867-1959). Window Triptych from the Avery Coonley Playhouse, Riverside, Illinois 1912. Clear and colored leaded glass in a wooden frame, center pane 89.5 x109.3cm; side panels 91.5x 19.8cm. each. Restricted gilt of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin J. DeCosta and the Walter E. Heller Foundation,1986-88. The art Institute of Chicago.” (First Edition) Size: 35 x 26 1988.31.0207