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If there was ever an architectural story fit for the silver screen, then this is surely it.
According to movie blog Showbiz 411, Academy Award–winner Jeff Bridges will play Mies van der Rohe in an upcoming film about the conception of arguably the world’s most famous Modernist residence — Farnsworth House. While the architecture itself is iconic enough to take center stage, much of the drama is likely to be manifested in the tumultuous relationship between Mies and his client, Dr. Edith Farnsworth, to be played by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Most design enthusiasts will be familiar with Farnsworth House as an architectural icon, perhaps the purest translation of Mies van der Rohe’s Modernist ideals. However, there is a darker side to this story: The project was tarnished by a bitter row between the architect and Farnsworth, who felt increasingly indignant with the realization that she had spent $70,000 on a one-room house that was, in her view, “a glass cage on stilts.”
Farnsworth House construction photo, winter 1949/’50; courtesy Myron Goldsmith fonds Collection Centre Canadien d’Architecture / Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal
The conflicting court cases that Mies and his client brought against each other — one suing for unpaid construction costs, the other for malpractice, respectively — is likely to form a key part of the upcoming movie. Farnsworth alleged that the architect had, by “fraud and deceit,” led her into paying $33,872 more than the original price upon which they had agreed in 1949.
Spoiler alert: Mies ended up winning the lawsuit and collecting his fees, and Dr. Farnsworth ended up utilizing the glass house as a summer retreat for the following two decades. The two never spoke to one another again.
Dr. Farnsworth and Myron Goldsmith in the offices of Mies van der Rohe; via Connecting the Windy City
Beyond the financial feud, Mies’ client had serious grievances about the house itself. For Edith Farnsworth, the residence — while beautiful — was virtually unlivable, its transparency leading her to feel like “a prowling animal, always on the alert … always restless.” However, numerous accounts of the Mies-Farnsworth story imply that Farnsworth’s negative view of the house was fueled not simply by its supposed ideological flaws, but also by heartbreak.
Mies takes a break during the construction of Farnsworth House; via Tweedland
“Most witnesses to the Mies-Farnsworth friendship agree that it was a romance of some sort for a time, yet proof of the extent of it is lacking,” wrote historian Franz Schulze in his 1985 book Mies van der Rohe: A Critical Biography. In an interview with Schulze, Mies’ estranged sister Marion Carpenter recalled that Edith Farnsworth “was mesmerized by him, and she probably had an affair with him.”
Unidentified woman — perhaps Edith Farnsworth — at Farnsworth House; © Newberry Library, Chicago, Ill.
The long-standing ambiguity of the relationship between the architect and his client should prove something of a godsend for the Hollywood scriptwriters of this modern-day retelling of Farnsworth’s story. Expect an on-screen relationship full of intellectual and sexual tension, as Bridges and Gyllenhaal play two highly intelligent protagonists oscillating between attraction and hostility.
Farnsworth House; via Wikipedia
However Mies and Farnsworth are portrayed, this movie will undoubtedly be a must-watch for architects. Amidst the emotional, political and legal turmoil, an architectural jewel emerged that remains an exemplar in residential Modernism to this day. For anyone with an eye for design — and for those who recognize Farnsworth House as a defining moment in architectural history — the performances of Bridges and Gyllenhaal will make for essential viewing.
For more on the design and construction of this (in)famous residence, check out our special feature on the architectural details of Farnsworth House.
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