page_title: Taliesin (studio)
section_title: Early history
hierarchical_section_title: Taliesin (studio) / Early history
caption_attribution_description: English: Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Oak Park, Illinois.
context_page_description: Taliesin, sometimes known as Taliesin East, Taliesin Spring Green, or Taliesin North after 1937, was the estate of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Located 2.5 miles south of the village of Spring Green, Wisconsin, United States, the 600-acre property was developed on land that originally belonged to Wright's maternal family.
context_section_description: From 1898 to 1909, architect Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked out of his home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois. In Oak Park, Wright had developed his concept of Prairie School architecture, designing houses primarily for local clients. In 1903, Wright began designing a home for Edwin Cheney, but quickly took a liking for Cheney's wife. Wright and Mamah Borthwick Cheney began an affair and separated from their spouses in 1909.
  They met up in Florence, Italy, in February 1910, where Wright made sketches of his future studio. He was particularly inspired by Michelozzo's Villa Medici in Fiesole because it was built into a hill, had commanding views of its surroundings, and featured gardens on two levels.
  In 1910, the pair sought to return to the United States, but knew they could not escape scandal if they returned together to Oak Park. Wright saw an alternative—his family's ancestral farm near Spring Green, Wisconsin. Wright returned alone to the United States in late 1910, publicly reconciling with Kitty while working to secure money to buy land for a house for himself and Borthwick. On April 3, 1911, Wright wrote to a friend requesting money to purchase "a small house" for his mother.
  By the 10th, Wright's mother Anna had a signed deed for the property. By using Anna's name, Wright was able to secure the 31.5-acre (12.7 ha) property without attracting any attention to the affair. Late in the summer, Mamah Borthwick (having divorced Cheney and legally reverting to her maiden name) quietly moved into the property, staying with Wright's sister at Tan-y-Deri. However, Wright and Borthwick's new property was discovered by a Chicago Examiner reporter that fall, and the affair made headlines in the Chicago Tribune on Christmas Eve.
caption: Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois. Wright first lived here in 1889 and used it as a studio starting in 1898.
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