Annie Leibovitz Makes a Pilgrimage to Farnsworth House

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:05:54 +0000

Written by Justin Lyons

This past week we were fortunate to have one of the most talented portrait photographers of the 20^th century visit the Farnsworth House for a shoot.

Ms. Annie Leibovitz spent three hours in perfect morning light taking-in Mies’ work through a variety of lenses hoping to capture the perfect photo to go in her upcoming book Pilgrimage due out this fall.

We are honored to be among the many treasures she chose to reveal as “inspiration” in her book.

Farnsworth House Executive Director Whitney French posed with Annie Leibovitz on her visit.

Justin Lyons is the marketing & public relations manager at the Farnsworth House, a National Trust Historic Site.

Farnsworth House to be Managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation

National Trust for Historic Preservation
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:39:50 +0000

Statement from Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

The Farnsworth House, Plano, IL

On January 1, 2010, the National Trust for Historic Preservation will assume the management of the Farnsworth House, an international icon of Modern architecture located in Plano, Illinois. While the National Trust has owned the site for the past six years, Landmarks Illinois has managed and operated it. The National Trust is very proud of the Farnsworth House and the work that both organizations have put into the site, and we are determined to do right by it. We expect a very smooth transition for the site, including no change in visiting opportunities, as the National Trust and Landmarks Illinois have been terrific partners for many years, well before our collaboration on the Farnsworth House. Finally, we are delighted that Whitney French will continue as the Site Director by joining our staff and providing us with her experience and knowledge of this unique place.

We look forward to this opportunity because it will strengthen our newly created Modernism + Recent Past program, which focuses on the significant architecture of the mid-20th century, as well as those places of social, economic, and cultural importance. Furthermore, it allows even closer collaboration with the Farnsworth House’s “sister” property, the Philip Johnson Glass House (another Modernist site owned and operated by the National Trust). Philip Johnson was inspired in his design of the Glass House by plans Mies van der Rohe developed for the Farnsworth House.

Read the full statement on PreservationNation.org.

Learn more:

• The Farnsworth House
• The Farnsworth House on PreservationNation.org
• National Trust to take over Farnsworth House: Landmarks Illinois has been operating at a deficit (Chicago Tribune)

Farnsworth House Offering Restoration Tours to Raise Funds

Sarah Heffern
Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:43:18 +0000

Less than one month ago, the Farnsworth House, a National Trust Historic Site and icon of modernist architecture, was flooded in the by tropical storm Lowell and the aftermath of hurricane Ike. The house was closed to the public in the immediate aftermath, but is now opening on a limited schedule to help raise funds to repair the damage from the floods. These tours provide a rare chance to experience the restoration first-hand.

Detailed information on the tours — as well as an opportunity to contribute — are available at www.farnsworthhouse.org. And, In the event that you can’t make it to Illinois for a tour, the staff of the Farnsworth House have started a blog to share the progress of the restoration.