Built Taliesin to Escape Public Scrutiny
Wright never did return to Kitty and his life in Oak Park. He wanted to get away. The publicity around his romance with Mamah took a toll on the scandalous couple. To escape the scrutiny, Wright built a home and studio on the rolling hills of Spring Green, his family’s land. He called it Taliesin, Welsh for “Shining Brow” on the slope of a hill – not on top, as Wright’s insistence that architecture work with nature was too deeply embedded in his soul. While the couple never married, they lived happily at Taliesin for three years. The community was hesitant to accept the unwed couple, but Wright and Mamah did not mind. Wright justified it to himself, saying, “two women were necessary for a man of an artistic mind – one to be the mother of his children and the other to be his mental companion, his inspiration and soul mate.”