Heinz, Thomas A(rthur) 1949–

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HEINZ, Thomas A(rthur) 1949–

PERSONAL: Born May 1, 1949, in Evanston, IL; son of Wilbur Edward and Jeanne (Kelly) Heinz; married Ann C. Terando, February, 1999. Education: University of Illinois, B.Arch., 1972.

ADDRESSES: Office—Heinz and Co., 27157 St. Marys Rd., Mettawa, IL 60048.

CAREER: Architect. Central Railroad, Chicago, IL, architect engineer, 1972–77; Pensayer Co., Oak Park, IL, architect engineer, 1977–85; U.S. Post Office, Chicago, architect engineer, 1985–90; Heinz and Co., Evanston, IL, architect engineer, 1990–. Architect/engineer for Frank Lloyd Wright Room, American Wing-Metropolitan Museum of Art and thirty other Wright buildings. Former designer, John Widdicomb Furniture Co., Grand Rapids, MI.

WRITINGS:

Frank Lloyd Wright, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1982.

(And photographer, with Christopher Little) Fallingwater, A Frank Lloyd Wright Country House, introduction by Mark Girouard, Abbeville Press (New York, NY), 1986.

Frank Lloyd Wright ("Architectural Monographs," number 18), St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright. East Portfolio, Gibbs Smith (Layton, UT), 1993.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright. Furniture Portfolio, Gibbs Smith (Salt Lake City, UT), 1993.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright. Midwest Portfolio, Gibbs Smith (Salt Lake City, UT), 1993.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright. Stained Glass, Gibbs Smith (Layton, UT), 1993.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright. West Portfolio, Gibbs Smith (Layton, UT), 1993.

Frank Lloyd Wright: Interiors and Furniture, Academy Editions (London, England), 1994.

Frank Lloyd Wright: Glass Art, Academy Editions (London, England), 1994.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright. Chicagoland Portfolio, Gibbs Smith (Layton, UT), 1994.

Dana House: Frank Lloyd Wright, Academy Editions (London, England), 1995.

Frank Lloyd Wright. Field Guide, Academy Editions (Chichester, West Sussex, England), Volume 1: Upper Great Lakes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, 1998, Volume 2: Metro-Chicago, 1999, Volume 3: West, 1999.

(And photographer) Frank Lloyd Wright's Stained Glass and Lightscreens, Gibbs Smith (Salt Lake City, UT), 2000.

The Vision of Frank Lloyd Wright: Complete Guide to the Designs of an Architectural Genius, Chartwell Books (Edison, NJ), 2000.

(With Randall L. Makinson) Greene and Greene: The Blacker House, photographic essay by Brad Pitt, Gibbs Smith (Salt Lake City, UT), 2000.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Interiors, Grange Books (Rochester, Kent, England), 2002.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Houses, Grange Books (Rochester, Kent, England), 2002.

(With Randall L. Makinson) Greene and Greene: Creating a Style, Gibbs Smith (Salt Lake City, UT), 2004.

Frank Lloyd Wright Field Guide: Includes all United States and International Sites, Northwestern University Press (Evanston, IL), 2005.

Also author of articles about architecture and Frank Lloyd Wright.

SIDELIGHTS: Thomas A. Heinz is an architect and head of Heinz & Co., which makes reproductions of furniture designed by noted early twentiety-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Heinz's interest in Wright's work has led him to write numerous articles and books about the renowned architect's work, from Wright's buildings and furniture to his stained glass and the special window treatments that he constructed for clients. Writing in Interior Design, a reviewer noted that Heinz had written an "intelligent essay" for his book Frank Lloyd Wright, which features an eighty-page, full-color portfolio of Wright's work.

In Frank Lloyd Wright: Glass Art Heinz looks at the many ways Wright used glass art in his designs, from windows and doors to room dividers, skylights, sconces, and supports. In 1992's Frank Lloyd Wright, the author discusses how Wright constructed his art, often employing dazzling innovations in the process. In a review of both books for Interiors, Nayana Currimbhoy noted that they "suffer from what might be dubbed as 'Wright's Disease,' or making a little go a long way, and would probably have been better off as an article." Commenting on Heinz's Frank Lloyd Wright: Interiors and Furniture, Currimbhoy, however, admitted that "Heinz has produced an extensive catalogue of a vast selection of both freestanding and built-in furniture, a useful collection to the Wright library." In Frank Lloyd Wright's Stained Glass and Lightscreens Heinz discusses Wright's glass work and compares it to that of other noted glass makers of the early twentieth century, including Tiffany and La Farge. Writing in Interior Design, Stanley Abercrombie lauded the book because "it is a pleasure to see … [Wright's work in glass] given the full-color treatment it deserves."

Frank Lloyd Wright. Field Guide is a three-volume book focusing on Wright's work throughout the United States and includes photos, commentary, and directions to finding some of Wright's buildings. For example, volume two, Metro-Chicago, focuses on Chicago and the surrounding area where Wright completed the largest body of his work. Chicago Tribune contributor Blair Kamin felt that "Heinz does the basics well."

Heinz turned his attention to West Coast architects Charles and Henry Greene in books he wrote with Randell L. Makinson. In Greene and Greene: Creating a Style, the authors focus on the architectural duo's unique designs of houses, which made the Ohio-born brothers a well-known part of the California Arts and Crafts movement at the beginning of the twentieth century. The book is divided into three sections, discussing the architects' various plans, the materials they liked to work with, and interiors of the homes. Writing in January online, Adrian Marks observed, "One of the nicest things about Greene & Greene: Creating a Style is that this is a book that's meant to be read and enjoyed as much by neophytes as by architecture buffs and experts." Marks continued, "Whether you're a student of architecture, a design enthusiast or an armchair decorator, Greene & Greene: Creating a Style will make a valuable addition to your bookshelf or, indeed, your coffee table."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Chicago Sun-Times, September 21, 1997, M. W. Newman, review of Frank Lloyd Wright. Field Guide, Volume 1: Upper Great Lakes: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, p. 11; July 23, 2000, Bill Cunniff, review of Frank Lloyd Wright's Stained Glass and Lightscreens, p. 3.

Chicago Tribune, January 30, 1998, Blair Kamin, review of Frank Lloyd Wright. Field Guide, Volume 2: Metro-Chicago, p. 3.

Interior Design, September, 1992, review of Frank Lloyd Wright, p. 66; November, 1998, Stanley Abercrombie, review of Frank Lloyd Wright. Field Guide, Volume 2: Metro-Chicago, p. 78; November, 2000, Stanley Abercrombie, review of Frank Lloyd Wright's Stained Glass and Lightscreens, p. 146.

Interiors, September, 1994, Mayana Currimbhoy, reviews of Frank Lloyd Wright: Interiors and Furniture, Frank Lloyd Wright: Glass Art, and Frank Lloyd Wright, p. 14.

Library Journal, January 1, 2005, Gayle Williamson, review of Greene and Greene: Creating a Style, p. 107.