Brad Geer on Frank Lloyd Wright and the Guggenheim Museum

Frequently ranked as one of the Most Active Investment Bankers in financial restructuring transactions by The Deal, Bradley Geer works for the international investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey as a Managing Director. Outside of his professional life, Mr. Geer has a long-standing interest in modern architecture, particularly the work of 20th century architectural genius Frank Lloyd Wright. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum wasnt finished until 1959, 16 years after museum director Hilla Rebay commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design it. Rising post-war construction costs, numerous revisions by the architect, and the death of its benefactor all contributed to the delays. Although the now-beloved structure on the Upper East Side in New York City was derisively compared to a washing machine and a cupcake in its early days, its winding, shell-like structure under a skylight dome was soon recognized as a major articulation of modern principles of design. One of Wrights last major completed works, the Guggenheims essence was from the beginning a challenge to traditional four-walled museum design. It has influenced the ways in which countless architects have combined their personal vision with the necessity of creating a functional and aesthetically appropriate public space. In the early 1990s, major renovations to the interior were performed, expanding the museums exhibit options without deviating from Wrights conception. In 2009, the Guggenheim celebrated its first half-century with an exhibition of Wrights sketches and artwork that spanned his lifetime of numerous public and private commissions.