On the 70th anniversary of the groundbreaking of one of the most iconic modern buildings in the world, the Farnsworth House presents Edith Farnsworth, Reconsidered. The exhibition interprets for the first time the interior as Dr. Edith Farnsworth would have occupied this house in the early 1950s, and explores the life and legacy of the fascinating client behind this world-renowned house that bears her name.

In this talk, exhibition co-organizer Nora Wendl contextualizes the house within the life and ambitions of Dr. Farnsworth, furthering a more nuanced understanding of Farnsworth’s desire for the house, her choice to hire Mies, her relationship to modernism and design, and the role that gender has played in framing historical interpretations of this house.

Edith Farnsworth Reconsidered is a part of “Where Women Made History,” the National Trust’s multi-year initiative to honor the female leaders, thinkers, activists, and groundbreakers who contributed to American history and culture, and to protect the places where these women made their mark. Learn more and support our efforts at savingplaces.org/womens-history.

Nora Wendl is an artist, writer, and educator who is trained as an architect. Her work encompasses visual art, creative writing, and performance as historiographical practices. She is Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of New Mexico and is completing a book on Dr. Farnsworth and the Farnsworth House that is organized by and written through a set of interior perspectives.