October 27, 1994: Vol26n8: 'Tree of Life' window returned to Darwin Martin House

By PATRICIA DONOVAN
News Bureau Staff
The Darwin Martin House Restoration Corp. has announced that a
single-panel "Tree of Life" window that originally graced the historic
residence designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has been returned to Buffalo.
The window was owned by the late C. Donald Cook, a Toronto librarian
who died earlier this year. Cook was a collector of first and rare
editions, including a great many books by or about Frank Lloyd Wright.

	The bulk of his Wright collection was bequeathed to the
Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal, which Bruno Freschi,
dean of the UB School of Architecture and Planning, cites as "the most
important center for architecture in the world." Cook had expressed
his intention to give the window to the Martin House Restoration
Corporation (MHRC), however, and was in the process of doing so at the
time of his death.
	Robert J. Kresse, president of the MHRC, said that although
Cook's heirs were not legally bound to do so, they "graciously agreed
to honor his wishes."
	The window, with a value as high as $22,000, has been received
by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery on behalf of the corporation and will
be stored until such time as it is reincorporated into the restored
building. Jack Quinan, professor and chair of the UB Department of Art
History and a Wright scholar, said the window can be identified as a
second-story window by the box at the base of the tree's "trunk," or
stem.
	Freschi said, "I hope that Don Cook's generous example
persuades others in possession of Martin house windows, doors and
others architectural materials to return these items to the house. We
need their help to insure as complete and authentic a restoration as
possible."
	The Martin house is being restored as a museum by a consortium
of UB, the MHRC and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and
Historic Preservation.