In October of 1909, with construction under way on the Robie house, Wright left America for Europe. Traveling with Mamah Borthwick, the wife of one of his clients, Wright spent a year abroad working on the publication of the Wasmuth Portfolio, a substantial monograph of his buildings and projects to date.
While Wright traveled extensively in Europe, visiting Germany, Austria, France, and Britain, by March of 1910, the architect had settled in Fiesole, Italy, on the edge of Florence. He was joined by his son Lloyd and Taylor Wooley, a draftsman from the Oak Park Studio, both of whom assisted in preparing the drawings for the Wasmuth Portfolio.
Postcard showing the Convent of San Domenico, Fiesole, Italy
ca. 1910