Besinger, Curtis

Curtis Wray Besinger, born Stanberry, MO, June 12, 1914, died Lawrence, KS, December 12, 1999. Bachelor of Science in architecture at KU in 1936. 3 years working with Joseph Radotinsky and other architects in Kansas City. Joined Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin Fellowship in 1939. As a Junior Apprentice he worked on construction projects, participated in musical programs, directed the chorus, and assisted in the drafting room. During World War II, as a conscientious objector, he spent three years working on federal reclamation, wildlife and forestry-service projects in the Midwest and West in lieu of military service. Returning to Taliesin in 1946 as a Senior Apprentice, he worked on 37 projects. After 16 years as a Taliesin Fellow he left the Fellowship in 1955. His 1995 book, Working with Mr. Wright: what it was like, draws heavily on the correspondence in both this collection and the Library's Frank Lloyd Wright collection. Joining the KU faculty, Besinger taught architecture for 29 years, attaining full professorship in 1965. He was technical editor of House Beautiful in 1956-57 and architectural consultant in 1957-65. He also had an architectural practice, partly in association with Fritz (Fredric) and Fabi Benedict in Aspen, CO.

From the guide to the Papers of Curtis Wray Besinger, 1931-1999, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Department of Special Collections)