The Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) selected Belinda Stewart Architects to lead a major preservation effort for a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Jackson, Mississippi.
Wright completed Fountainhead in 1954 for the client J. Willis Hughes, who lived at the home with his family until 1980. Fountainhead was added to the National Register of Historic Places that same year.
Over time the building became known colloquially as Fountainhead because it is believed Fountainhead author Ayn Rand was influenced by Wright’s career, and also for the home’s water features.
The late architect Robert Parker Adams worked for years restoring the building. But Adams was more than just a steward; he lived in the house for nearly half a century. Adams listed the house for sale in June 2025; he passed away that July.
Fountainhead was acquired by the Mississippi Museum of Art in November 2025. Founder Belinda Steward called Fountainhead a “phenomenal work of art” and a “distinctly Mississippi story.”
The acquisition of the Wright-designed home, known today as the Fountainhead, was inspired by the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and its purchasing of the historic Bachman-Wilson House, MMA said in a statement. Crystal Bridges had the Bachman-Wilson House relocated from New Jersey to the expansive museum campus in Northwest Arkansas, to serve as a point-of-interest, permanent exhibition.
Steward affirmed a “dream team” of Mississippi professionals and national consultants with relevant experience will come together to preserve the Wright-designed property in Jackson.
In tandem with Fountainhead curator Jennifer Baughn, Belinda Steward Architects prepare a historic structure report that outlines condition assessment, digital modeling of the building, and a prioritized treatment plan.
MMA Laurie Hearin McRee Director Betsy Bradley noted that the preservation project will help forge the institution’s connection with the city of Jackson.
Belinda Steward Architects will oversee structural repairs to the building, landscape evaluation and rehabilitation, and modifications for accessibility and code compliance requisite for the building’s new use as a museum and event venue.
Diagnostic work by the architects on the building structure will begin right away. The Fountainhead is expected to open to the public in 2028.