"the start of a two-decade correspondence that evolved into a robust exchange of ideas"

In 1937 a little-known author named Ayn Rand wrote to revered modernist Frank Lloyd Wright.

"Dear Mr. Wright," her letter of Dec. 12 began, "I am writing a novel about the career of an architect. . . . I should like to have the privilege of meeting you and discussing it with you."

The book, "The Fountainhead," was published six years later. Although Wright did not make himself available in 1937 or for years to come, Rand's pitch was the start of a two-decade correspondence that evolved into a robust exchange of ideas as well as this: a preliminary rendering of a "cottage studio," in colored pencil on paper, that the legendary architect crafted for Rand. It is featured in "Drawings and Objects by Architects," on exhibit through Oct. 10 at the Edward Cella Art + Architecture gallery in the mid-Wilshire area of L.A.