Frank Lloyd Wright 1867- 1959  by Sarah Heck

Born in Wisconsin in 1867, Frank Lloyd Wright had inspirations of an architectural career thrust on him before he could even walk. His mother, Anna Lloyd-Jones, the daughter of a Welsh immigrant, believed so highly in her son's success at architecture that she hung drawings and blueprints of the world's cathedrals over young Frank's crib. Her support followed Wright through his school days and in his apprenticeship with Adler and Sullivan in Chicago, where his creativity and talent paid off with a mentor relationship with the top American architect of the times, Louis Sullivan.

Wright's early work mirrored the architectural style of the times, although he strayed from the picturesqueness of the novel American home. Instead, Wright sought solace and innovation in an appreciation of simplicity he gained from his mother. And much like his sisters who directed a school specializing in "unconventional" teaching methods, he amazed the architectural world with new ideas and methods. Both he and his sisters followed religiously the motto of their mother's Welsh family, "Truth against the World." Wright employed many such philosophies not only in his lifestyle, but also in the designs of his homes and furniture. The photo to the right details the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio in Oak Park, Illinois, where Wright lived and worked for over 20 years.

In the six years, 1887 to 1893, that Wright was employed with Adler and Sullivan, his work flourished in residential design. At twenty-six, he began his own firm, completing the first house under his own name that same year. The Winslow House, pictured on the left, in River Forest, Illinois, exemplifies Wright's divergence from contemporary design. While typical materials were used, such as Roman brick, cast concrete, and terra-cotta, Wright combined them to create a bold style hailed at the time as the beginnings of "modern" architecture. All of his designs reflected an elegant and even arrogant simplicity as is seen in the Winslow home. His attention to detail included the design of the interiors and furniture for each home.

Wright's work with Louis Sullivan, his "Lieber Meister," remained with him throughout his career. In many of his designs, Wright called on Sullivan's influence for ornamental design as in the Winslow house, but he continued with his own work for the American dwelling, and his distinct style flowered as he began his "prairie style" designs and organic architecture.

"Beginnings of "Prairie Style"

Having an impassioned love for the prairie of his childhood, and a reverent appreciation for nature, Wright began a school of design based on the thrilling simplicity of the prairie's flatness, its trees, flowers, and sky. With the "prairie house" he eliminated the basement and attic and made his rooflines graceful, creating a unique home that stood out from the peaked English Tudor homes of the period. Wright's "prairie homes" were sprawling houses distinct in their one-story structures and, making each one familiar to the prairie experience in the similar lines and earth hues. In the late 1890s his work with design and the prairie theme converged in his innovative stained glass and woodwork.

Wright's career was only beginning in the 1890s and was to continue throughout his entire life. At 88, he was still designing and breaking new boundaries of architectural design. His numerous works include The Unity Temple in Oak Park (1905), Tokyo's Imperial Hotel (1915-1922), Wisconsin's S.C. Johnson and Son Administration building (1936), Falling Water home in Illinois, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City (1943-1959).

Contributed by Sarah Heck, ACS, "America in the 1890s" Course, Spring, 1997.

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