Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
Perhaps America's best-known architect, Frank Lloyd Wright evolved as an architect several times throughout his long career, creating or co-creating a wide variety of architectural structures and styles throughout the United States. Early in his career, Wright studied under Louis Sullivan in Chicago where he helped develop Prairie Style architecture. In the mid-1930s, Wright designed Fallingwater for the Kaufmann family in southwestern Pennsylvania. At about that time, he developed his ideas for what he called Usonian architecture, which was stylish architecture designed at a relatively low cost and which fit visually into the environment in which it would exist. While designing several Usonian homes around the country during his remaining years, Wright also designed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Below are some of Wright's buildings.
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| Charnley-Persky House. Photograph by Christopher Goedert. 2016. |
Charnley-Persky House. 1892.
Designed by Wright alongside his mentor, Louis Sullivan.
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| Robie House. Photograph by Christopher Goedert. 2016. |
Robie House. 1909-10.
In Chicago, this is a prime example of a Prairie Style house which emphasized horizontal lines reflecting the flat terrain of the American Great Plains.
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| Allen House. Photograph by Christopher Goedert. 2017. |
Allen House. 1916-18.
In Wichita, Kansas, the Allen House, sometimes called the Allen-Lambe House, is another example of a Prairie Style home. You can see the house's National Register of Historic Places nomination form on the Kansas State Historical Society's website here.
Fallingwater or the Kaufmann Residence. 1936-39.
In Ohiopyle State Park in southwestern Pennsylvania, this house was designed for the Kaufmann family who owned a large department store in Pittsburgh.
In this video, we discover a little information about and a well-known story regarding Wright and Fallingwater.
In this video, Justin Gunther, Director at Fallingwater, talks about the history of the house on Bear Run.
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Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. 1943-59.
In New York City, across the street from Central Park and a couple blocks away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this museum was designed to house Modern and Contemporary Art.
In this video, Dr. Matthew Postal and Dr. Steven Zucker talk about Wright's Guggenheim Museum.
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| Bachman-Wilson House. Photograph by Christopher Goedert. 2017. |
Bachman-Wilson House. 1954-56.
An example of Wright's Usonian architecture, this building was originally built alongside the Millstone River in New Jersey. Over the years, the river flooded, threatening permanent damage to the house. Wishing to preserve it, the owners chose to sell it to an institution willing and able to move it to a safe place. In 2013, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art acquired the house. In 2015, the Bachman-Wilson house was systematically taken apart, packed up, moved to Bentonville, Arkansas, and reassembled.
Sources for more information:
An article on Robie House from the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust's website.
An article in Prairie Style architecture from the Frank lloyd Wright Trust's website.
An article on the Bachman-Wilson House on the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art's website.
