Frank Lloyd Wright

Lore & Background

Frank Lloyd Wright was raised in rural Wisconsin, the son of a musician and occasional preacher, William Cary Wright, and a teacher, Anna Lloyd Jones. His mother, believing her first child would build beautiful buildings, decorated his nursery with engravings of English cathedrals. Wright studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a special student, leaving without a degree, though he later received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the university in 1955. He apprenticed in Chicago, first with Joseph Lyman Silsbee and then with Louis Sullivan at Adler & Sullivan, where he gained design responsibility and later referred to Sullivan as 'lieber Meister.'

Wright opened his own successful Chicago practice in 1893 and established a studio in his Oak Park, Illinois, home in 1898. His personal life often made headlines: leaving his first wife Catherine 'Kitty' Tobin for Mamah Cheney in 1909; the murder of Mamah, her children, and others at his Taliesin estate by a staff member in 1914; his tempestuous marriage to second wife Miriam Noel (1923–1927); and his courtship and marriage to Olgivanna Lazović (1928–1959). He wrote several books and numerous articles and was a popular lecturer in the United States and Europe.

Wright was a pioneer of the Prairie School movement and developed the concept of the Usonian home within Broadacre City, his vision for urban planning. He designed original offices, churches, schools, skyscrapers, hotels, museums, and other commercial projects, integrating interior elements such as leaded glass windows, floors, furniture, and tableware into his structures. His work was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as 'the greatest American architect of all time,' and in 2019, a selection of his work became a listed World Heritage Site under the name 'The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright.'

Reader's Guide

Frank Lloyd Wright's significance lies in his role as a central figure in twentieth-century architecture, whose philosophy of organic architecture—designing in harmony with humanity and the environment—influenced generations of architects worldwide. His Prairie School movement and Usonian homes redefined American residential design, while his vision for Broadacre City proposed a new model for urban planning. Wright's prolific output of over 1,000 structures, including Fallingwater, which has been called 'the best all-time work of American architecture,' demonstrates his enduring impact. His mentoring of hundreds of apprentices through the Taliesin Fellowship extended his influence beyond his own designs. Despite personal controversies, his legacy was cemented by the American Institute of Architects in 1991 and by UNESCO's 2019 World Heritage listing of his works. Wright's integration of interior elements into his buildings and his writings and lectures further solidified his role as a transformative figure in American culture.

Did You Know?

• Wright claimed throughout his life that he was born in 1869, but his actual birth date was June 8, 1867.
• His mother, Anna Lloyd Jones, decorated his nursery with engravings of English cathedrals to nurture his ambition to build beautiful buildings.
• Wright studied civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a special student but left without a degree; he received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from the same university in 1955.
• In 1914, a staff member murdered Mamah Cheney, her children, and others at Wright's Taliesin estate.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Pictures deface walls oftener than they decorate them." — Frank Lloyd Wright "No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together each the happier for the other." — Frank Lloyd Wright "So here I stand before you preaching organic architecture: declaring organic architecture to be the modern ideal." — Frank Lloyd Wright "Every great architect is — necessarily — a great poet. He must be a great original interpreter of his time, his day, his age." — Frank Lloyd Wright