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NOTE: Received an A with some corrections. If your professor is one who
checks bibliography's be careful with mine. Art History 5 December 2000 Frank
Lloyd Wright American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright is considered the pioneer in
modern style and one of the greatest figures in twentieth-century architecture (Twombly,
16).
According to Frank Lloyd Wright: “…having a good start, not only do I fully
intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be
the greatest architect who will ever live.
Yes, I intend to be the greatest
architect of all time.” It appears that from the beginning, Frank Lloyd Wright
was destined by fate, or determination, or by his mother’s support, to be one of
the most innovative and celebrated architects of the twentieth century.
Throughout his life, he designed nearly 900 structures, some 400 of which were
actually built.
He was principally known for his highly original methods of
uniting buildings with their surroundings (Hirsh, 189). Wright was also renowned
for initiating new architectural and engineering techniques but was often
criticized by the more conventional architects who opposed his new methods (Twombly,
17 - 18).
Frank Lincoln Wright (he would later change his middle name to Lloyd)
was born on June 8 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, to Anna Lloyd-Jones
Wright and William Russell Cary Wright.
Anna Lloyd-Jones was a teacher from a
large close-knit Welsh family of farmers and ministers. His mother and her
family would have a tremendous influence on Frank throughout his life. Frank’s
father, William, was a devout Unitarian preacher and musician. The Wright family
spent many evenings listening to William read such works as Emerson, Thoreau,
and Blake .
In 1869 through 1878, the Wright family traveled the country,
relocating to Iowa, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, where William held
pastorate positions (Taliesin Preservation). His father moved from job to job
dragging the family along which often resulted in financial difficulties. In
1878, the Wright’s eventually returned to the hills of Wisconsin, close to the
strong support of Anna’s family. Finally, settling back in Wisconsin, William
Wright became secretary of the Wisconsin Conference of Unitarians and
Independent Societies (Gill, 57). Anna relied heavily upon her family to help
rear her children.
Frank spent numerous hours helping his uncles in the fields,
who taught him the importance of hard work. His aunts and his mother
intellectually guided him in education, religion, and nature, which played an
important part in forming Frank’s architectural philosophy. Using Froebel’s
geometric blocks to entertain and educate her son, Anna seems to have struck on
the genius and imagination her son possessed. Anna consistently encouraged Frank
to achieve great things in the field of Architecture (Gill, 58).
In 1885, Frank
quit high school and entered the University of Wisconsin at Madison (as a
special student). He studied civil engineering because the school did not offer
any courses in architecture. No longer working in the fields, Frank worked for
the dean of engineering in order to supplement the family income but he was not
enthused with his situation and dreamed of going to Chicago (Gill, 74). After
two years at the University, Frank left and moved to Chicago.
In Chicago, Frank
found a job as a draftsman with the major firm headed by Louis Sullivan (Art
Through the Ages, 1058 - 1060). Sullivan had a profound influence on Frank and
became his mentor in architecture (Twombly, 153).
With the industrial age, came
a growing suburban population. The firm of Alder and Sullivan concentrated on
downtown commercial buildings, whereas Frank accomplished residential contracts.
His work soon expanded and he accepted contracts outside the firm.
When Sullivan
discovered this in 1893, he felt betrayed, accused Frank of a breach of
contract, and demanded that Frank discontinue working outside the firm. Rather
than drop his night job, Frank walked out on the firm (Gill, 87-88). Frank Lloyd
Wright quickly built up a practice in residential design that eventually
expanded to include commercial architecture.
Through designing a prairie-style
home and implementing new techniques and materials, business thrived. He created
the philosophy of “organic architecture,” the central principle of which
maintains that the building should develop out of its natural surroundings so
that the indoors and outdoors often seemed to merge.
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