Frank Lloyd Wright

June 8, 1867

–

April 9, 1959

Who was Frank Lloyd Wright?

An American Architect1) Designed more than 1,000 projects2) Had more than 500 completed projects

a. officesb. churchesc. schoolsd. sky scraperse. hotelsf. museums

An interior designer1) Designed insides of buildings too

a. Furnitureb. Carpet c. Windowsd. Doorse. Tables and chairsf. Light fixturesg. Other decorations• This even included designing

clothing that complemented the architecture of the house!

A writer and educator1) Wrote 20 books and many articles 2) Often lectured in the United States and

in Europe

Born on June 8, 1867 in Richland Center, Wisconsin

Parents were William Carey Wright and Anna Lloyd Jones

His name was originally Frank Lincoln Wright

Predict: Why do you think he changed his name from Frank “Lincoln” Wright to “Frank Lloyd Wright”? Where did he get the name “Lloyd” from?

FLW – His Life and Family

Family moved to Weymouth, Massachusetts in 1870 so William could be a minister

In 1876 Anna went to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia – There she was introduced to a set of educational blocks called “Froebel Gifts”. She bought a set of these blocks and they were the basis for FLW’s kindergarten education

Money problems caused the family to move back to Wisconsin. They moved to Madison, where William taught music lessons.

When FLW was 14 his parents separated. His mom was upset that William couldn’t provide financially for the family and asked him to leave. Their divorce was finalized in 1885.

It was at this time that FLW changed his middle name from Lincoln to Lloyd.

Went to Madison High School but he never graduated

Then went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1886 but didn’t graduate from there either!

Moved to Chicago (which was still recovering from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871) and he started working for the architectural firm of Joseph Lyman Silsbee.

He worked there for less than a year and then went to work for Adler & Sullivan. Here he was an apprentice to Louis Sullivan.

Predict: What does it mean to be an apprentice to someone?

Frank married Catherine “Kitty” Tobin in 1889.

He bought land in Oak Park, IL and built her a house.

Kitty’s family was well off, so Frank’s marriage to her made him more well known.

At this time FLW was creating all the residential designs for Adler & Sullivan.

Sullivan found out that FLW was designing houses on the side, outside of his work from the architectural firm. He got angry, saying he felt betrayed because FLW was designing houses “behind his back” and he fired him!

FLW called these his “bootleg” houses. He said he had to design these other houses because he didn’t get paid enough at the firm to support his family of 6 children.

Predict: What does “bootleg” mean?

So….He went to work for himself. He built a studio on to his home in Oak Park.

His career was doing great, but his marriage wasn’t. People began to gossip about him being a flirt.

FLW accepted a job to design a house for Edwin and Mamah Cheney, who were his neighbors. While designing their house, FLW had an affair with Mamah. He left Catherine and she left Edwin, and they moved to Europe together, where they settled in Italy.

Eventually Edwin divorced Mamah, but Catherine would not divorce Frank. Despite this Frank and Mamah eloped in Europe.

Because of this affair, FLW had trouble working in the US again.

In 1910 they returned to Wisconsin. Frank begged his mother to buy him some land in Spring Green. Here he built a new home called “Taliesin”.

In 1914 FLW was working on a project in Chicago. A servant in his home, Julian Carlton, set the house on fire and murdered seven people with an axe. Mamah and her two children were three of those murdered.

He was arrested, but starved himself to death in jail.

After the fire and murders at Taliesin, FLW supposedly received a “love letter” from a sculptress named Maude "Miriam" Hicks Noel. FLW set up a meeting with her and they began to see each other.

At this point his 1st wife, Catherine, realized that Frank wasn’t ever coming back to her and the family, so she finally granted him a divorce.

A year after his divorce from Kitty, FLW married Maude Noel. However, Maude was severely addicted to morphine and FLW left her after meeting Olgivanna Hinzenberg at a ballet performance in Chicago.

Confused yet?

Even though Olgivanna and Frank were both married, they each left their spouses and were eventually married in 1828. They had a daughter, named Iovanna. This would be Frank’s last marriage. (Whew!)

Frank and Olgivannna remained

married until his death in

1959. When she died in 1985 they

were buried together in Scottsdale,

AZ.

FLW – His Architecture

Predict: What do you think a “Prairie House” is?

Predict: What do you think “organic architecture” means?

Organic Architecture

FLW’s method of design is called “organic architecture”.

This means that the design for the house (or building) relates directly to the landscape around it. If the house is going to be built in the woods, then it is made mostly of wood. If the house is going to be built in the desert, it’s made mostly of stone and is spread out.

One of the most famous examples of “organic architecture” is Fallingwater. This is a house in Pennsylvania. FLW wanted the owners to be as close to nature as possible, so it is actually built with a stream running under it, coming out in a waterfall.

From 1900 to 1917, FLW developed a specific type of design for a house called a “Prairie House”.

It was called this because the house itself would “complement” the land and plants around it. (Organic architecture)

This type of house is thought to be the first example of the “open plan” when it came to the layout of the rooms; fewer walls and more open living space.

In these houses Wright also designed the interiors including windows, light fixtures, rugs, furniture and curtains.

One of the most well known examples of a Prairie House is the “Robie House” which is located in the Hyde Park area of Chicago.

Robie House was designed to look like two large rectangles trying to slide past each other. It is built of brick and limestone, which mimics the land around the house at the time it was built. There are 174 art glass windows in

this house and door panels in 29 different designs, all created by FLW. All of the art glass in Robie House is created in geometric shapes.

Predict: What do you think a “Usonian House” is?

When FLW left the United States with Mamah Cheney, he felt like he had done all he could with the Prairie House style.

Upon his return to the U.S. he continued his architectural work and began designing “Usonion Houses”.

These are houses based on a simple but elegant geometric design. They were usually small and one story, intended for “middle-class” clients.

He still used the idea of “organic architecture” in these designs.

These houses did not have garages, so he developed the word “carport” to describe a cover for a car to park under.

A prime example of the Usonion style would be the Rosenbaum House in Florence, Alabama.

Throughout all of FLW’s designs the influence of geometric designs can be seen.

All of his designs also have a tie to nature.

In 1905 FLW visited Japan and he was influenced by Japanese art. He even became an art dealer to supplement his income. You can see his love of Japanese art reflected in many of his designs, especially in the glass and textiles produced for the houses.