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A Brief Introduction to Frank Lioyd Wright

   It is believed that Frank Lloyd Wright was predestined to be one of the greatest architects not only in the American industry but in the the world. He was a patriotic one however trying to build in a mostly American style stressing his country’s democratic nature and solidarity. His early years weren’t too rosy as his family wasn’t as happy as he wished.

     After his parents divorced in 1885 and his father abandoned the family,  Wright began working for the Dean of the University of Wisconsin to help support his family. During that time, he was able to attend the University of Wisconsin's School of Engineering. However, he only completed two semesters due to his decision to leave Wisconsin in 1887 and move to Chicago to pursue a career in architecture. In 1889, Wright met and married his first wife, Catherine Tobin, and built a house in Chicago's Oak Park suburb, where they made a home together and had six children. During that time, Wright began his architectural career working for such architects as Joseph Silsbee and Louis Sullivan. However, while working under Sullivan, in his spare time he designed homes on his own, which was not allowed under his contract with Sullivan. He was terminated in June of 1893 and soon after began his own architectural practice. Wright began to create what he called "organic architecture," which brought the environment and building together as one (Wright 227). His goal was not just to build another building, but create a work of art, one that would truly reflect the nature that surrounded it and also the client whom he was working for (Wright 228). Wright's trademark stressed simplicity and a "demand that natural materials be treated naturally" (Sandefur 40). The use of old and new materials was also significant in Wright's work. Both materials had "their own lively contributions to make to the form, character and quality of any building" (Wright 229). 

   Wright was well on his way to becoming the distinguished architect he wanted to be until the year 1909, when suddenly he decided to leave his wife and six children, as well as his practice. Wright gathered his things and left for Europe along with his lover, Mahmah Borthwick Cheney, who was the wife of one of his former clients. That event in his life caused people to see a whole new side of Wright and many people were not too impressed to see him do such a thing to his family. When he returned with Cheney in 1911 to Wisconsin, his career had slowed down a bit. At this time, Wright built his famous Taliesin home, in which he and Cheney lived from 1912 until 1914. Then, suddenly, in the summer of 1914, tragedy struck. A servant murdered Cheney and her two children by setting fire to Taliesin. After the tragedy, Wright decided to completely rebuild Taliesin and make it even better than the first construction. During the reconstruction of Taliesin, Wright's personal life was a bit unsteady. He finally granted his first wife Catherine a divorce and soon after married Miriam Noel in 1923. By 1928, Wright and Noel were divorced, and by the fall of 1929, he was married again, but this time to his third and final wife, Olgivanna Milanoff.

   "In matters of design, Wright had perfect pitch; in other sectors of his life, he was out in left field, a mean-spirited, world-class fruitcake, an egomaniac of immense proportion" (Pinck 267). He was known to be a very difficult man and most of his life he was very good at making enemies (Pinck 267). Wright was the type of man who was not so nice; he was "the kind of man you would not really want to know" (Sandefur 40). 

   Contrary to his chaotic personal life, Wright's professional life was definitely a bit more structured. Few buildings were produced during the WWII years; however, the post-war period to the end of Wright's life was the most productive era of his career (Egger). After Wright built his renowned Taliesin home, his career skyrocketed. People wanted new and unique homes just like Taliesin. In 1936, the Kaufman family home, known as Fallingwater, was constructed in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Today, it is considered to be one of Wright's most distinguished works. The masterpiece is noted as one of his trademark works because of how it has a close relationship with its environment (Scully 26). The house appears to emerge from the rocks above the waterfall it is built on and has a unique way of bringing the outdoors inside (Egger). Wright believed that his buildings did not descend upon the earth; instead, "they rose upwards from the earth, expressing the essential humanism of his vision" (Sandefur 40). 

   Aside from Fallingwater, the other building for which Wright is most remembered is the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, constructed between 1956 and 1959. The museum has spiral ramps throughout that provide a "dramatic setting for art, although critics have questioned the ramp's suitability as an exhibition space" (Egger). According to Wright, the ramps' illustrated "the process of organic development" (qtd. in Hertz 130).

   Many of Wright's designs and use of various materials often drew much controversy. He believed in using materials which would "blend the house into the setting . . . moving naturally into a shelter, feeling a certain flow rather than an abrupt transition" (Egger). Builders questioned whether or not certain buildings would be able to stand and be supported by such materials, especially at Fallingwater (Pinck 267). They doubted the practicality of his designs, such as the design of the Guggenheim, and never thought that he would be as famous as he is today. Despite of all those negative critics, Wright proved his love for architecture and never even retired. He opened up an architectural school at his Taliesin West home and continued teaching architecture and built until the day he died in Arizona on April 9, 1959; he was ninety-two (Egger). Wright is now known as a true American architect who created many widely recognized structures, a number of them national landmarks even (Egger). Frank Lloyd Wright left behind a true legacy and survived all the criticism, coming out on top. He rightfully proved to the world that he was, and always will be, one of the greatest architects to ever live. 

   It is obvious to see that Wright was one of the greatest architects to live. Just take a look at the number of things published on Wright and his work alone. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of sources that provide information on him. For this essay on Wright, I used a variety of sources for my research. I used several books, one of which was Wright's autobiography, A Testament. The autobiography was very helpful in acquiring first hand accounts of Wright's life and work. The biographies I used were also helpful because they provided me with various views on different aspects of Wright's life and work. In Frank Lloyd Wright, Scully provided useful information about Wright's childhood influences. Many Masks: A Life of Frank Lloyd Wright by Gill provided me with similar information but gave some good quotes about Wright which were not found in the biography by Scully. Frank Lloyd Wright in Word and Form by Hertz also provided good quotes; however, these were quotes said by Wright himself rather than the biographer. 

   The articles "A Great Architect with Love for Nature and Lots of Fight" by Secrest and "The Many Lives of Frank Lloyd Wright" by Pinck provided me with good comments about Wright's character. "Frank Lloyd Wright: Innovator in American Architecture" by Egger was very helpful with finding information on Wright's character as well, but also gave details on his personal life that were helpful in writing my paper. "Frank Lloyd Wright's Humanism" by Sandefur helped me find details on Wright's work, dealing with his love for nature and use of organic architecture. "Wright's Path: Kids' Blocks to Buildings" was useful for the information it gave about Wright's influences as a young boy. 

   When I initially began my research on Frank Lloyd Wright, I was finding a great number of resources, yet many of them were only about certain structures he had designed and built. The main reason I chose the sources that I did was because they provided not only information about his work, but also about his personal life and other things such as his architectural theories. One prominent architectural belief that Wright had was that organic architecture should be used to build any structure.

   Wright had very strong feelings about using the environment and natural resources to create architecture. He wanted to feel "one with nature" almost. He also wanted to create architecture that represented American democracy and provided people with a simple way of living that brought them closer to nature. Throughout my next essays, I will go into detail about those topics. I will discuss Wright's use of organic architecture and the criticism that he faced and how he overcame it to become the leading American architect of the twentieth century. I am certain that these topics on Wright will create a good persuasive essay and presentation. The research I have done so far has been successful. I have not encountered any major problems and have confidence in moving on to write the next two essays on Wright.

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