The Genius of
Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
Dr. John Storer House, Hollywood,
California. Perspective
Enlarged [92K]
Graphite and colored pencil on
Japanese paper, 1923
Prints & Photographs Division
LC-USZC4-1867

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
Frederick C. Bogk House,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Enlarged [105K]
Elevation detail
Graphite, watercolor, and ink on paper, 1916-1917
Prints & Photographs Division

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
House for Charles P. Lowe,
Eagle Rock, California
[Elevation Study]
Graphite and colored pencil on paper, ca.1922
Prints & Photographs Division
Gift of Donald D. Walker, 1986 (146.4)

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959)
Architectural Drawing for theater [“playhouse”] for Mr. and Mrs. Avery Coonley, Riverside, Illinois, 1911
Graphite and colored pencil
Donald Walker Collection
Prints & Photographs Division
Gift of Donald D. Walker, 1986 (195.6b)

One of the great innovators in the history of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright experimented with new design vocabularies and building systems. Shown here are three examples of his imaginative genius. In the 1920s Wright designed a number of houses in California using precast "textile" concrete blocks reinforced by an internal system of bars. This style is exhibited in the first drawing shown here of the Storer home. Built in Hollywood for Dr. John Storer seventy years ago, the house is now used in films, television, and print media to represent the future. Typically Wrightian is the joining of the structure to its site by a series of terraces that reach out into and reorder the landscape, making it an integral part of the architect's vision.

The second design is for a richly decorative stone lintel for the front of a house built in Milwaukee. Influenced by the architectural ornament of the Viennese Secession and the abstractions of Cubist sculpture, Wright here adapts images of Native American chieftans in a decorative frieze that rivals the work of his own master, Louis Sullivan.

Through the 1920s he designed a number of innovative houses in California using precast "textile" concrete blocks reinforced by an internal system of metal bars. One of the first of these experiments was this unbuilt project for a house at Eagle Rock, near Pasadena. Typically Wrightian is the joining of the structure to its site by a series of levels and terraces that reach out into the landscape.

Preeminent architect Frank Lloyd Wright made a significant impact on the built environment both in the United States and throughout the world. He created structures that transformed residences, commercial buildings, and public spaces for more than half a century. Often Wright himself designed each of the elements for his projects including the windows. Intended as a neighborhood kindergarten, Wright built a “playhouse” for repeat clients Avery and Queen Ferry Coonley in Riverside, Illinois. In this instance, Wright adapted balloon shapes, the American Flag, and checkerboard patterns to create colorful stained glass windows visible in the drawing.