Frank Lloyd Wright
American, 1867-1959
Person TypeIndividual
BiographyBorn in rural Richland Center, Wisconsin, Frank Lloyd Wright grew up in and around nature, an influence that stayed with him throughout his life. He studied briefly at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and then moved to Chicago, where he worked as a draftsman and an apprentice for the architect Louis Sullivan (1856–1924). In 1893, Wright branched out on his own to work on building projects primarily located in his own neighborhood of Oak Park. During this period, Wright embraced the Arts and Crafts movement's call for simplicity in design and applied those ideals to his architecture as well as fixtures and furniture, bringing exterior and interior in harmony within an overall aesthetic scheme. Beginning around 1900, Wright developed his mature style of what he called "organic architecture," closely aligned with the Prairie School of architecture, characterized by open interiors, the use of natural materials, and an emphasis on simple horizontal forms, which echo the flat Midwestern landscape. Although Prairie School architecture was largely a regional style, it exerted influence throughout America and much of Europe.