Frank Lloyd Wright And 20th Century Architecture

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Frank Lloyd Wright is widely known and is considered to be America’s greatest architect. He is considered, in the eyes of many, to be the most consequential American architect of the 20th century. “Strongly individualistic, flamboyant, and arrogant, Wright designed and built more than four hundred structures that reflect his architectural genius. Directly and indirectly, he heavily influenced twentieth century architecture with his diverse use of geometry in his designs” (Eisenman). Wright was born Frank Lincoln Wright on June 8, 1967, in Richland Center, Wisconsin, to parents William Cary Wright, a Baptist preacher, and Anna Lloyd-Jones, a county school teacher. He grew up in a middle class home during the 1870’s and 1880’s and dreamed of attending the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After his parents’ divorce in 1885, Wright was raised by his mother, and he developed a very close relationship with her, eventually adopting her maiden name Lloyd as his middle name (Wikipedia). That same year, Wright moved to Madison with the hopes of attending the University of Wisconsin. He began seeking part-time employment along with admission to the university. Eventually, a local contractor in Madison took Wright on as his …show more content…

Guggenheim Museum. in New York. “Its circular form and concrete construction reaffirm Wright’s interest, late in his life, in continuous shapes and plastic forms” (Eisenman). The Guggenheim Museum is thought by many to be Wright’s capstone, yet it caused controversy and epic resistance from traditionalists. Wright wanted to push mu­seum design to a new level and push museum administra­tors out of their comfort zones. He aggressively fired back at critics who claimed that the Guggenheim plan was a monu­ment to himself. “On the contrary, ” he said, “it was to make the building and the painting an uninterrupted, beautiful symphony such as never existed in the World of Art before” (Wilkinson,

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