Louis Sullivan

Louis Sullivan

Louis Sullivan was without a doubt one of the most influential figures in American architecture. He can be credited with lying the foundation of today’s modern skyscrapers. In addition, he has produced some of the most magnificent ornaments seen in 19th and 20th century, which adorned his buildings.

On September 3, 1856, Louis Henri Sullivan was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His came from an Irish father and a French mother. Louis led a sheltered childhood as result of the civil war, and spent a good deal of time on his grandparents’ farm outside of the city. It is here that Sullivan developed an intense concept of nature, which would be apparent in his later work. By the age of twelve, Louis decided to pursue a career in architecture. Moses Wilson, one of Sullivan’s high school teachers, introduced him to the disciplines of silence, attention, and alertness, which are necessary components of the abilities to observe, reflect, and discriminate. These would serve to help him in his career pursuits. Asa Gray, a botanist from Harvard who lectured at his school, caught his interest in the morphology of plants. At the age of sixteen, he was admitted two years early to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sullivan’s first employment came as a draftsman for the architectural firm Furness and Hewitt in Philadelphia, which he felt was best suited to his tastes. An economic panic resulted in his layoff from the firm and his relocation to Chicago. It was here that he went to work for Major William LeBaron Jenney. It was not long before Louis had acquainted himself with numerous other architects in the city; the most important of whom would turn out to be John Edelman.

The summer of 1874 had Sullivan traveling overseas to the Ecole des Beaur Arts in Paris. After passing rigorous admissions tests, he studied geometric form from Monsieur Clopet. Next, Louis toured Italy to study its fine works of art.

Sullivan returned to Chicago in 1875, where he worked several draftsman positions over the next five years. After this period, John Edelman introduced him to Dankmar Adler. The two formed a partnership in 1881 that would last fourteen years. Sullivan handled the design of their architecture, while Adler oversaw the engineering and acoustic areas of the firm. Louis had two main protegees over the course of his career.