9781422271834

MASTERS OF ART

room and a playroom. His use of sculpture and decorative objects is apparent with such additions as works by Richard Bock (commissioned for his decorative sculpture by Wright over many years), and heavy stone flower urns of Wright’s own design, which became a feature of many of his later houses. The house was open plan, and Wright designed the furniture and decorative panels. The fireplace in the main living room is in the form of a Romanesque arch, popularized by Richardson and elaborated on by Sullivan. One aspect of the house that became a centrally identifying feature of psychological importance is the fireplace/hearth, which Wright continued to place at the core of his Domestic buildings.

PLATE 3 Frank Lloyd Wright’s Own House and Studio, Oak Park, Chicago, Illinois 1889–1909

Houses designed by architects for themselves offer a freedom of treatment that is not usually present in projects for clients and is, consequently, often the most rewarding. With this early building, which Wright worked on and modified over a period of nearly ten years as his family and practice increased in size, we have the opportunity to observe the development of his personal aesthetic. Starting with a small house, he enlarged it to include an attached studio with an octagonal library and a two-story drafting room with a suspended balcony, as well as a new dining

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