His Prairie Houses
A child of the Midwest, Frank Lloyd Wright found the prairie majestic, inspirational, and comforting. His first great abstractions of nature were his Prairie Style designs for houses and furniture. Their lines echoed the low, long horizon and vertical shoots of wheat, corn and prairie grass.
His Prairie Period is represented by houses that were built in the midwestern and northeastern United States and the furniture that was designed specifically for those homes and Mr. Wright's clients. Copeland Furniture uses the names of those homes (and patrons) to set each piece of Frank Lloyd Wright® Furniture by Copeland in Wright’s design legacy.
The Dana-Thomas House, Springfield, Illinois, 1902
Wright’s first expansive house on a truly grand scale, it was designed for Susan Lawrence Dana, a renowned hostess who required a home for well-attended social and artistic events. A special large gallery connected to the main residence provided space for these occasions. The long dining room itself provided service for forty persons. In addition to the house and all its furnishings, Wright designed lighting fixtures and ornamental sculptures. The stained glass is amongst the finest of his work.
return to top
The Frederick Robie House, Chicago, Illinois, 1908
This house is often considered to be Wright’s Prairie masterpiece. The client was an inventor and engineer who had specific requirements for the design. They included a fireproof building, rooms without interruptions, all the daylight possible with shading and weather protection provided by overhanging eaves, the ability to see down the street to the neighbors with his own privacy ensured, and walled yard to keep the children from wandering off and getting lost.
return to top
The Meyer May House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1908
Along with the design of the home of Meyer May, a cutting-edge haberdasher, Wright designed furniture, rugs, stained glass, lighting fixtures and textiles. It stands today as one of the finest examples of all those elements harmoniously combined.
return to top
The Avery and Queene Coonley House, Riverside, Illinois, 1907
Situated along the Des Plaines River, the Coonley House is the largest and most expensive of all Wright’s Prairie houses. Both clients were business fortune heirs. Wright designed all the features and furnishings within the home, including rugs and textiles. The plan is unique in Wright’s Prairie style houses; the various components of the plan are zoned. One second-floor zone includes the living room and dining room, another, the bedrooms. A third zone, containing the kitchen and service areas, connects to the dining room. The living room, playroom, and entrance hall are on the ground floor.
return to top
The Oak Park Home and Studio, Oak Park, Illinois, 1889-1909
Wright’s own home and studio became an architectural laboratory during the twenty years that he lived and worked there. Built in the same neighborhood as several of his other houses, it was a showroom of his ideas. In 1890 he placed lighting within a ceiling grille, creating the first use of what would be known as “indirect lighting.”
return to top
Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin, 1911-1959
Wright began building Taliesin, his home, studio, and farm, in 1911. The name Taliesin is Welsh and means “shining brow.” The building rests on the brow of a hill overlooking the fields, lakes, and hillsides of the pastoral Wisconsin landscape. As with his previous home in Oak Park, Taliesin continually grew and expanded over the course of nearly fifty years. It differs from the previous Prairie houses, which were mostly in urban settings, in that it is an intimate companion to the land on which it is constructed.
return to top
The Arthur Heurtley House, Oak Park, Illinois, 1902
In 1902, Arthur and Grace Heurtley, a successful young couple engaged Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home that would accommodate their growing family and frequent guests. The house is located down the street from Wright’s own Oak Park Home and Studio. Wright wrote of the house, “it is one of my best.”
return to top
photo credits: Alan Weintraub/arcaid.co.uk |
