Frank Lloyd Wright, Home and Studio, Oak Park

It was in his home in Oak Park that Frank LloydWright made his first contributions to the Modernmovement. In 1889 he designed the first part ofthe house, in 1895 he added to it for his wife,Catherine, and their family, and in 1898 for hisarchitectural practice. The entire building was alearning laboratory of modern architecture. Whilenot a Prairie School house, it led to the developmentof the Prairie School. Wright's constantchanges to this complex paralleled the evolutionof his early architectural work and career. There,with his young assistants, he rethought the plan,spaces, materials, proportions, and lines of Americanresidential architecture, creating a revolutionon the Prairie. His home and studio provided thearchitectural environment in which to experimentwith his ideas in three dimensions. The housefeatured contemporary art work, oriental tribalrugs, and Japanese decorative arts chosen byWright and his wife. The studio was decoratedwith classical plaster sculpture, Teco ceramicsand selections from Wright's large collection ofJapanese prints. Wright completed the interiors,toned in nature's hues, with furniture and builtinfurnishings of his own design, harmonious tothe whole.The colour photographs of Jon Miller of Hedrich-Blessing show a glimpse into Wright's firsthaven, where he challenged prevailing notionsabout the country's architecture, and which hethen left, to continue as one of America's mostsignificant architects. Included in the book is aportfolio of historic black and white photographsof the building, a number of them taken byWright himself.