Sullivanesque

This illustrated survey traces a lesser-known strand of modern American architecture that grew out of the work of Louis Sullivan. Its visuals and historical narrative follow the development of what became known as Sullivanesque, a manner of arranging building facades.

Sullivan was celebrated for shaping both the Chicago School and the Prairie School, yet he never set out to start a movement in facade design. Frank Lloyd Wright, William Gray Purcell, and George G. Elmslie later took up and extended the approach that would carry his name.

Sullivan's ornament set his buildings apart. Plant and animal motifs softened the severe geometry of his structures and sat comfortably alongside his belief that a building's form should grow directly from its purpose.