Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan and Wright

Why are buildings designed by architects Louis H. Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright so haunting, especially those that have been destroyed? More than simply creating a physical structure, both architects had rare gifts for engaging the human senses and emotions through the power of space, color, light, and motion – all qualities that can never quite be conveyed by photography or drawings. Their buildings demanded to be experienced.

This exhibition attempts to conjure the essence of two long-gone masterpieces. Louis Sullivan’s Garrick Theatre Building in Chicago stood for only sixty-nine years and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Larkin Building in Buffalo lasted only forty-four years, and yet, these buildings continue to resonate, far outlasting their physical presence.