Romanticism to Ruin: Two Lost Works of Sullivan & 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.