--- description: LIFE.com features photos of Frank Lloyd Wright and celebrates some of his masterful -- and profoundly American -- architectural creations. title: Frank Lloyd Wright: Photos of an American Genius and His Works image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d2db658e153a10/69884871cd6848399709f161/04_114267303.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [architecture & design](/tag/architecture-design/) ## architecture & design Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Frank Lloyd Wright: The Natural by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2013 8:01 PM CUT  The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1959. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1959.Walter Sanders—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 21, 2013 8:01 PM CUT Ask any ten people on the street to name an architect—any architect, living or dead—and chances are pretty good that most would reply, “Frank Lloyd Wright.” It’s hardly surprising, of course, that six decades after his death, Wright (1867 – 1959) remains America’s, and perhaps the world’s, most recognizable architect. Aside from the unassailable brilliance of his creations (the breathtaking Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum alone would have assured his legend) and the almost unimaginably scandalous life he led (open infidelity; the abandonment of his wife and his six children; outrageous cost overruns on projects; public conflicts with his patrons),Wright himself was, physically and stylistically, a memorable man. With his white mane of hair and his consciously striking sartorial sense, he hardly sought to avoid attention. Wright was a genius, and like most geniuses, he wanted the world to notice him and his works. Here, on the anniversary of his landmark Guggenheim Museum in New York opening to the public for the very first time (Oct. 21, 1959), LIFE.com does just that—we pay attention to the man and celebrate some of his signature creations. For its part, LIFE magazine paid tribute to Wright and to his eye-popping 5th Avenue museum this way, in its Nov. 2, 1959, issue: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- _A curving wave that never breaks._ Coming from a man who was inspired by the myriad forms and shapes found in nature for much of his protean career, that simple statement is perfectly apt—and still, all these years later, somehow comfortingly true. _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk "undefined")_._  Frank Lloyd Wright, 1942. Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1959. Walter Sanders—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Inside the Guggenheim Museum, 1959. Dmitri Kessel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1959. Walter Sanders—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Robie House in Hyde Park, Chicago, a masterpiece of the "Prairie" style, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. (Completed 1910.) Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Johnson Wax building, Racine, Wisconsin, 1950\. (Opened 1939.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Inside the Johnson Wax building, Racine, Wisconsin, 1950\. (Opened 1939.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Inside the Johnson Wax building, Racine, Wisconsin, 1950\. (Opened 1939.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Inside the Johnson Wax building, Racine, Wisconsin, 1950\. (Opened 1939.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Frank Lloyd Wright house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1946. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Interior of Frank Lloyd Wright house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1946. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Interior of Frank Lloyd Wright house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1946. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Aerial view of Frank Lloyd Wright house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1946. Frank Scherschel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater, Dallas, Texas, 1960\. (Opened 1959.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Interior of the The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater, Dallas, Texas, 1960\. (Opened 1959.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Interior of the The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Kalita Humphreys Theater, Dallas, Texas, 1960\. (Opened 1959.) Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Exterior of the First Unitarian Society Meeting House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Madison Wisconsin, 1951. Ralph Crane—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Frank Lloyd Wright, photographed by LIFE's Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1956. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3878201/frank-lloyd-wright-photos-of-an-american-genius-and-his-works/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3878201/frank-lloyd-wright-photos-of-an-american-genius-and-his-works/"},"headline":"Frank Lloyd Wright: The Natural","datePublished":"2013-10-21T20:01:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:03:49.625Z","description":"On the anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum opening to the public for the first time in 1959, LIFE features photos of Frank Lloyd Wright and celebrates some of his signature creations.","url":"https://time.com/3878201/frank-lloyd-wright-photos-of-an-american-genius-and-his-works/","keywords":["architecture & design","New York City","photography","architecture","Design","black and white photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d2db658e153a10/69884871cd6848399709f161/04_114267303.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ben Cosgrove","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf9d2db658e153a10/69884871cd6848399709f161/04_114267303.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Guggenheim Museum, 1959","caption":"The Solomon R. 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