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Louis Sullivan

American architect (1856-1924) · United States · Architects · Died at 67

Louis Sullivan is read about 255 times a day, in 55 languages.

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He gave the skyscraper its theory - that a tall building should look like what it does, not like a dressed-up temple - and the slogan still taught in every studio: form follows function.

ArchitectsArchitectArchitectureUnited StatesAmericas19th Century

A life in dates

1924Died14 April 19241902“The tyranny alike of church and state has been curbed, and true power is now known to reside where forever it must remain - in the people.”In their wordsFirst read before the Architectural League of America, Toronto (1902), later published in Kindergarten Chats (revised 1918) and Other

“An art of expression should begin with childhood, and the lucid use of one's mother tongue should be typical of that art.”In their wordsFirst read before the Architectural League of America, Toronto (1902), later published in Kindergarten Chats (revised 1918) and Other

“I am not of those who believe in lackadaisical methods.”In their wordsFirst read before the Architectural League of America, Toronto (1902), later published in Kindergarten Chats (revised 1918) and Other

1896“All things in nature have a shape, that is to say, a form, an outward semblance, that tells us what they are, that distinguishes them from ourselves and from each other.”In their wordsMarch 1896"The Tall Office Building Artistically Considered" in Lippincott's Magazine (March 1896)

1894“Man, by means of his physical power, his mechanical resources, his mental ingenuity, may set things side by side.”In their words"Emotional Architecture as Compared to Intellectual : A Study in Subjective and Objective", an address to the American Institute of

“The schools, having found the object of their long, blind searching, shall teach directness, simplicity, naturalness: they shall protect the young against palpable illusion.”In their words"Emotional Architecture as Compared to Intellectual : A Study in Subjective and Objective", an address to the American Institute of

1856Born3 September 1856

Also in Deutsch

Photos 4

LouisSullivanLouisSullivanLouis Sullivan circa 1895Louis Sullivan circa 1895SullivanesqueSullivanesqueWall sconce, 1907, Louis H. Sullivan, High MuseumWall sconce, 1907, Louis H. Sullivan, High Museum

In their own words 10

,
Louis Sullivan
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. The tyranny alike of church and state has been curbed, and true power is now known to reside where forever it must remain - in the people.

    1902, First read before the Architectural League of America, Toronto (1902), later published in Kindergarten Chats (revised 1918) and Other, Own words

  2. Truly we are face to face with great things. The mind of youth should be squarely turned to these phenomena.

    1902, First read before the Architectural League of America, Toronto (1902), later published in Kindergarten Chats (revised 1918) and Other, Own words

  3. An art of expression should begin with childhood, and the lucid use of one's mother tongue should be typical of that art.

    1902, First read before the Architectural League of America, Toronto (1902), later published in Kindergarten Chats (revised 1918) and Other, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

About this person

Louis Henry Sullivan was born September 3, 1856, and became the defining architect of the Chicago School, the movement that reimagined what cities could look like after steel made height possible. He mentored Frank Lloyd Wright and shaped the Prairie School architects who followed. Along with Wright and Henry Hobson Richardson, he forms what's called "the recognized trinity of American architecture." His phrase "form follows function" distilled older ideas and bent them toward the new scale of the skyscraper, arguing that a building's skin should express its purpose rather than mimic the past. He died April 14, 1924; two decades later, in 1944, he became the second architect to receive the AIA Gold Medal posthumously.

Country
United States
Category
Architects
Type
Architect
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1856 to 1924 · aged 67

In common with Louis

Michael GravesBoth received Fellow of the American Institute of ArchitectsRobert VenturiBoth received Fellow of the American Institute of ArchitectsLouis KahnBoth received Fellow of the American Institute of ArchitectsDaniel BurnhamBoth received Fellow of the American Institute of ArchitectsMoshe SafdieBoth received Fellow of the American Institute of ArchitectsEliel SaarinenBoth received Fellow of the American Institute of Architects

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