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Mr. and Mrs. Herbert A. Jacobs House, Middleton, Wisconsin, Perspective

A drawing of a house with a curved facade and an inky black shadow cast on it, situated around a sunken garden amidst foliage.
© 2018 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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  • A drawing of a house with a curved facade and an inky black shadow cast on it, situated around a sunken garden amidst foliage.

Date:

1944

Artist:

Frank Lloyd Wright
American, 1867–1959

About this artwork

The leading figure of the Prairie school of architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright continued to innovate into his seventies. With the Herbert A. Jacobs House, he began a series of curved designs that were specifically constructed for the particular topographical character of a site in order to take advantage of solar energy. Wright had designed the Jacobs family’s former residence near Madison, Wisconsin; however, they wished to escape congestion and thus enlisted him to design a second home further out in the country. In this perspective view, Wright emphasized the home’s innovative features by depicting it at midday. Direct sunlight casts a bold swath of inky black shadow that dramatizes the interior curve of the building’s semicircular design. The south facade bends around a circular sunken garden. Large windows and glass doors welcome the weak winter sun while the wide, overhanging roof shields against summer’s direct rays. To protect from strong winds and to insulate the home, the house was set into a berm. The thick masonry walls that flank the facade link the building to its natural setting while offering a textural contrast to the glass front and airy interior.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Architecture and Design

Artist

Frank Lloyd Wright (Architect)

Title

Mr. and Mrs. Herbert A. Jacobs House, Middleton, Wisconsin, Perspective

Place

Middleton (Building address)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1944

Medium

Ink on paper with graphite guidelines

Dimensions

58.1 × 73.5 cm (22 7/8 × 28 15/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Herbert and Katherine Jacobs

Reference Number

1992.75.1

Copyright

© 2018 Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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