Louis Sullivan: His Life and Work

by Robert Twombly

FIRST EDITION. 1985 Viking hardcover, Robert C. Twombly (Frank Lloyd His Life and His Architecture). A biography of the influential American architect analyzes his designs, writings, and decorative schemes, and includes a look at his influence on Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects. - Amazon

Genres: Architecture, Biography, Nonfiction, History

530 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1986

Reviews

[Architeacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of the Sullivan biographies, Twombley has no axe to grind. Like his protege Frank Lloyd Wright, Sullivan was obtuse and evasive about his own life; Sullivan's autobiography is a dense, fragmentary and less than rewarding read. Twombley, on the other hand, has the advantage of being a social historian, more distant from the art and architectural historians who have given us more theory than insight.

[David Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man of many shades. The descriptive details of Sullivan’s structures (some 250 all total) begin to tire, but yet, the book serves as a good compendium of his life-long work. A task-master to the core, guarded, private, his sole purpose in life was his work. Sullivan’s life was far from cheerful. Quite sad actually, ending with him being penniless and seeking handouts.

[MTS Youth]

921 Sul

[Asala]

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[Howard Mansfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Twombly’s biography is the most complete portrait of this great architect and the starting point for anyone wanting to read about Sullivan. Twombly tends to bog down his narrative with too many details that would be better handled in footnotes, but the story finally picks up speed when Adler & Sullivan are building their great Auditorium Building. Sullivan was a very private person, unknowable even to those closest to him, and so he also eludes his biographer, despite Twombly’s prodigious research. This biography will give the reader an excellent understanding of Sullivan’s work and his philosophy.