American System-Built Houses for The Richards Company project (Exterior perspective of model E3)

Frank Lloyd Wright

1915–1917

A lithograph by Frank Lloyd Wright advertising his American System-Built House model E3, intended to show how thoughtful, standardized design could make attractive, affordable homes for ordinary Americans.

At first glance the image arrests you with its flat, horizontal massing and crisp, geometric lines set against a deep sky, while the pale, blocky house, trailing vines, and bold red square and hand-lettered text below make the composition feel both domestic and deliberately modern.

The sheet documents Wright’s early effort to industrialize domestic architecture—bringing modernist aesthetics and systemized construction to middle‑class housing and influencing later conversations about prefabrication and suburban design.

Palette

Art Terms

Lithography Architectural drawing Architecture Design Prefabrication Built environment Poster

Exhibitions

Built in USA: Post-War Architecture

1953

A New Country House by Frank Lloyd Wright: Scale Model

1946

Modern Rooms of the Last Fifty Years

1946

Integrated Building: Kitchen, Bathroom, and Storage

1945