Louis
Sullivan

Louis Sullivan (1856–1924) is celebrated as the father of the skyscraper and a pioneer of early American modernism, whose philosophy of “form follows function” shaped the future of architecture. His iconic works, including the Wainwright Building, the Guaranty Building, and the Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. store, featured ornamented yet structurally expressive facades. Sullivan’s influence extended through his protégé Frank Lloyd Wright, impacting the Prairie School movement. Despite financial struggles late in life, his architectural ideals became fundamental to 20th-century skyscraper design, proving that aesthetic elegance and structural logic could coexist harmoniously.