Northome, 1914. Wayzata, Minnesota.

This room came from Northome (1912–14), the summer residence of banker Francis W. Little and his wife in the Minneapolis suburb Wayzata, Minnesota. It was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959), arguably the most prominent and renowned American architect of the twentieth century. Wright, born in Wisconsin, began his architectural career in 1887 in Chicago, where he worked with Louis Sullivan for several years before striking out on his own. By the time the Littles asked him to build their new Minnesota home, he had already built the family a house in Peoria, Illinois (1902), and had become a prominent and successful architect in his own right. Wright counted the Littles among his favorite patrons. They helped fund the first major publication of his designs, the famous Wasmuth portfolio (1910–11), which, along with an exhibition in Berlin, secured renown for Wright among Europe's younger generation of architects and designers.

The Wayzata house, however, tested the patience and loyalty of both the clients and the architect. The Littles wrote to Wright in 1913: "You don't get what we want. Probably we have in mind at least in a vague way your designs of 8 or 10 years ago—the Thomas house [1901] or Miss Dana's [1902] say—While you were reaching for something different." Wright's ideas had indeed changed in the intervening years, partially because of his exposure to the work of European architects and his growing interest in non-Western forms of ornamentation. His personal life also intervened; 1908 to 1912 was a particularly tumultuous time for the artist, who left his wife, children, and Chicago practice to go to Berlin. There, he was joined by the wife of a former client, with whom he had fallen in love. The Littles did not approve, complaining that Wright was overly distracted. "Have you lost interest in architecture," wrote Francis Little, "or merely in the house? Something must be done soon or we must stop and wait for you to come to life."

		Mr. and Mrs. Francis W. Little at entrance to Northome.

Certain changes were made to Wright's original designs. The Littles wanted the ceiling of the living room to be higher than was common in Wright-designed houses, presumably because they intended the room to serve as both a family gathering place and an informal concert hall where Mrs. Little, an amateur musician, could play the piano for guests.

Despite these conflicts and accommodations, the Wayzata house was a resounding success. As with Wright's other great Prairie-style homes, Northome, the last example built, was brilliantly integrated into its site. Composed of a series of connected pavilions, it seemed to grow organically from the hilly landscape overlooking the nearby lake.