One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s smallest homes that he designed is the Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, Virginia. It was originally built in 1941 in Falls Curch, Virginia and was moved to Alexandria in the mid sixties when it was at risk to be demolished for a new highway going into D.C. It is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian homes that he designed for the middle class. At only 1200 square feet, it is a small but very comfortable little house. With an emphasis on the house sitting into the landscape, I really like all the horizontal lines and that was one of the reasons I decided to do a painting of it. With its overall simplicity and lines, combined with the interesting cutouts in the windows at top and at the end of the house, it is a beautiful little house. I’ve photographed the house from a variety of angles, but my favorite view is from the end where you get the straight on view of the windows. It is especially photogenic when the leaves hang into the top of the photo and that’s why I’ve included them in the painting.
Pope-Leighey House, Oil on 8”x10” Canvas
Here are some of my reference photos which may be used for future paintings of the house. All photos were taken by me.
I hope you can see from the photos why I enjoy Frank Lloyd Wright architecture so much and find it so interesting a subject to paint.
