The John C. Pew House: A Lesser-Seen Usonian Beauty by Frank Lloyd Wright
Every Frank Lloyd Wright home has its own rhythm.
Some shout with bold forms and sweeping cantilevers. Others whisper in quiet details—wood grain, brick joints, filtered light. The John C. Pew House falls into the latter category.
I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to step inside this lesser-seen Usonian beauty to photograph it for the #500fllwproject—my mission to photograph every remaining Frank Lloyd Wright-designed site around the world.
Looking up toward the Pew House from a canoe on Lake Mendota
Designed in 1938 for John C. Pew, a research chemist, and his wife Ruth, the Pew House is tucked away on a narrow sloping lot in Madison, Wisconsin, stepping gracefully down to the edge of Lake Mendota. Like many Usonian homes, it was meant to be modest and efficient, embracing Wright’s vision for affordable yet artful housing for middle-class Americans during the Great Depression.
(Left) Looking down the driveway. (Right) End of the driveway, carport, front entrance, and walkway down to the lake.
Built under the supervision of Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship, the two-story home incorporates local materials, a horizontal emphasis, and an intuitive relationship to its site. The house feels rooted—almost grown from the hillside itself—drawing your eye outward to the lake beyond its expansive glass walls.
But what truly struck me was the intimacy. The Pew House isn’t loud or showy. It’s Wright speaking softly, reminding us that beauty can exist in quiet restraint.
Photographing a home like this is all about balance. You don’t just shoot walls and windows and all the wonderful intimate design elements —Im looking for light, the way it filters through the dense vegetation that surrounds the house. and how it dances across the simple textures off the design. The fun and tricky part is waiting for the right moment, when the architecture and atmosphere come into harmony with the light. Every frame was a chance to honor Wright’s vision and the quiet soul of the space.
(Left) Water feature cascading underneath the house (Right) View from the front entryway.
The Pew House isn’t the most famous Wright design. It doesn’t appear on every tour or Instagram feed. But that’s what makes it special. It reminds us that not all masterpieces are loud. Some sit quietly by the water, waiting for someone to look a little closer.
With the addition of the Pew House, I’ve now photographed 138 Wright-designed structures as part of the #500fllwproject. Every site is a chapter in a larger story—Wright’s story, of course—but also the story of American design, of changing ideas about how we live, and for me personally, a story about obsession, art, and discovery.
This project has introduced me to generous homeowners, tireless preservationists, curious students, and fellow Wright fans from all over the world. And each addition to the project brings me closer to understanding why Wright’s work still stirs so many of us.
I'm incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity—thank you to the current owner of the Pew House for opening the doors and sharing this hidden gem. 😎🙏
On to the next Wright.
RELATED CONTENT: