How Frank Gehry Became Frank Gehry

Even if you can’t name a building by architect Frank Gehry, you’ll know it when you see it: Gehry’s is the structure whose panoply of lines pile up against one another, with angles so improbable as to look barely functional. His style is bright, dynamic, and as subtle as a police siren.

This instantly recognizable aesthetic has helped make Gehry arguably the most famous architect in the world. His name is a brand in itself: There was a Frank Gehry line of jewelry at Tiffany’s, a Frank Gehry furniture line from Knoll, and a Frank Gehry handbag from Louis Vuitton. His level of celebrity transcends architecture, derived instead from the perception that Gehry is simply an artistic genius. In a 1997 New York Times review, architecture critic Herbert Muschamp wrote that Gehry “changed an art form and in the process is changing a culture.” That was 18 years ago. His reputation continues to grow.