On his return to the United States in 1911, Wright was an international figure; but his real importance was little recognized in this country. His controversial personal life—the breakup of his first marriage; the sensational murder of Mamah Borthwick, the woman for whom he left his family; and his later relationships—made his position untenable in conservative Midwestern society and the ensuing two decades were perhaps the most difficult years in Wright's life. Part of this time was spent on the west coast and in Tokyo with the construction of the Imperial Hotel (ca. 1916–22). At home, the economic constraints of the Depression compounded his professional problems, and few of Wright's projects were realized during this period.
By the 1930s, however, Wright—then in his sixties—reemerged with a series of remarkable buildings and was once again an accepted leader in modern architecture. For the next quarter century until his death in 1959 at the age of ninety-two, he would build on an unprecedented scale. Although he enjoyed immense fame in his later years, Wright had few distinguished followers. His was a highly individual genius that provided a unique solution for each client and site.