Born: July 8, 1906, Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Died: January 25, 2005, New Canaan, Connecticut, United States
Education: Hackley School
Harvard University
Lived: Glass House, 842 Ponus Ridge Rd, New Canaan, CT 06840, USA (41.14648, -73.49683)
Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Guest House, 242 East 52nd Street
Books: Deconstructivist architecture, Johnson/Burgee, Writings, more
Awards: Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Gold Medal, Twenty-five Year Award
Philip Johnson was an influential American architect. In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 1978 he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and in 1979 the first Pritzker Architecture Prize. David Whitney was the life partner of Johnson for 45 years. "He was 18 years old or something. He was a student up at Rhode Island School of Design. We met because of Johns’ flag painting. He said, 'Why did you buy that flag?' It was his first question to me in the world. He just came up to me after a lecture [at Brown University]. So then we got started." “After Johnson had been living with Whitney for more than fifteen years, Barbara Walters interrogated Johnson during a dinner party at the home of Kitty Carlisle Hart. ‘Why don't you ever bring your boyfriend to these events?’ Walters demanded. ‘I said, "By God, you're right, Barbara." Got up from the table and went home,’ Johnson recalled. ‘She was a very great help. I was so mean and selfish: “I'll be home late tonight," that kind
of thing.’” --Charles Kaiser. Johnson died in his sleep at 95. Whitney survived him only by 6 months.
Together from 1960 to 2005: 45 years.
David Whitney (1939 – June 12, 2005)
Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005)
Days of Love edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1500563325
ISBN-10: 1500563323
Release Date: September 21, 2014
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Philip Johnson died in his sleep while at his Glass House retreat in 2005. He was survived by his partner of 45 years, David Whitney, who died later that year at age 66.
Address: 842 Ponus Ridge Rd, New Canaan, CT 06840, USA (41.14648, -73.49683)
Type: Museum (open to public)
Phone: +1 203-594-9884
National Register of Historic Places: 97000341, 1997. Also National Historic Landmarks
Place
Built in 1949, Design by Philip Johnson (1906-2005)
The Glass House or Johnson house, is a historic house museum at 798-856 Ponus Ridge Road in New Canaan, Connecticut. The Glass House is Philip Johnson’s own residence, and "universally viewed as having been derived from" the Farnsworth House design, according to Alice T. Friedman. Johnson curated an exhibit of Mies van der Rohe work at the Museum of Modern Art in 1947, featuring a model of the glass Farnsworth House. It was an important and influential project for Johnson and for modern architecture. The building is an essay in minimal structure, geometry, proportion, and the effects of transparency and reflection. The estate includes other buildings designed by Johnson that span his career. It is open to the public for guided tours, which begin at a visitors center at 199 Elm Street in New Canaan. The house is an example of early use of industrial materials such as glass and steel in home design. Johnson lived at the weekend retreat for 58 years, and since 1960 with his longtime companion, David Whitney, an art critic and curator who helped design the landscaping and largely collected the art displayed there. The house is mostly hidden from the street. It is behind a stone wall at the edge of a crest in Johnson’s estate overlooking a pond. Visitors walk over grass and gravel strips as they approach the building. The building is 56 feet (17 m) long, 32 feet (9.8 m) wide and 10½ feet (3.2 m) high. The kitchen, dining and sleeping areas were all in one glass-enclosed room, which Johnson initially lived in, together with the brick guest house (later the glass-walled building was only used for entertaining.) The exterior sides of the Glass House are charcoal-painted steel and glass. The brick floor is 10 inches above the ground. The interior is open with the space divided by low walnut cabinets; a brick cylinder contains the bathroom and is the only object to reach floor to ceiling.
Life
Who: Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) and David Whitney (1939 – June 12, 2005)
Philip Johnson was an influential architect. He is especially known for his postmodern work from the 1980s and beyond, as well as his collaborations with John Burgee. In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 1978 he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and in 1979 the first Pritzker Architecture Prize. He was a student at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Johnson was gay, and has been called "the best-known openly gay architect in America." He came out publicly in 1993. In 1961, he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1963. David Whitney was an art curator, collector, gallerist and critic. He led a very private life and was not well known outside the art world, even though he participated naked in the 1965 Claes Oldenburg happening Washes. He was the life partner of architect Philip Johnson for 45 years until their deaths five months apart. He was also a close friend of Andy Warhol.
Queer Places, Vol. 1 edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1532901904
ISBN-10: 1532901909
Release Date: July 24, 2016
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The Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller (Mrs. John D, III) Guest House, at 242 East 52nd Street, was built in 1950 by Murphy-Brinkworth Construction Company, design by Philip Johnson. Intended for use as a social gathering place and modern art gallery. The second floor was meant to be a bedroom and has rarely been photographed. The house was donated to the Museum of Modern Art in 1955 after which it had several owners. Another Johnson client, Robert Leonhardt, bought it in 1964 for $100,000 and was owner when Johnson rented the house from 1971 to 1979. In the early 2000's the house was sold at auction for $11M. It was given Landmark status by the Preservation Commission in December 2000.
Queer Places, Vol. 1 edited by Elisa Rolle
ISBN-13: 978-1532901904
ISBN-10: 1532901909
Release Date: July 24, 2016
CreateSpace Store: https://www.createspace.com/6228297
Amazon (print): http://www.amazon.com/dp/1532901909/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Amazon (kindle): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IZ1BU9K/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
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