Photo by Arnold Newman.

Johnson and Mies van der Rohe.

PHILIP CORTELYOU JOHNSON
(1906-2005)

In 1928, Johnson met the Bauhaus architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, who was at the time designing the German Pavilion for the 1929 Barcelona exhibition. The meeting was a revelation for Johnson and formed the basis for a lifelong relationship.

Johnson organized the landmark show "The International Style: Architecture Since 1922" at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932. It was profoundly influential and is seen as the US introduction such pivotal architects as Le Corbusier, Gropius, and van der Rohe. The exhibition was also notable for controversy: architect Frank Lloyd Wright withdrew his entries in pique that he was not more prominently featured.

Johnson joined van der Rohe in the design of the 1956  Seagram Building, a bronze and glass tower on Park Avenue.  The New York Times called it the most important building of the twentieth century.  Later Johnson commissions included the master plan of Lincoln Center, PPG Place in Pittsburgh, various building at New York University, and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.  He was the first winner of the Pritzker Prize, the $100,000 award established in 1979 by the Pritzker family of Chicago to honor an architect of international stature. In 1978, he won the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architects, the highest award the American profession bestows on any of its members.

He collaborated frequently with Richard Foster.

"The job of the architect today is to create beautiful buildings. That's all."

1949 - Johnson's own "Glass House" in New Canaan CT, 69 miles North of New York City.  He lived there for 45 years with partner David Whitney.  Nearby is the entrance to his 1965 underground Painting Gallery.  Public tours available, information here.  The house is within walking distance of the New Canaan Train Station.

1956 - The Eric Boissonnas House, New Canaan CT.  Restored 1998.  4400 square feet.  Sold five times. Sold to Jay Spectre, who stayed 12 years and died there in 1994.  Empty for three years.  Sold to Bill Matassoni and Pamela Valentine.