One of the most important homes in America needs you

Dear Friends of the Glass House,

The Glass House is approaching the end of an exciting season with the introduction of many new programs, part of a strategic initiative I like to refer to as Glass House 2.0. The Glass House of Philip Johnson and David Whitney was known as “the most sustained cultural salon the United States has ever seen.” Glass House 1.0 represented the first five years of the house’s public life as a National Trust Historic Site and house museum. Glass House 2.0 aims to recapture the site’s earlier legacy as a unique cultural center, a laboratory for the presentation of new works and ideas.

This year we launched an exhibitions program with two shows: Frank Stella: Scarlatti Kirkpatrick and Night (1947-2015) and welcomed over 13,000 visitors to the site. We also inaugurated a fresh flowers program, bringing new life to the interior of the Glass House. In the coming seasons, we will develop more ambitious projects, and are currently exploring new programs and activities that will strengthen the liveliness and relevance of our special site. Educational programs continue to take center stage, as we host monthly Conversations in Context, Glass House Conversations, and think tanks both on site and in the field, including our first participation in this year’s Venice Architecture Biennale. In time, we hope to add site-specific initiatives including residency programs, performances, and scholarly and community gatherings.

In addition to urgent needs, we are still working to raise funds to restore the Brick House, which has remained closed for the last five years, as well as make necessary repairs to the Sculpture Gallery roof. The Glass House is a preservation-based organization, and its 14 buildings, world-class art collection and 49-acre landscape demand ongoing maintenance.

To maintain our role as an important cultural asset and site of international significance, we need your support. Please help with a generous year-end donation. We welcome your support at every level.

If you would like to speak to a Glass House representative about your donation, please contact Scott Drevnig, Director of Development, at 203-594-9884 x33335, or sdrevnig@savingplaces.org.

As a thank you for a donation of $2,500 or more, we are pleased to send you a signed copy of the James Welling: Glass House hardcover book. This book features mesmerizing images by one of the world’s eminent photographers.

We have an exciting new year in the works, filled with a vibrant and diverse range of exhibitions and programming. Thank you in advance for your care and support of the Glass House. We have a special place and an incredible team serving as its stewards.

Warm regards,

Henry Urbach
Director

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Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Conversations in Context, Educational Partnership, Exhibitions, Glass House Conversations, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Brick House, Conversations in Context, David Whitney, Frank Stella, fresh flowers, Glass House 2.0, Glass House Conversations, Henry Urbach, James Welling, National Trust Historic Site, Philip Johnson, Preservation, Scott Drevnig, Sculpture Gallery, The Glass House, Venice Architecture Biennale

The Conservation of Bruce Nauman’s Sculpture Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body at Ten Inch Intervals (1966)

On view in the Sculpture Gallery, Bruce Nauman’s Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body at Ten Inch Intervals is integral to the permanent collection of the Glass House. Nauman, recognized as one of America’s most innovative and provocative artists emerged in the mid-1960s as a leading figure in Performance and Body Art and has since created an open-ended body of work that includes sculptures, photographs, films, videos, holograms, interactive environments, performances, and neon wall reliefs.

Learn more about the conservation of Nauman’s Neon Templates at the Glass House.

Filed under: From the Collection, Preservation in Action, Architecture, Art, Bruce Nauman, Conservation, David Whitney, Design, Glass House, Neon Templates of the Left Half of My Body at Ten Inch Intervals, Philip Johnson, Preservation, Sculpture Gallery

Message From The Director

January 9, 2011

Happy New Year!

I write as air finally chills with winter, although the ground remains resolutely brown, denying the season its romance.  The Glass House site is closed to the public until May 2nd.  However, the staff is hard at work with many off-season projects.

Here is a look at how we spend the winter:

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Conversations in Context, Dine with Design, Glass House Conversations, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Birch Books, Conversations in Context, corporate partners, Curator, David Whitney, Dine with Design, Donate, essays, foundations, Frank Stella, friends, Fundraiser, Glass House, Glass House Conversations, Hicks Stone, Hurricane Irene, Interim Director, Library/Study, National Trust for Historic Preservation, New Canaan Library, New York City, off-season, Painting Gallery, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, property manager, Public Relations, Rena Zurofsky, sponsors, Support, The Library of Philip Johnson, winter

Support The Glass House

Dear Friends, Architecture, Art and Audience are our three motivations. The Philip Johnson Glass House is simply one of the most significant modernist sites in America, the private home that inspired a revolution in mid-20th century living that extends to the present day. The site’s remaining art collection provides a fascinating insight to the curatorial talents of Johnson’s partner, David Whitney. Between them, Johnson and Whitney significantly shaped the exhibitions and collections of the Museum of Modern Art’s formative decades. In opening the site for tours and in creating deeper and richer web content, our goal is to educate and inspire you, our local, national, and international audience.To accomplish our goals of preserving, restoring and performing original research, we count on the generosity of our supporters. We count on you!This year, more than ever, we need your help to balance our budget: Our endowment covers only 40% of our operations, preservation and programs.

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Books, Educational Partnership, From the Collection, Glass House Conversations, Glass House Design Store, Glass House Films, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Donation, Glass House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Support

NEW: Message From The Director

November 16, 2011

As our tour season winds down to its November 30 close, we keep active. In the past few weeks we’ve announced some wonderful collaborations which will stretch through the holidays, and some of them beyond.

For any of you in the greater metropolitan area, please don’t miss the exquisite exhibition of James Welling’s Glass House photographs on view in the lobby of the Four Seasons Restaurant through January 2, 2012. A collaboration between The Glass House, David Zwirner, and the Four Seasons, all photographs are offered for sale, with a large percentage benefiting The Glass House.

Entering the lobby is free, so don’t hesitate to see this beautiful show.  Plus, a short turn to the ladies’ room will give you an intimate view of the same Fortuny fabric that Philip Johnson used in the Brick House, currently closed pending restoration. Johnson often used the same materials on his projects (he designed the Four Seasons restaurant, and partnered with Mies van Der Rohe on the entire Seagram’s building), the Library/Study has carpeting originally used at the Four Seasons as well. The succulent garden, which can be viewed during our landscape tours, is built on a foundation of the same pink granite used for the AT&T, now Sony building.

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, Amei Wallach, annual fund, Art Basel Miami, Art Salon Talk, Birch Cooper, Christa Carr, David Zwirner, Four Seasons Restaurant, gift, Glass House, Hunter Palmer, James Welling, Jordan Hruska, Liam Gillick, Philip Johnson, Rena Zurofsky, Robert A. M. Stern, The Library of Philip Johnson, Todd Eberle

Living in the Glass House

Dear Friends,

It has been an incredibly fast-paced year for the Philip Johnson Glass House. We celebrated our Fifth Season by developing new ways of welcoming the public to our site in person, online, through educational programs and events, and at art and design fairs around the world.

We’ve collaborated with significant architects (Charles Renfro, Tod Williams + Billie Tsien, Gregg Pasquarelli), artists (James Welling, Todd Eberle, David Salle) and writers (Paul Goldberger, Karen Stein, Philip Nobel), great chefs (Michele Richard, Brian Lewis, Bill Taibe, Lee Chizmar, Derek Wagner), as well as talented local high school students and their inspired teachers.

This year, more than ever, we need your support to help balance our budget. Our endowment covers only 40% of our operations, preservation and programs but we count on the generosity of our supporters to complete the picture.

Here’s why we hope you will  

New Tours

Focus: Concentrate on art, landscape and /or architecture -you decide!

Plein Air Afternoons: Unguided access for creative inspiration.

Pure Glass: Short, sweet and the lucid heart of the property

Cultural Experiences in Person
and Online

Private made Public: Salons hosted by cultural leaders are now available to all, either through an evening on site or connecting through an online film of each program.

Preservation and Conservation: The first site-specific work of Donald Judd, Untitled, 1971 was cleaned and conserved this season. Explore documentation of the it’s history, from archival images of the initial installation, to video of the conservation team at work and an online dialogue led by Flavin Judd.

Important Research: A seminal biography of David Whitney, Philip Johnson’s private but influential partner, is essential reading for understanding of the legacy of Johnson, Whitney and the Glass House.

Community

Generations Together: This fall marks our fourth year working with the New Canaan High School students and their teachers. This year’s projects included landscape photography and oral history films featuring local notable architects John Black Lee, John Johansen, and Fred Noyes speaking about his father, Eliot Noyes. These projects bring generations together to explore the essential history of New Canaan and Modernism. All of the student-produced oral histories and many of their photographs 
can now be enjoyed on our website.

47 Acres and 14 Structures

Storms: Besides the investments we choose to make, because we believe in them and their importance, there are the investments we need to make. Hurricane Irene, seasonal flooding and heavy unexpected snowstorms hammered the Glass House just as it did our neighbors. Repairs and canceled tours due to power outages and clean-ups resulted in significant lost revenues that severely affected our bottom line.

To maintain our role as an important community asset and site of international significance, we need your support. Please help us balance the Glass House budget with a generous year-end donation.

We welcome your support at every level.  

We hope to see you at the Glass House soon and often, on a tour through November, or early next season.

Sincerely,

Rena Zurofsky
Interim Executive Director

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As an additional thank you for your donation of $1,000 or more, we will send you a copy of the just published, limited edition Library of Philip Johnson. Written by Birch Cooper and Jordan Hruska, this beautifully illustrated book examines 100 titles from the architect’s Library/Study located at the Glass House site and features an introduction by Architect Robert A. M. Stern, textual analyses and 350 photographs.

Donors of $5,000 or more will also receive invitations to an exclusive event at The Glass House during the 2012 season.

Tours and Tickets available for the 2011 Glass House tour season (through November 30).

To learn more about the Philip Johnson Glass House visit philipjohnsonglasshouse.org

 

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, Conversations in Context, Dine with Design, Educational Partnership, From the Collection, Glass House Conversations, Glass House Design Store, Glass House Films, In the News, Message from the Director, Preservation in Action, Tours + Programs, 1971, Bill Taibe, biography of David Whitney, Brian Lewis, Charles Renfro, Chefs, Conservation, David Salle, David Whitney, Derek Wagner, Donald Judd, Donate, Film, Food, Glass House, Gregg Pasquarelli, James Welling, Karen Stein, Lee Chizmar, Michele Richard, National Trust for Historic Preservation, New Canaan High School, oral history, Paul Goldberger, Philip Johnson, Philip Nobel, Plein Air Afternoons, Preservation, Rena Zurofsky, Salons, Support, The Library of Philip Johnson, Tod Williams + Billie Tsien, Todd Eberle, Untitled

Saving Philip Johnson’s Brick House

The New York Times, October 12, 2011
“Perhaps to maintain the illusion that he needed nothing more than his house of windows, the Brick House was rarely shown in photos of its more-famous neighbor. Now the National Trust for Historic Preservation has begun to raise money to preserve the Brick House, which was completed in 1949 and has been closed to the public since 2008 because of problems that include leaks resulting in mold on silk wall coverings, furniture and books.” 

Support the restoration of the Brick House today!

Filed under: About The Philip Johnson Glass House, In the News, Preservation in Action, Brick House, Brick House Restoration Fund, Glass House, New York Times, Philip Johnson

Discuss Conservation of Artist Donald Judd’s Sculpture at the Glass House

The cleaning and repair of Donald Judd’s first site-specific concrete sculpture, Untitled, 1971 is going on now at the Glass House.  Learn about the conservation process and the history of the piece, check out photos as the work progresses + post your questions here on the Glass House blog.

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, In the News, Preservation in Action, 1971, Amanda Trienens, Answer, Architecture, Art, Conservation, Design, Donald Judd, Flavin Judd, Glass House Conversations, Judd Foundation, Landscape, Minimalism, Modern, Modernism, Preservation, Question, Untitled

Kazys Varnelis, Director of the Network Architecture Lab Hosts Glass House Conversations

How do you pinpoint a singular moment or experience to preserve?

Filed under: Conversations in Context, Glass House Conversations, Preservation in Action, Architecture, Conservation, Conversations in Context, Glass House, Glass House Conversations, Kazys Varnelis, Philip Johnson, Philip Johnson Glass House, Preservation, Shashi Caan, Theodore H.M. Prudon

Conservation of Minimalist Artist Donald Judd’s Site-Specific Sculpture Untitled, 1971, Begins This Week at The Glass House

What philosophical and technical questions arise about the preservation of the work and the legacy of Donald Judd?

Conservation of minimalist artist Donald Judd’s (1928-1994) Untitled, 1971, the site specific sculpture at the Glass House begins this week.  Glass House Conversations will serve as a public forum to delve into philosophical and technical questions about the conservation of the sculpture, modern preservation and the legacy of Donald Judd.

Filed under: Glass House Conversations, Preservation in Action, Amanda Trienens, Conservation, Donald Judd, Flavin Judd, Glass House, Glass House Conversations, Preservation