In this critically acclaimed biography, Franz Schulze probes the private
and professional life of one of the most famous architects and
architectural critics of the twentieth century.
The only child of a wealthy Midwestern family, Philip Johnson was a
millionaire by the time he graduated from Harvard, and in 1932 he helped
stage the historic International Style exhibition at the Museum of
Modern Art. A patron of the arts and a political activists who flirted
with the politics of Hitler, Huey Long, and Father Coughlin, he went on
to create controversial and historical structures such as the Glass
House, the Roofless Church, the AT & T Building, the Crystal Cathedral,
and many more. Johnson's personal charms paired with his manipulative
ploys--like his "borrowing" of designs--shine through in this biography.
Drawing on Johnson's correspondence, personal photographs, and speeches,
and on interviews with his friends and contemporaries, Schulze fills the
biography with fascinating information on the architect's family,
travels, friends and lovers, and his many buildings and spaces
themselves.