Recent News

• Dine with Design 2012: June 9

  The Glass House will host the second annual Dine with Design on Saturday, June 9. The event features two ways to experience the historic site including A Modern Picnic (12 - 3pm) and the Food Film Festival™ (beginning at 6:30pm). Tickets are available for purchase online at or via phone (866.811.4111).

  Dine with Design release

  Dine with Design images

   

• Conversations in Context: May 17 Launch

  The Glass House is pleased to announce its second year of Conversations in Context. The program offers visitors the opportunity to join a leader in architecture, art, landscape, history or design for an evening tour of the Glass House campus followed by an intimate conversation and reception on the historic property.

  Conversations in Context 2012 release

  2012 Host images and complete biographical statements

  Conversations in Context 2011 films

   

• 2012 Tour Season Launch: May 2

  The Glass House launches its 2012 tour season on Wednesday, May 2. Tour tickets, ranging in price from $30 to $250, are available online or via phone (866.811.411). The season runs from May 2 to November 30.

  Go to media alert

   

• Sarah Morris and her film, Points On A Line: February 21

  On Tuesday February 21, in association with the presentation of her video “Points on a Line” (2010), commissioned by the Philip Johnson Glass House, and engaging Johnson’s eponymous house and Mies van der Rohe’s the Farnsworth House, Sarah Morris and Nikolaus Hirsch (architect and Rector of the Staedelschule, Frankfurt) discuss the way in which her work documents built structures that might change the way we think about architecture. 

  ENVISIONING BUILDINGS: reflecting architecture in contemporary art photography

  Tuesday, February 21, 19.00

  MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Vienna, Austria

  Click here for more information

   

• 2012 Tour Tickets on Sale: Beginning February 14

  The Glass House will offer 2012 Tour Tickets for sale beginning February 14. The 2012 tour season will launch on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 and will close on Friday, November 30.

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  View 2012 season imagery

   

• Henry Urbach Named New Glass House Director: February 2

  The Glass House and The National Trust for Historic Preservation are pleased to announce that Henry Urbach has been named Director of The Glass House. Mr. Urbach will assume this role on April 2, 2012. Rena Zurofsky, museum consultant, will continue as Interim Director through the end of March.

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• Conservation of Donald Judd sculpture: Completed December 12

  From July to November, the Glass House conserved Donald Judd’s first site-specific outdoor concrete sculpture, Untitled (1971). The work represents an oeuvre that the artist would continue to explore, culminating in the 15 outdoor works (1980-84) in Marfa, Texas. An early collector of Judd’s work, Philip Johnson donated six sculptures by the artist to The Museum of Modern Art. This sculpture is the single remaining Judd piece in the Glass House collection.

   

• Philip Johnson Glass House Online Design Store: Launched November 23

  The Glass House Online Design Store offers a well-edited selection of high-design books and gifts for men, women, children, and the home.  The Design Store highlights the latest in eco-friendly materials and international design, as well as items inspired by the Glass House site.

  Go to the Glass House Online Design Store

   

• An Essay on David Grainger Whitney: Published Exclusively on Glass House Site

  The Glass House published a new essay highlighting the life of David Whitney entitled David Grainger Whitney: A Curated Life and An Extraordinary Eye. The brief biography offers insight into the life of Philip Johnson's life partner. Published exclusively on the Glass House website, the piece is illustrated with imagery by photographers Todd Eberle, David McCabe, Dean Kaufman and artist Lynn Davis, among others. The article also debuts previously unreleased archival images sourced from The Glass House archives.

  Go to the essay

   

• Brick House Restoration Project

  The Brick House was designed as both a companion piece and counterpoint in the original Glass House composition completed in 1949. It has been closed to the public since 2008. While the exterior envelope is in good condition, the building has suffered from high levels of moisture due to poor site drainage, inadequate foundation waterproofing, breaches in the main roof and flashing as well as a lack of an interior ventilation system. This has resulted in mold affecting the windows, doors, interior finishes and collections, including the silk wall coverings, textiles, furniture, artwork and books. The Brick House Restoration Project includes exterior and interior restoration of the building, conservation of the interior finishes and collections, and mechanical upgrades and improvements. The scope of work also includes site drainage improvements appropriate to the landscape of the site.

  New York Times 10/12/2011: Saving Philip Johnson's Brick House

  Metropolis Magazine April 2011: Post-Modernism Pomo Returns (or Maybe It Never Left)

  Design Within Reach September 2011: Glass House News: Support the Brick House Restoration Fund

  Lonny Magazine September/October 2011: History of Textiles: Piumette

  View Brick House images

  Donate to the Brick House Restoration Fund here