Glass House campus open for first time since 2019
New Canaan’s Glass House, the National Historic Landmark, is opening its buildings to the public this weekend for the first time since 2019.
Mid-century modern architecture is a considerable source of pride in New Canaan, since the town acted as a hub for several mid-century architects who built their homes here. There are nearly 80 midcentury modern private homes in New Canaan.
People will be able to stroll the 49-acre landscape and visit inside architect Philip Johnson’s home and many of the other buildings on its campus.
Johnson’s career spanned nearly 75 years. His works were shown in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he later served as the venerated institution’s first curator of architecture and design. He was awarded the American Institute of Architects (AIA)’s Gold Medal in 1978 and the first Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1979.
The pastoral landscape has fourteen structures, most notably the Glass House (1949), the Painting Gallery, the Sculpture Gallery and the Pavilion by the Pond.
The Painting Gallery houses modern paintings by such artists as Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, David Salle, Cindy Sherman and Julian Schnabel. The art was collected by Johnson and his partner, David Whitney, throughout their lives.
The Pavilion in the Pond, which is scaled down in size, plays with viewers perspective, making it seem further away than it is.
The Brick House, though designed at the same time as the Glass House, is very different in that the latter is largely windows and the Brick House has little visibility to its interior from the outside.
Other buildings include the Ghost House, known as an “architectural folly,” made of fence-like material on a stone barn foundation; “da Monsta,” constructed by granite; and the Studio, a one-room workspace and library.
The Glass House is featuring David Hartt: A Colored Garden and Anni Albers’ Pliable Plane and Frank Stella artworks on view in the Painting Gallery.
Tickets can be purchased online for $30 and it will be open Friday to Monday.