Philip Johnson, the owlish and legendary dean of U.S. architecture who defined American modernism with his see-through skyscrapers and revolutionary Glass House, has died at age 98.
Johnson, who underwent heart surgery at age 90, died Tuesday at his New Canaan, Conn. home, his lawyers said. The cause of death was not immediately made public.
The maverick designer stunned critics with his so-called 1949 Glass House, a transparent box in New Canaan, Conn.
His pioneering Seagram Building in Manhattan and the AT&T Building, with its decorative top, also became standards for urban design.
Known for his owlish-chic black round glasses and mischievous, cynical nature, Johnson delighted in rocking the boat and constantly changing his style. He often called architects “high-class whores” to their clients.
A ubiquitous scene-maker, Johnson was also an avid art fancier with an astonishing private collection.
“Philip was one of the giants,” Museum of Modern Art director Glenn Lowry told The Post. “We are just absorbing the fact that he passed away. It’s still very much of a surprise.”
Johnson served as a MoMA trustee and as its first architecture curator, and he donated several important paintings to the museum’s collection.
Johnson promoted the so-called International Style of architecture, which dominated the urban skyline for 50 years and continues to influence contemporary design. The style was characterized by materials like glass and steel and emphasized function and structure over ornament.
In 1958, Johnson collaborated with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe on New York’s Seagram Building.
Other major projects included a dozen art galleries, MoMA’s west wing and sculpture garden, New York’s Asia House and NYU’s library.
He gradually moved away from orthodox modernism and in 1967 began a partnership with Chicago architect John Burgee, completing such landmarks as Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.
With Post Wire Services