PHILIP JOHNSON [1906-2005] - ARCHITECT

The life and work of the controversial American architect is the subject of a lavish new monograph.

- Catherine Coyle

Philip Johnson would have felt right at home in 2020. The advent of social media and our celebrity-driven culture would have made his eyes light up, and he would have relished the endless opportunities to reinvent himself; although he is regarded by many as one of the most significant American architects of the 20th century, Johnson’s greatest talent lay not in his design skills,but in his ability to find new ways of staying at the forefront of the cultural landscape. Had he been alive today, in our interconnected digital age, there’s little doubt this flamboyant, controversial maverick would have been vying for the position of America’s greatest social media influencer.

A new book, Philip Johnson: A Visual Biography, published by Phaidon this spring, takes an in-depth look at the self-confessed chameleon’s oeuvre. Author Ian Volner addresses the various roles Johnson adopted throughout his life – architect, politician, collector – and shows just how nimbly he responded to the changing face of the United States. His was a career based on connection, on exploiting opportunities and always staying ahead of the curve.