[Literature & Art] [Architecture] Johnson, Philip. (1906–2005)
Collection of Original Drawings, 1963 - 2001
An important and interesting collection of five original pencil drawings of various sizes, together with a signed program and an original photograph. Simply matted and backed (not attached) by foamcore, inscribed on the verso with details in the hand of Frederick Maddox. Provenance: The estate of Frederick Maddox/Lincoln Kirstein. Details as follows:The Painting Gallery at the Glass House. Original architectural print on paper with drawings in pencil throughout. 34.5 x 42.5 cm, stamped lower right "Philip Johnson Associates/Architects / 375 Park Avenue...". Designed by Philip Johnson and constructed in 1965, the Painting Gallery is an earth-berm structure, a modern interpretation of the ancient monument, the Treasury of Atreus in Mycenae, Greece. Shaped roughly like a cloverleaf, the structure resembles a large grassy mound on the outside with concrete roof deck forming a cap on top. The building houses Johnson’s earthly treasures and an important part of his legacy: his art collection. This collection tells the story of Johnson as a patron of the arts, as well as the story of his relationship with his partner, David Whitney. Johnson had been involved with The Museum of Modern Art since its establishment in 1929, but after meeting David Whitney in 1960, Johnson became an avid art collector. In 1986 Johnson donated the Glass House property to the National Trust, and two years after his death in 2005, it opened to the public as a historic site.
Original drawing on white paper approx 13 x 22 cm. Signed and dated lower right "P.J. 2.12.63," identified on the mount verso as a sketch done while expressing his "admiration of Sullivan's building in Soho and his theatre in Chicago," and also (in reference to the lower area of the drawing) while "currently fascinated by ancient Egyptian palace walls (exterior)."
Original drawing on thin yellow paper 16.5 x 26.5 cm. Identified on the mount verso as a 1963 sketch for the "Amon Carter Musuem / Elevation (Facade) / Plan of Building."
Original drawing on thin yellow paper 18 x 27 cm. Identified on the mount verso as a late 1980's "Sketch #1 of a sequence," done "in studio of New Canaan property."
Original large drawing on thin yellow paper 31 x 41 cm, signed and dated 2001 in ink. The structure is unidentified, though may related to the PPG Place in Pittsburgh, PA.
Program from the New York City Ballet premiere of A Mass (Missa Sicca), presented in memory of Joseph Duell and signed on the cover in black ink "PHilip Johnson." The production, made possible by a gift "given in admiration of Philip Johnson's and Lincoln Kirstein's remarkable achievements," was staged by Peter Martins and Robert LaFosse to a commissioned score by Michael Torke, staged by Alain Vaes as inspired by Johnson's designs for a still unbuilt "Pilgrimage Chapel." Together with an original Frederick Maddox color photograph of Philip Johnson and David Whitney at the NY State Theater watching the NYCB performance.
The influential American architect Philip Johnson is especially known for his postmodern work since the 1980s. In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 1978 he was awarded an American Institute of ArchitectsGold Medal and in 1979 the first Pritzker Architecture Prize.
The architect Frederick Maddox (1939 - 2013), was early on encouraged by Philip Johnson and it was he who introduced him to Lincoln Kirstein and his wife Fidelma, with whom he then had a long and enduring friendship, inheriting their home in Weston upon their deaths. Maddox established his architectural firm in 1975, and for 38 years provided architectural and engineering services in the Manhattan and Long Island areas. (11091)
Art/Sculpture Art & Design