A slow euphoria rises through any given visitor of The Glass House as they wander through the residence-turned-campus of the influential 20th-century architect, Philip Johnson. Surprises come in waves – walking along one path of the multi-acre space in New Canaan, Conn., Johnson’s studio and library become apparent, nestled between trees. From the house itself, the view of the pond away from the main road reveals a concrete pavilion on the water, deliberately scaled down to playfully question perspective. Structures from other creatives are routinely constructed and taken down, making room for more marvels. It’s a quiet, serene place, brimming with creativity.
One would never conclude on their own that the architect behind the space, the man who lived in that very glass house, was an ardent fascist, someone who disseminated hateful rhetoric across the country. A public supporter of Hitler, an attendee of Nazi rallies. But for about the stretch of a decade, that was his story.
A history in plain sight
Philip Johnson was born to a wealthy family in Cleveland, Ohio. Throughout his career, he designed buildings prominent in the skylines of cities like New York, Houston, and Chicago, including the former AT&T Building and the David H. Koch Theater in Manhattan. He was the financier and first curator of the Museum of Modern Art’s architecture department and served as an inspiration for many an architect after him. Johnson’s own Connecticut residence, which he designed in the 1940s — known as The Glass House for its floor-to-ceiling transparent glass walls — receives thousands of visitors who travel to see it annually.
He seemed a man open to a wealth of experiences — not one to discriminate. Johnson himself was gay; his long-term partner David Whitney lived in the house with him for 45 of the 58 years the home was inhabited. One of his closest friends as an undergraduate at Harvard, poet Lincoln Kirstein, was Jewish. Through the late 90s and early 2000s, history by-and-large painted Johnson in a positive, progressive light.
It wasn’t until after Johnson passed away in 2005 that his decade-long fascist ideals in the 1930s resurfaced, despite him writing his opinions publicly for years. Johnson visited Germany multiple times in the 30s, where he attended Hitler Youth rallies, returning to the United States emboldened. He emphatically described the events years later to his biographer, Franz Schulze.
In 1941, Johnson abruptly abandoned his views. He stopped writing in publications like the anti-semitic weekly periodical Social Justice, and renounced his beliefs. Around the same time, other German sympathizers were under investigation and getting sent to prison. Johnson returned to Harvard, this time as a graduate student at the architecture school. His beliefs seemingly faded into complete obscurity until they were recovered in the past decade.
Mark Weaver, a trombonist in Connecticut and former board member of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms in New Jersey, learned about Johnson’s past through Rachel Maddow’s 2023 book on fascism, Prequel. It’s one of many in recent years that tell the “hidden” tale of Johnson’s past. Weaver had long been a fan of The Glass House, but he said after reading more about Johnson, he can’t go back.
“I will never step inside another Philip Johnson building,” he said. “Even if he’s the world's greatest architect, I can't respect that someone would have that kind of thinking, ever in their life. And so, I guess I can't separate it. I can't look the other way.”
Weaver is an avid architecture fan — he’s never practiced, but he has his favorites. Knowing Johnson’s past connection to many names in architecture, he said his experience is completely soured.
“It just seems like, you know, his circle kind of just put this all to the side. Like, “Oh, gee, they're protecting their own or something.”
Departure and accountability
According to those in charge of The Glass House at present, now a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, they have no interest in “protecting” Johnson’s history or keeping it under wraps. Kirsten Reoch, the organization’s communications director, said the campus serves as a space for reflection.
“We can only… let people make their own decisions and interpret as they will. But we want to give all the information,” she said.
“We can only… let people make their own decisions and interpret as they will. But we want to give all the information.”Kirsten Reoch, The Glass House Executive Director
Reoch said they provide that information on public tours of the campus.
“I had a couple here the other day whose family had come through the Holocaust, and they were here on a tour with me. And as I talked to them about how at the same time as [Johnson] was following the Nazi party, that his best friend from college was Jewish, that he had, you know, a black lover, and he was hiding his gay identity and all of these things,” she said.
“They both reacted in a 'Man, that guy must have been so conflicted'” [manner]. And I get that, but that still doesn't excuse the actions and the repercussions of his actions, and I think that that has to be made clear… It's an ongoing process. We're not there yet. We are doing the work to achieve a more honest assessment of him.”
According to Christa Carr, the communications director for The Glass House, efforts to make Johnson’s past clear stretch outside the campus into educational programming. She said they’re working with nearby schools to provide a unit on civic engagement that includes Johnson’s past.
“We worked with a teacher to focus on the fascist mini-unit, looking at, 'How does someone who's educated, who is privileged, how do they fall into this path? Like, how did that happen?'” So it's a lot of interpretation we put together,” said Carr. The unit involved real examples of Johnson’s actions, going as far as to cite his FBI files.
“And then we end this exercise by asking the students: 'What would you do with him? Would you cancel him? Would you not? Would you write a letter to the director of the National Trust and tell him what should be done?'” she said. “It's really a critical thinking exercise, and hopefully it allows students to have the opportunity for dialogue and to learn.”
Creating rights from wrongs
According to Carr, The Glass House has pushed further to create dialogue concerning civics and justice by asking students for their thoughts directly — through art.
There is an annual art exhibit put on jointly by The Glass House, the Carriage Barn Arts Center in New Canaan, and Stand Together Against Racism, or STAR, a local anti-racist nonprofit. This year was the third iteration of the showcase, which opened in mid-November.
The exhibit’s reception was bustling, with attendants of all ages roaming to view paintings, photography, and sketchwork. Jacq Burroughs, 20, has taken part in every year. When she first submitted her art, the only thing she knew about The Glass House was Johnson’s connection to fascism. But she said she decided to give the program a chance – she wanted somewhere to show her work.
“I feel like there aren't many opportunities for students who aren't involved in a specific art program to submit art. I'm definitely not. So I've always found it really inspiring.”
To Burroughs, the most important part of the event is that none of the submissions are censored—everyone gets to express their thoughts. She thinks it’s equally important that The Glass House remains an educational beacon and a means of community support.
“I think we have to be forgiving as a society, especially to move forward,” she paused. “Maybe not forgiving, but we do eventually have to move on… Now, people are doing their best to put the work in to make this organization better and contribute to communities. And not only is [this event] for older kids who have art experience, but specifically for the younger kids, I feel like it's so special. Especially with topics like this, I think it's really important to hear from children.”
Burroughs’ younger sister, Alexa, participated in the exhibit for the first time this year. She submitted “Spread Your Feathers,” a mixed media piece using faux feathers and paint to create a multicolored peacock, staring straight ahead.
“I wanted to do something about awareness, just being who you are, like not letting other people get to you,” Alexa said. “Because me, I also sometimes feel that I let things like that get to me, and spreading your feathers, you just are showing who you are, not who anybody else wants you to be.”
Alexa was surprised people were stopping not just to view her piece, but also to read what she had written about it. She knows The Glass House is a big name, and combined with the other organizations that worked to put the exhibit on, she said she feels supported in making art – like it’s getting backed up.
Her piece sat in one of the alcoves in the vast space, but drew immediate attention from visitors. “I am a mix of everything, but I think I'm a 13-year-old who doesn't really know how. But I want to make a difference with the things I say, and I want to make a difference by doing things too.”
Fatou Niang, who founded STAR in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, helped organize Through Your Looking Glass. She had her hesitations working with The Glass House at first, knowing that part of Johnson’s history clashed directly with what her organization stands for.
But Niang said the work those at The Glass House are doing to shine a light on Johnson’s history made her excited to move forward with the collaboration. Johnson’s own alleged change of beliefs further galvanized her to work with the organization.
“If someone like Philip Johnson, after all that dark period, was able to, in his lifetime, turn his mindset around and say, I realized my wrongdoing, and then actively advocate to change that… Why can't we, as STAR, continue that work through The Glass House?” she said. “And that's what is the most important thing with our collaboration with The Glass House. Yes, they gave us legitimacy… but they benefit so much from being within a grassroots organization like ours. So it's a match made in heaven.”
Niang said Johnson’s story serves as a continuous lesson on the dangerous rhetoric of hate, and The Glass House—in its programming, its educational initiatives, and its existence—is working to teach it.
“It is our history. If we don't know about it, we're bound to repeat it. But if we own it, we're making sure that it never happens again.”
Through Your Looking Glass will be on show until Nov. 24 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. The exhibit also features work by Connecticut artists Butch Quick and Jahmane West.
