“…what I most want to do is be influential…” -Philip Johnson in a letter to Alfred Barr.

This film addresses Philip Johnson’s more than sixty year relationship with The Museum of Modern Art as a curator, donor, architect, and Trustee. Johnson was director of the Museum’s newly created Department of Architecture from 1932-1934 and from 1946-1954 (renamed the Department of Architecture and Design in 1949). As a curator, he organized some of the most influential exhibitions in his field, including the 1932 show Modern Architecture: International Exhibition, which helped to introduce America to the International Style, and the 1934 exhibition Machine Art. He has also donated or provided funds for the purchase of numerous works of art in the Museum’s collection.

Images courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art.

Film, no audio, also on view at The Philip Johnson Glass House Visitor Center in New Canaan, CT, USA.