As part of the national commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary, The Glass House will, for the first time, open the 1783 Grainger House and its celebrated peony and iris garden for public tours. The house sits on one of New Canaan’s earliest registered land parcels and was originally known as the Finch House, named for the early New Canaan family who farmed the land. 

Purchased in 1990 by David Whitney, partner of Philip Johnson, the house has been carefully restored to its 18th-century form. Whitney furnished the home with significant modernist art and design, elements that remain on view today, including a striking window etching by artist Michael Heizer. He also created a remarkable garden, planting a rare collection of perennial peonies and irises, and installing a sculpture by artist Alessandro Twombly. 

Together, the house and garden vividly illustrate the dialogue between early American architectural traditions and the 20th-century art and design that define The Glass House.