I wonder what sort of discussion took place at the The New York Times after Paul Goldberger published his appraisal, with the emphasis on the praise, of Philip Johnson last week. Paul Goldberger, who was a regular at Johnson’s luncheon table at the Four Seasons, had proven that someone can kiss up even to the dead.
Mark Stevens’s essay today comes as a welcome tonic to all this.
But emblematic of what? In death, his role in American culture will come into sharper focus, and it’s a darker picture than many have thought.First De Kooning; now Johnson: Stephens goes two-for-two in knocking down the big creeps of twentieth century art (look for my review of Stevens’s De Kooning in the forthcoming National Review).
Of course, re: Johnson, someone got it right the first time around.
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