Henry-Russell Hitchcock
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Henry-Russell Hitchcock (1903–1987) was an American architectural historian, and for many years a professor at Smith College and New York University. His writings helped to define the characteristics of modernist architecture.
Hitchcok is best known for his collaboration with Philip Johnson in 1930. Together they coined the term "International School" to describe the European functionalist movement in modern architecture. The exhibition he and Johnson staged at MOMA called "The International Style" (1932), and the book of the same name, made his reputation. Hitchcock would eventually produce more than twenty books on architecture, including an important study of Frank Lloyd Wright. He was also a founding member of The Victorian Society and wrote a number of books exploring that field.
Hitchcock regarded the individual architect as the chief determinant in architectural history and his work tended to diminish the role of broader social forces. He was to be later criticised for this "great man" or "geneological" approach.
