Art dealer Martin Zimet lists UES townhouse for $40M

Art dealer Martin Zimet — a purveyor of Renaissance art — is looking to sell something a bit more contemporary: his postmodern mansion on the Upper East Side.

Known as the Sherman M. Fairchild Mansion, the five-story town home hit the market asking $40 million. Located at 17 East 65th Street between Fifth and Madison avenues, it’s currently home to Zimet’s dealership, French & Company LLC, and serves as Zimet’s residence.

Designed by architects George Nelson and William Hamby, 17 East 65th was built in 1941 and named after the founder of Fairchild Aviation. Measuring 25 feet and spanning 9,440 square feet, it’s priced at $4,237 per square foot.

17 East 65th Street

“We’re putting it on the market because it doesn’t have an elevator,” said Zimet, 86, who moved into the house in 1970.

“There are no secrets, there are no problems. There’s no mortgage on the house and never has been,” said Zimet, who said he could not recall what he paid for the property. “It was a long time ago.”

The mansion has been on and off the market since 2014, with a series of brokers including Douglas Elliman’s [TRDataCustom] Jared Seligman and Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens.

The Corcoran Group’s Leighton Candler and Randy Baruh now have the listing.

The house has five bedrooms and a fifth-floor loft with a vaulted ceiling. Its most distinctive feature are a series of ramps connecting the floors of a four-story great room, capped by a skylight encompassing almost the entire roof.