The last remaining piece of the Whitney family’s sprawling North Shore compound in Old Westbury — which once spanned 1,000 acres and included horse stables and a McKim, Mead & White-designed mansion — is hitting the market, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The six-acre property is home to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney’s elaborate former art studio, a 7,000-square-foot building that was converted into a five-bedroom home in the 1980s. The property was built in 1912, according to the report, and is asking $4.75 million.
Whitney was a sculptor and best known as the founder of the Whitney Museum of American Art. She regularly hosted raucous parties at the studio with guests including Albert Einstein. Now, the studio space is the home’s living room and dining room, while some of the attributes that would have been attractive to an artist — including 20-foot ceilings and a north-facing skylight — remain.
The 1980s renovation added a larger kitchen and other amenities. The original formal gardens and swimming pool also remain.
[WSJ] — Dennis Lynch