AVENUE SEPTEMBER
stunningly susan a new chapter for susan fales-hill
2010
andy cohen the real guy behind bravo’s housewives
PLUS,
Author and philanthropist Susan Fales-Hill
inside the hallowed halls of manhattan’s elite private schools
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AVENUE
SEPTEMBER 2010
48
VOL. 34 NO. 9
FEATURES 48
WOWED BY SUSAN The multi-talented Susan Fales-Hill has published her first novel, One Flight Up, about four diverse New York City women, their friendships, marriages and affairs. Here, the woman everyone likes and wants to be talks frankly about the inspiration behind her book, and growing up bi-racial. written by bettina zilkha photographs by stephen elledge styled by cricket burns
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REALITY TV’S NEW KING Bravo’s Andy Cohen has the Midas touch with the “Real Housewives” franchise frenzy and his “Watch What Happens Live” talk show. When the house lights dim and the cameras go off, he’s always at the nexus of fabulousness. written by peter davis
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MANHATTAN PRIVATE Famous alums, uniform rules and funny memories from inside 15 of the city’s top day schools. written by peter davis illustrations by edson alves and justin winslow
COLUMNS 14
this page Susan Fales-Hill wears a red/magenta beaded dress by Caroline Herrera and earrings by Roberto Coin. Photographed by Stephen Elledge. Styled by Cricket Burns.
By Debbie Bancroft
18
on the cover Black floor-length dress with mirror mosaic on side by CD Greene. New Albion Ring with silver and blue topaz by David Yurman. Photographed by Stephen Elledge. Styled by Cricket Burns. Hair by Marisol Herrera for Anthony Leonard Salon. Makeup by Leonora. Fashion assistance by Nicole Murakami. Photographed on location at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue.
CHRONICLES Summer season highlights. PYTS The Twelve screening and celebrating Nina Freudenberger’s success. By Peter Davis
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OBJECTS OF DESIRE Glittering gold and ’50s retro chic. By Cricket Burns
4 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
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SEPTEMBER 2010
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BOOKS The story of one of international café society’s most flamboyant figures.
VOL. 34 NO. 9
DEPARTMENTS 22
ON THE AVENUE Party pictures from recent events.
30
ARTS CALENDAR What’s on view at galleries and museums.
By E. F. Ulmann
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OLD NEW YORK Upper West Side landmarks in luxury living: The Dakota and The Apthorp. By Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel
104 WORLD ACCORDING TO . . . Fern Mallis on her favorite restaurants and indelible New York moments.
6 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
letters to the editor AVENUE welcomes “Letters to the Editor” Please address to Executive Editor Janet Allon, 79 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY, 10016 jallon@manhattanmedia.com
COLLECTION
LET THE OBSESSION BEGIN… N O W AVA I L A B L E AT O U R C O L L E C T I O N S TO R E , 1 0 3 5 M A D I S O N AV E N U E , N E W YO R K , A N D AT J C R E W. C O M
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AVENUE President Julie Dannenberg jdannenberg@manhattanmedia.com Editor Janet Allon jallon@manhattanmedia.com Executive Editor Peter Davis pdavis@manhattanmedia.com Creative Director Cricket Burns cburns@manhattanmedia.com Art Director Jessica Ju-Hyun Lee Ho jlee@manhattanmedia.com Associate Editor Kari Milchman kmilchman@manhattanmedia.com Contributing Writers Debbie Bancroft ● Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel Lacey Tisch-Sidney Contributing Editors Jackie Astier ● Serena Boardman Lorinda Ash ● Alex Hitz ● Bettina Zilkha Palm Beach Contributing Editor Renée Morrison Production Manager Mark Stinson mstinson@manhattanmedia.com Advertising Designer Monica Hsiao-Hsuan Tang mtang@manhattanmedia.com Fact Checker Alexandria Symonds Interns Christina Zipf ● Rebecca Toback Avenue Media, LLC 79 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10016 Subscriptions are $100 in U.S., $150 overseas Tel: 212.268.8600 Fax: 212.268.0577 E-mail: avenue@manhattanmedia.com www.avenuemagazine.com
8 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
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letter from the editor
Dear Readers,
Executive Editor Peter Davis
EVERY SEPTEMBER BRINGS with it the promise of a fresh start and a new school year, even if it is tinged with a little sadness of another summer passed. This month, AVENUE is jumping into the promise of a brand new season with both feet. The issue you hold in your hands is chock-full of great content, from our cover story about the ever-dazzling Susan Fales-Hill to our playful yet informative “charticle” on Manhattan’s most elite private schools. It is a thrill to welcome and announce AVENUE’s newest staff member, the inestimable PETER DAVIS, who joins us as executive editor. You’ve already been reading his column, “PYTs,” on New York social and night life, and now his unseen hand and byline will be all over the magazine, starting this month with his behind-the-scenes profile of Bravo TV superstar Andy Cohen, his insidery tidbits on private schools and more. Born and raised in New York, and a beloved member of the AVENUE community, Peter’s accomplishments are legion. He comes to AVENUE after a stint as features director of “The Daily Mini/Fashion Week Daily” and publishing various articles on style, celebrities and society scandals in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Daily Beast, Paper, Vogue and Elle Decor. He’s happy to be here, too. “Working at AVENUE is like coming home to nest,” Peter says. “I grew up on the Upper East Side and AVENUE was delivered to our building every month. As a kid, I’d steal my mother’s issue and pretend that I went to all the chic parties and was a power player. Then years and years later, my sister Minnie Mortimer was on the cover. It really feels like family.” Peter’s presence will extend beyond the pages of AVENUE: He is spearheading our website as editor in chief of AvenueInsider, where you can get daily doses, dispatches and updates about the swirl of New York’s social scene. “News breaks in New York by the milli-second,” Peter points out. “The site will become a fun, juicy, photo-filled addiction, and also an information hub for everything from the scandal at last night’s fashion dinner party to who’s up and who’s down on Manhattan’s mercurial power ladder.” No question about it, with Twitter, Facebook and the iPad becoming as commonplace as a cellphone, the Web is a vital part of everyday life. “AvenueInsider is about breaking news and making news,” Peter adds. So welcome to fall, and enjoy the pages you hold in your hands, as well as the ones you log onto at www.avenueinsider.com. And welcome aboard Peter!
Editor
12 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
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DEBBIE BANCROFT
Best of Summer A few highlights from the season that was
Y
es, I am East End-centric. But hey, did you invite me to Fishers or Lamu or Spetses? I think not. So this is my little summary of the best of my little world, which, in fact, a wide swath of you share. Best Toast of the Summer: Eric Fischl’s heartfelt, funny, scholarly toast to his friend, Ross Bleckner, who was honored at Parrish Art Museum’s Midsummer Party. Most Revealing Toast: Creative Time’s Ann Pasternak’s multiple choice toast to the Parrish’s other honoree, Beth Rudin 14 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
DeWoody: Which is an art piece in Beth’s home? A) a giant pink dildo, B) a crystal skeleton C) all of the above. And so on. Best Excuse for Missing the Parrish Party: Michelle Paige Paterson told us that much as the Governor would have loved to be there, he was busy signing his 6,681st veto—to rousing applause. Worst Kept Secret: Vice President Joe Biden’s two-week stay in Southampton. Nine black sedans, with big, burly fellows, parked across the front of his First Neck residence, 24-7, and a manned motor boat moored in the ‘no boats
allowed’ Lake Agawam in back of his hideaway. Best Film of the Summer: The documentary, Dad’s in Heaven With Nixon— Tom Murray’s tender story of his family, the founding family of Southampton, and how his autistic brother challenged and enriched their lives. Best Looking 56-year-old: Christie Brinkley. Damn it. Best Weddings: Chelsea Clinton’s and Alicia Keys’. Same day, so I democratically regretted both.
©PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO-PATRICK MCMULLAN/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
Eric Fischl, Ross Bleckner and Chuck Close
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chronicles
Top Row: Beth Rudin DeWoody; Robert Wilson; Rufus Wainwright and Sharon Stone; Blake Lively Bottom Row: Marisa Berenson; HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Charlene Wittstock; Christie Brinkley; Marcia Mishaan and Nicole Miller
Worst Kept Secret: Vice President Joe Biden’s two-week stay in Southampton. Nine black sedans, with big burly fellows, parked at his First Neck residence, 24-7.
Best Visiting Royal: HRH Prince Dimitri of Yugoslavia remains everyone’s fave aristo, but Prince Albert of Monoco also made a dashing appearance at Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney’s party for his Princess Grace Foundation-USA, with Chris Botti trumpeting his support. Best Kids Party with Equally Happy Adults: Katharina Otto-Bernstein and Nathan Bernstein’s birthday celebration for their sons Nicky and Joni, complete 16 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
with inflatable climbing walls, splishsplash rides and line dancing. Equal opportunity fun. Best Hair Trend: ‘Beach hair.’ Finally, a defense of roots. Best and Only Upside to Global Warming: Confused, but delicious early, pearly white corn in July. Best Bid: Jay McInerney and Alec Baldwin’s split, winning bid on a private concert by Rufus Wainwright, coaxed out of them by a very persuasive Sharon Stone auctioneering at Bob Wilson’s Watermill Center Benefit after Rufus’s acapella performance of ‘Over the Rainbow.’
Best Summer Book Authors: Susan Fales-Hill, Taylor Plimpton, Danielle Ganek, Duane Hampton, Alexandra Lebenthal and Priscilla Rattazzi, all fêted with lunches, cocktails and dinners—filling our calendars, beach bags and bedside tables. Best Shopping Event: Ovarian Cancer Research Fund’s Super Saturday— hundreds of fashionable finds for a fraction of their retail cost, with catering by Sant Ambroeus and goody bags that weigh more than our children. Best Reason to Leave Long Island: New York City ✦
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pyts
by
PETER DAVIS
Haus Parties I
n Joel Schumacher’s adaptation of the novel Twelve, Nick McDonell’s rich-kids-on-dope—and an ecstasy/ cocaine hybrid liquid called 12—teen bloodbath, Chace Crawford’s character “White Mike” deals pot to spoiled UES brats who club-hop and name-drop. At The Cinema Society’s screening of the film, the Landmark Sunshine Cinema on East Houston Street is filled with movie stars (Blake Lively, Ewan McGregor) models (Jessica Stam, Tyson Ballou, Hana Soukupova, Cody Horn, Irina Shayk) and well-coiffed socials like Amy Fine Collins who usually
don’t trek below 14th Street—unless it’s for a movie premiere. At the after-party, at boîte-du-jour Le Bain, a bodyguard in the elevator announces that 50 Cent, who stars in the flick, is arriving with 50 friends. 50 with 50! How real is the oft-shocking Twelve? “I love the film’s authenticity,” says Cinema Society founder Andrew Saffir. “Every detail is spot-on. It made me long for my own debauched New York City youth, though I wasn’t quite that depraved. Vodka grapefruits and tequila shots were my version of ‘12.’” Liam McMullan, the son of photographer
Patrick McMullan, plays a flamboyant gay kid in the film’s many party scenes. “I think you know how wild I am, and they definitely played that down,” Liam tells me. “I think other than the rich kids at a party shooting people, we are all much more wild than in the movie.” Speaking of partying, with the Boom Boom Room on late-night hiatus, Le Bain has become the spot. But it has competition with this fall’s opening of two new clubs from big names. There is fashion darling/graffiti artist André Saraiva’s New York City version of Le Baron (the Paris branch still rules the
Tyson Ballou Billy Farrell, Zoe Farrell and Brian Farrell Jessica Sta m
Irina Shayk
50 Ce nt an d Mi ch ell e Tra chten be rg Ewan McGregor and Chace Crawford
D.J. Coleman
© PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO - BILLY FARRELL / PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
Twelve screening and a hot new design store downtown
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style monde across the pond) and Rose Bar/Kenmare’s Nur Khan and D.J. Paul Sevigny’s re-boot of rocker clubhouse Don Hill’s. Who will reign as club king? Stay tuned. So Manhattan nightlife is alive and kicking, but that doesn’t mean people don’t have dinner and cocktail parties at home. To help New York City PYTs spiff up their pads is Nina Freudenberger, who is surrounded by friends and co-hosts Luigi Tadini, Lauren Goodman, Annie Churchill, Antonia Thompson, Bettina Prentice and Will Heath at the one-year anniversary of her shop Haus Interior on Elizabeth Street. Down the block, Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis film their new movie, but all the cute kids are pouring out of Haus, which sells everything from antique trophies to mirrors bordered in sailing 20 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
rope. “Hopefully we’ll be on our second and third store,” Freudenberger says, looking glam in a bandage dress by Yigal Azrouël. “We’re hoping to go national this coming year and debut our own product line.” Guests like Reed Woodson, Bonnie Morrison, Timo Weiland and Sean MacPherson and Rachelle Hruska (hot couple alert!) sip cocktails and shop. “Nina has such impeccable taste. It is virtually impossible to choose just one piece out of the beautiful offerings at Haus,” raves Tadini. “But if I had to choose, I would take home the vintage theatre lamps or the cast cow’s head with gold grinders. I was the first paying customer at the store when it opened, and have become obsessed with the cotton hand towels imported from Tunisia.” Serena Merriman is also a Haushead. “I bought my boyfriend the bark
table lamp and I am so in love with it. I am thinking about ordering two for my house,” she reports. “I also adore the paperback manual on good manners. It has brilliant, old fashioned advice like don’t talk about yourself in public.” Speaking of manners, style guru Lauren Goodman covets the engraved business cards that read: “STOP TALKING.” But handing out said cards at Freudenberger’s bash would be pointless. The Haus party (pun intended) takes over the NoLiTa sidewalk. The shopping spree shows no signs of slowing down. “I am quite drawn to the collection of chic vintage trophies on display,” says Antonia Thompson. “Leave it to a Leo to actually buy herself awards.” As people double kiss and high five Freudenberger, one thing is clear: this rising interior design beauty is the night’s big winner. ✦
© PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO - MARC DIMOV/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
“I think other than the rich kids at a party shooting people, we are all much more wild than in the movie.” —Liam McMullan at the Twelve screening
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DELICIOUS
DÉCOR 4 5
The kick-off party for the tenth annual Hampton Designer Showhouse was hosted by Dan Barsanti and Pat Healing at HB Home’s new East Hampton location. Approximately 25 top interior designers and decorative artists transformed a lavish shingle-style home in Sag Harbor. This year’s Showhouse benefited Southampton Hospital. 1
2 1. Cristina Greeven Cuomo and Chris Cuomo 2. Hilary Rhoda 3. Marcy Warren and Ann Caruso 4. Donny Deutsch and Hoda Kotb 5. Molly Sims and Mary Alice Stephenson
BIG PICTURE Eleventh annual Love Heals at Luna Farm
Hundreds of guests showed up at Luna Farm in Sagaponack, N.Y., for the eleventh annual Love Heals co-hosted by Peter Davis and Mary Alice Stephenson. Guests included Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict, Celerie Kemble and Boykin Curry, Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Donny Deutsch, Hilary Rhoda, Hoda Kotb and others. The evening consisted of dinner, cocktails, dancing, silent auction and professional photo studio. This year’s event, themed “A Picture Perfect Summer,” raised almost $350,000 to benefit Love Heals, The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education. 22 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
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1. Joe Lucas, Jenny Bradley and Patrik Lönn 2. Dan Barsanti and Pat Healing 3. Christina Murphy and Philae Knight
BIG PICTURE: ©PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO- ADRIEL REBOH/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM; DELICIOUS DÉCOR: © PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO - CLINT SPAULDING/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
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The 17th Annual Watermill Summer Benefit, dubbed “Paradiso” this year, raised close to $1.4 million for the Center’s artist residency and education programs. Guests, including Anne Hearst McInerney and Jay McInerney, Fern Mallis, Tatiana and Campion Platt, André Balazs, Nicole Miller and Calvin Klein, enjoyed live and silent auctions and a dance performance during dinner. The magical affair included such oddities as a snow monkey, flying neon unicorn, human tornado machine and funhouse. The installations for the gala were sponsored by LVMH, and included 24 site-specific interpretations of the theme of paradise created by 70 artists and participants from more than two dozen nations.
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1. Daniel Lalonde and Geoffroy van Raemdonck 2. Anna Baryshnikov and Lisa Rinehart 3. Mikhail Baryshnikov
BEAUTY AND
THE BEST
3
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Salon de Louis Vuitton debut at the Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue Maison This summer, Louis Vuitton debuted its cross-country series, Salon de Louis Vuitton. To start things off, Louis Vuitton President and C.E.O. Daniel Lalonde hosted a private gathering in New York to honor Mikhail Baryshnikov. Portraits of the renowned dancer taken and curated by Annie Leibovitz were on display. Guests also enjoyed a seated dinner and a special musical performance. 24 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
1. Sessa von Richthofen and Richard Johnson 2. André Balazs and Elise Overland 3. Dalia Oberlander and Amanda Hearst 4. Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney
BEAUTY AND THE BEST: ©PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO - NEIL RASMUS/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM; PARADISE FOUND: ©PATRICK MCMULLAN==PHOTO - PATRICK MCMULLAN/PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM
Annual Watermill Summer Benefit in Water Mill, N.Y.
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INTELLIGENT
2
DESIGN
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2010 Holiday House kick-off party at 535 West End Avenue
3
4
The third annual Holiday House was sponsored by Extell Development Company and held at its building, 535 West End Avenue. There, a model residence designed by Nancy Corzine hosted more than 100 guests, including Corzine and her honorary co-chairs, Sara Gore and Maurice DuBois. The evening raised money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 1
1. Susan Segal and John and Diana Negroponte 2. Kathy Sloane 3. César Alierta and Ana Placer de Alierta and Linky Fidanque de Motta and Stanley Motta 4. H.E. Iñaki Urdangarin and H.R.H. Cristina de Borbón
Americas Society’s 30th Annual Spring Party at Cipriani Wall Street
Americas Society hosted its 30th Annual Spring Party to celebrate the 2010 Gold Medal recipients, drawing more than 600 guests. Telefónica Chairman and C.E.O. César Alierta and Chairman of Copa Holdings and Inversiones Bahia, Ltd. Stanley A. Motta were honored for their outstanding contributions and leadership roles in promoting social responsibility, educational initiatives and economic development in the Americas. The ceremony also included a special thank you to David Rockefeller for his recent $10 million-gift to the Americas Society and a toast to him in honor of his 95th birthday. The successful evening raised nearly $1.7 million. 26 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
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1. Mary Anne Davis, Nancy Corzine and Liz Nightingale 2. Iris Dankner, Stephen Fanuka and Christina Juarez 3. Jessica Sirbu, Rebecca Wolsten and Aileen Kirby
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Fall Fun A new season brings the chic set to a bevy of soirees and social functions Monique Breaux and Tiffany Moreno at Watermill Center Lisa Jackson at Hampton Designer Showhouse
Kate de Brienne at Watermill Center
Wanda Murphy and Alice Judelson at Bego Ezair Gallery
28 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
Hunt Slonem and Janis Cecil at Wine and Roses
Melissa Berkelhammer at the launch of www.talentmaven.com
HIGH SOCIETY DOINGS Author Jay McInerney and Anne Hearst are the Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald of our time. Their madcap parties are some of the most coveted invitations in New York. The couple’s book parties sizzle, from their penthouse dinner for Candace Bushnell’s The Carrie Dairies, where they combined two apartments that once belonged to Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere, to their sunset cocktail party at the beach for Taylor Plimpton’s witty novel, Notes from the Night. This memorable evening, in honor of the late George Plimpton’s son, was held in their ’70s-period guesthouse, and flawlessly executed by Four Seasons Caterer Southampton. These fêtes attract everyone from Princess Yasmin Aga Khan and Brooke Shields to Carl Bernstein and Kimberly Rockefeller. They welcomed Prince Albert of Monaco and his elegant fiancée, Charlene Wittstock, to their farm in Bridgehampton at a soiree orchestrated by Louis Vuitton, which evoked a black-and-white Hitchcock movie. After a musical interlude, Governor Paterson told me and plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Grant that he’s planning to write a book. I told him I couldn’t wait to see what he says about our President, if he’s still president when the book comes out! Surely Albert’s mother, Princess Grace, née Grace Kelly, who starred in To Catch a Thief with Cary Grant, is smiling down on this happy couple. At the Asian-themed benefit for Anthony Shriver’s Best Buddies, also hosted by the McInerneys, Countess LuAnn de Lesseps sang “Money Can’t Buy You Class” with backup dancers—what a hoot! In October, the couple will throw open the doors of San Simeon to raise funds to help restore Hearst Castle. Anne’s grandfather, William Randolph Hearst, built this landmark. Later, the family gave it to California, where it’s now one of the state’s top tourist attractions. Anne’s father, Randolph Hearst, once joked to me that if he’d known it was going to be such a moneymaker, he would have kept it. If you buy tables to the Princess Grace Foundation, Riverkeeper, Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth galas or the Humane Society of the U.S. benefit chaired by Anne and Amanda Hearst on September 22, maybe you’ll get the McInerneys’ attention. Remember what Brooke Astor always said: “If you’ve got money to give, come sit next to me.” Who else would tell you these things? WILSON AT THE BEACH Avant-garde director Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center gala never disappoints. This “art happening” raised more than $1.4 million to fund the 70 artists from 20 countries who are in residence every summer. The night featured an array of thought-provoking performance art spread over six acres. Guests included Sharon
Geoffroy van Raemdonck, Prince Albert, Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney at Ashgrove Farm
Stone, who auctioned off everything but the dress she was wearing, Elaine Sargent, interior designers Campion Platt, Kate de Brienne and Monique Breaux, whose www.buyposhrooms.com delivers a complete “room in a box” for people who need their décor overnight. Also on hand: nutrition counselor Tiffany Moreno (the new darling of the health editors), who’s working on a bone healthy menu with master chef Emeril Lagasse for Dr. Kevin Plancher’s Orthopedic Foundation (www.ofals.org) gala in October, and Wanda Murphy, whose critically acclaimed exhibition, “Continuity,” is at Bego Ezair Gallery (www.ezairgallery.com). DESIGNER SHOWHOUSE This year, the Hampton Designer Showhouse opening was chaired by Mario Buatta, Jamie Drake and Alexa Hampton. The night drew Keith Hernandez and interior designer Lisa Jackson, whose Lucca & Co. has a chic collection of custom furniture and European antiques. Others taking the tour benefitting Southampton Hospital included: Tyra Banks, lighting guru Bentley Meeker, who illuminated the grounds and pavilions at Chelsea Clinton’s wedding, Michele Gerber Klein, who had just hosted a fashion show for Akris, and architect Bill Sclight and Cheri Kaufman, who both attended the hospital’s never-to-be missed gala. ART, FILM, FASHION AND JEWELS If you’re headed to Toronto for the film festival on September 9, reserve a suite at the city’s most prestigious address, The Hazelton Hotel. Charlize Theron, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon are all fans. In Santa Monica, songwriter Jamie Jo Harris debuted her jewelry line Belle Coeur at Fred Segal to benefit MusiCares. The first lady of Louisiana, Supriya Jindal, hosted a concert in Alexandria, La., where Disney artist Anna Margaret performed her song, “Heal Us All.” Proceeds from the single, available on iTunes, will help buy computers for children affected by the oil spill. Alexandra Richards and Melissa Berkelhammer toasted Jeremy Leventhal with a Vision Vodka martini at the launch of www.talentmaven.com, a professional media network for people in art and entertainment circles. Hunt Slonem’s flower painting, “Abundance,” was unveiled by Cindy Guyer at her cozy Upper West Side boîte, Wine and Roses. Hunt, famous for his signature parrot and butterfly paintings, shows with Janis Cecil, who is a director at the Marlborough Gallery. CIRCLE THESE DATES Designer Maggie Norris and Merrill Lynch celebrate the art of haute couture and fine jewelry at Gilan, the Istanbul-based jeweler on Fifth Avenue, for Fashion’s Night Out on September 10 to benefit FIT’s Couture Council. I’ll see you at the opening of The New York Philharmonic, where Wynton Marsalis will premiere his “Swing Symphony” on September 22 in front of composer and board member Karen LeFrak. I’ll also be at the premiere of Das Rheingold at the Metropolitan Opera under the baton of James Levine on September 27. Don’t miss the Fête de Swifty on September 29, chaired by Liz Smith, Gillian Miniter and New York Social Diary’s David Patrick Columbia (www.nysocialdiary.com). When David takes your picture, you know you’ve made it. ✦
Cindy Guyer and Maggie Norris at Gilan
Jamie Jo Harris at Fred Segal
Princess Yasmin Aga Kahn at a pre-party for Alzheimer’s Association Rita Hayworth Gala
Michele Gerber Klein at Akris
Elaine Sargent at Watermill Center
Bill Sclight and Cheri Kaufman at the Southampton Hospital benefit
Anna Margaret at Fred Segal SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 29
arts calendar
compiled by
CHRISTINA ZIPF
Feasting the Eyes This month’s selection of art and antiques on view or for sale special event AVENUE ANTIQUES & ART AT THE ARMORY SHOW
Sept. 29-Oct. 3; 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Private VIP opening on Sept. 29, 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; RSVP to preview@manhattanmedia.com Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue www.avenueshows.com
auctions Suzan Frecon’s composition in four colors 2, 2010. Oil on linen, two panels, overall: 108 by 87.5 x 1.5 inches, each panel: 54 by 87.5 by 1.5 inches. At David Zwirner.
Sept. 15: Japanese & Korean Art, Including Arts of the Meiji Period Sept. 21: Impressionist/Modern 20 Rockefeller Plaza 212.636.2000 DOYLE NEW YORK
Sept. 15: Belle Epoque: 19th & 20th Century Decorative Arts Sept. 25-27: DOYLE+DESIGN 175 East 87th Street 212.427.2730
Sept. 8-Oct. 30 525 West 19th Street 212.727.2070 GAGOSIAN GALLERY
Gregory Crewdson Sept. 23-Oct. 30 980 Madison Avenue 212.744.2313 THE PACE GALLERY
galleries D. WIGMORE FINE ART
Doris Lee Sept. 15-Nov. 10 730 Fifth Avenue, Suite 602 212.581.1657 DAVID ZWIRNER
Suzan Frecon 30 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
50 Years at Pace Sept. 17-Oct. 23 Multiple locations throughout Manhattan 212.421.3292 JULIE SAUL GALLERY
Carter Potter: Backpainting Sept. 9-Oct. 28 535 West 22nd Street, 6th Floor 212.627.2410
exhibitions THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
The March of Time, Seventy-fifth Anniversary (film exhibition) Sept. 1-10 Counter Space: Design and the Modern Kitchen Opens Sept. 15 11 West 53rd Street 212.708.9400 NEUE GALERIE
Franz Xaver Messerschmidt 1736-1783: From Neoclassicism to Expressionism Opens Sept. 16 1048 Fifth Avenue 212.628.6200 ✦
COURTESY THE ARTIST AND DAVID ZWIRNER, NEW YORK
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William Cook Antiques Hungerford, England Fine antique furniture, objects and works of art
Exhibiting at the AVENUE Antiques & Art at the Armory Show September 29-October 3, at the Park Avenue Armory, NYC
15 Bridge Street, Hungerford, Berkshire RG17 0EG, United Kingdom Telephone: 011.44.1488.681.254 • UK Mobile: 011.44.7885.031.301
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32 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
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Left: Café Society: Socialites, Patrons, and Arts 1920 to 1960 by Thierry Coudert Right: Charles de Beistegui at the Palazzo Labia
mines, real estate and, some say, guano. Born in France in 1895, educated at Eton and carrying a Spanish diplomatic passport, he bought, restored and decorated two of the most beautiful properties in Europe: the Chateau de Groussay, about 25 miles south of Paris, and the Palazzo Labia, off the Grand Canal in Venice. At the latter in 1951 he threw a masked costume ball for 1,500, which is still remembered by the cognoscenti as the most magnificent party in living memory. Coudert is not sure if it was “the first great peacetime celebration in a Europe that was gaining in confidence again after the war,” or perhaps, “the final mad fling of an eccentric millionaire.” In any case, Coudert writes, “This was the grandest ball of the century, and not even the Marquis de Cuevas [married to a Rockefeller] nor Marie-Hélène de Rothschild would succeed in outdoing it in sheer extravagance and splendor.” Everyone who thought he or she was anyone in Paris, London or New York society descended on the Palazzo Labia. That night, Venice became once more la Serenissima, the capital of fashion, a role it last enjoyed in the 18th century. The guest list was studded with aristocrats, millionaires, artists, writers, and, as Coudert writes, a “galaxy of those who had no discernable occupation but whose presence was deemed essential for the success of any party.” On closer inspection, the aristocrats—with the possible exception of the Duchess of Devonshire and Lady Diana Cooper—appear to have included some louche characters. Among them: a Sicilian Duke, who was a jeweler by trade, and a number of princes and princesses of dispossessed Eastern European demesnes, where the ownership of three or four cows ranked a family among the nobility. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, avatars of aristocracy to this set, were invited, but did not attend. Among the millionaires was Barbara Hutton. She came dressed as Mozart, a costume reputed to have cost $15,000. Other guests had costumes designed by Schiaparelli and Pierre Cardin. Salvador Dalí and Orson Welles were among the celebrities. Society photographer Cecil Beaton memorialized the affair for Vogue magazine.
Good Time Charlie Chronicling one of international society’s most flamboyant characters
C
harlie Beistegui may have been the most flamboyant international swell of the 20th century. That’s the impression one gets from Thierry Coudert’s Café Society (Flammarion, 2010), a profusely illustrated chronicle of international high life from 1920 to 1960 and the nobs, snobs, millionaires, patrons, artists, ornaments to society and just plain hangers-on that made it sparkle. Don Carlos de Beistegui y de Yturbe (pronounced Bess-TEEghee, and known as Charles or Charlie) was of Basque and Spanish descent with a fortune that came from Mexico: silver
38 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
ABOVE: CAFÉ SOCIETY: SOCIALITES, PATRONS, AND ARTISTS 1920 TO 1960 BY THIERRY COUDERT (PARIS: FLAMMARION, 2010); LEFT: © THIERRY COUDERT FROM CAFÉ SOCIETY: SOCIALITES, PATRONS, AND ARTISTS 1920 TO 1960 BY THIERRY COUDERT (PARIS: FLAMMARION, 2010).
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books But surely the real stars were the host and the Palazzo itself. Beistegui dressed as a Venetian procurator with a curly blond wig, his 5-foot-6-inch frame enhanced by 16-inch platform boots. The palazzzo was commissioned in the middle of the 17th century by a rich, socially ambitious family called Labia. (I am told the accent falls on the middle syllable: La-BEE-uh.) The palazzo’s most remarkable feature was the two-story ballroom featuring a fresco by Tiepolo. By the time Beistegui bought the property in 1948, it had fallen into disrepair. He did a complete restoration to include the addition of works by Raphael and
Annibale Carracci in a style that came to be known as the “goût Beistegui”—over the top and then some. It was a taste that evolved. His first adventure in decorating was a rooftop apartment in the 1930s on the Champs Elysées designed for him by Le Corbusier in the “modern,” concrete-block style. He soon thought better of this and his tastes became more classic and eclectic. With the help of Cuban designer Emilio Terry, Beistegui gave full vent to his eccentricity and extravagance when he bought Chateau de Groussay in 1939. He spent the next 30 years turning it and the gardens into one of the most
lavish private residences in the world. Cecil Beaton copied its library for that of Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady. David Hicks is said to have been influenced by it, and Mark Hampton, some say, thought it most beautiful. Not all of Beistegui’s possessions were genuine. It did not trouble him to commission tapestries in the manner of Goya and to have copies made of famous paintings. He had a reproduction done of Holbein’s portrait of Henry VIII, larger in size than the original, and claimed that Queen Elizabeth’s was a fake. When Beistegui’s heirs sold the estate in 1999, the contents alone (some of which came from the Palazzo Labia) realized $26.5 million. Oscar Wilde once said about George Bernard Shaw that none of his friends liked him. The same might be said of Beistegui, who was a misanthrope. Beaton says in his diary that he was “utterly ruthless,” adding, “Such qualities as sympathy, pity, or even gratitude are sadly lacking. He has become the most self-engrossed and pleasure-seeking person I have met.” Beistegui was a snob of the first water. When invited to the British Embassy in Paris to meet General George C. Marshall, the architect of the rebuilding of Europe after the War, he supposedly demurred, asking his hostess Lady Diana Cooper whether Marshall was “of good family.” The Aga Khan, who had been a guest at the Palazzo Labia ball, said of the affair, “I don’t think we shall see anything like this again.” The same could be said for Charlie. ✦
Left: Daisy Cooper and Frédéric de Cabrol at the Beistegui Ball 40 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
© Daisy Cabrol from Café Society: Socialites, Patrons, and Artists 1920 to 1960 by Thierry Coudert (Paris: Flammarion, 2010).
“[Bestegui’s costume ball in 1951] was the grandest ball of the century, and not even the Marquis de Cuevas [married to a Rockefeller] nor Marie-Hélène de Rothschild would succeed in outdoing it in sheer extravagance and splendor.” —Thierry Coudert, author of Café Society
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old new york
by
BARBARALEE DIAMONSTEIN-SPIELVOGEL
The Dakota Apartments, circa 1890. When the building first opened its doors across the street from a not-yet landscaped stretch of Central Park, the area was home to squatters and farm animals.
Lap of Luxury The Dakota and The Apthorp set the standard for luxury living at a time when apartment buildings were considered anything but extravagant
T
hrough much of the 19th century, the Upper West Side remained undeveloped and sparsely inhabited. Then the first apartment buildings went up, and with them, the first inklings of a neighborhood began to coalesce. On either side of the turn of the 20th century, The Dakota and The Apthorp set the standard for sophisticated living. The Dakota, after the remote Midwestern territory of the same name, represents the start of a new concept in urban dwelling: fine apartments. Before its construction in the 1880s, well-to-do New Yorkers typically lived in private houses. At the vanguard in luxury living, The Dakota received much initial skepticism, which was
42 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
amplified by its then-isolated Upper West Side locale. But the building’s originality quickly garnered admirers, and residents eventually included musical icons Leonard Bernstein, Roberta Flack and John Lennon. The latter’s assassination in front of the building still lingers in the minds of many. The Dakota’s near neighbor is The Apthorp, which occupies an entire square-block between 78th and 79th Streets from Broadway to West End Avenue. The opulent building is the result of William Waldorf Astor’s extraordinary vision, initiative and wealth. This magnificent structure was the world’s largest residential building at the time of its construction: the peak of the Gilded Age. Many years later, in 2007, The Apthorp
became the source of much controversy when the apartments were converted to condominiums, which, after undergoing a major restoration, each commanded a steep $6.5 million (on average). Now, after having gone through several renaissances, the Upper West Side is one of the city’s most prestigious locales. Home to fine restaurants and cultural institutions like Lincoln Center, The Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Ballet, the neighborhood as we know it all began with several luxury apartment buildings. On the following page, Barbaralee DiamonsteinSpielvogel takes us on a tour of The Dakota and The Apthorp, structures that first defined a neighborhood and set the bar for many others.
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old new york The Dakota Apartments 1 West 72nd Street, Manhattan Built: 1880-84 Architect: Henry J. Hardenbergh Designated: Feb. 11, 1969 In 1884, the Dakota opened its doors on 72nd Street across from a still-unlandscaped section of Central Park. The desolate area around the new building was dotted with squatters’ shacks, and the odd goat, cow and chicken could be seen. Many New Yorkers were astounded and most were skeptical—apartment houses, like hotels, were considered “architectural
Indian territory of the same name. Henry J. Hardenbergh, who later designed The Plaza Hotel, made full decorative use of the Wild West metaphor: motifs such as arrowheads and sheaves of wheat embellish both exterior and interior. A carved Indian head looks out over 72nd Street from above the main entrance. The eight-story, yellow brick- and stone-trimmed structure reflects the romanticism of the German Renaissance style. The principal facades—the north, south and east (the west, overlooking a lawn that later became a tennis court, was unembellished)—are divided into three sections. Horizontally, the divisions
exterior walls at the base are approximately 28 inches thick, and the 3-foot-deep floors were constructed of alternating layers of brick and Central Park mud. A dry moat, bordered by an iron fence punctuated with the heads of sea gods intertwined with sea urchins, surrounds the exterior. The building has an inner courtyard, originally conceived as a carriage turnaround. To give tenants a sense of the privacy of a single dwelling, Otis hydraulic passenger elevators were installed in the small entrance lobbies in the corners of the courtyard. The Dakota soon became a topic of conversation around New York, not merely as an architectural oddity, but also because of its famous tenants—Boris Karloff ’s ghost is said to roam the corridors.
The Apthorp Apartments 2201-2219 Broadway, Manhattan
With its grand, three-story entryway, The Apthorp Apartments befitted the Astor estate.
inducements to immorality.” But Singer Sewing Machine magnate Edward S. Clark’s building was fully rented even before it opened. “Clark’s Folly,” as it was dubbed soon after construction began in 1880, was not the first luxury apartment building in New York City, but it quickly became the most famous. Clark defiantly called his building the Dakota after the remote 44 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
between the basement, the main body and the roof are accented by cornices, balconies and railings. Vertically, the building is defined by a simple series of bays. The elaborate roof, with turrets, gables, chimneys and dormers, continues the tripartite symmetry. The Dakota offered some 200 tenants of its 65 ornate apartments complete seclusion from the bustle of New York City. The
Named after the fine, old Apthorpe mansion that stood at West 91st Street and Columbus Avenue until 1892, The Apthorp Apartments remains one of the Upper West Side’s great central courtyard apartment buildings. Designed in the popular Italian Renaissance style, the structure is reminiscent of Florence’s Pitti Palace. The most conspicuous feature of this handsome, limestone-clad building is the use of rustication contrasted with the smooth ashlar masonry of the wall planes. Notable also is the adaptation of the three-story Renaissance palazzo design to a block-long, 12-story edifice. The large wall planes of the façade are divided vertically into a three-story rusticated base, a smooth center portion and two stories at the top with pilasters and windows just below the bold cornice. Instead of using quoins, the architects emphasized each corner with a wide band of rustication for its height. The monumental entrance archway features an ornate iron gateway and coffered ceiling. Flanked by a pair of Corinthian pilasters capped with statues, it creates a dramatic passageway to the drive-in courtyard—a grand entryway for a grand dame of design. ✦
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Her friends can’t help wonder: Is there anything Susan Fales-Hill can’t do? She’s had success as a television writer, a memoir writer and now—with her latest book, One Flight Up—a novelist. Stunningly elegant, graceful as a dancer, she’s a fashion muse and a Hall of Famer on the International Best Dressed List. It’s hard to tell what flows from her more effortlessly: her unerring sense of style or her lightning wit. She is also kind, forthright, a great mom and charmingly self-deprecating. Her friend, Sloan Barnett, put it succinctly when she said, “I just want to be Susan, as does every other woman I know!” Recently, style writer Bettina Zilkha caught up with Fales-Hill for a chat, laughed her head off and got wowed all over again. ■
Hair by MARISOL HERRERA FOR ANTHONY LEONARD SALON ■ Makeup by LEONORA Fashion assistance by NICOLE MURAKAMI ■ Photographed on location at the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue Dress by Jackie Rogers. Lace and mirror leather bronze shoes by Jimmy Choo. Thick bangle, thin bangle, diamond ring and “S” shaped earrings, all by Roberto Coin. SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 49
W
hen I ask Susan Fales-Hill what her idea of a perfect day is, she doesn’t have to ponder long. “Any day my daughter is happy,” she answers. Fales-Hill has her priorities straight. Our visit has had to wait until past 9 p.m. to ensure that her sevenyear-old, Bristol, is asleep. Tall and gorgeous as always, Fales-Hill walks through my door, beautifully dressed in a pair of white jeans and a feminine black top. She is relaxed, her eyes filled with brilliance and wit, and she immediately makes me laugh. Fales-Hill’s perfect day also involves lots of writing, often at the New York Public Library where she is a member of the Library Council. It was there that she completed her first novel,
will be asked: Is it a roman à clef? “It’s a ‘clef ’ to my own twisted mind and complex heart,” Fales-Hill says, taking a sip of the superb bottle of red wine she has brought for our chat. “The characters are composites of people who have crossed my path in the course of 48 years on the planet, not all of them famous or infamous. Readers should not seek a character key. However, after reading it, they may want to contribute to my personal mental health fund.” Her mental health will no doubt be buoyed by reviews from friends and critics. Vogue’s André Leon Talley calls the book, “a dazzling narrative of New York’s social diorama with wit, irony and great humor.” Producer Alex Hitz says it is “just as delicious as a real-life visit with Susan.” Muffie Potter Aston calls her “brilliant, a keen observer of New York society.” And the New York Post described One Flight Up as “a chick lit masterpiece that leaves Jackie Collins in the dust.” If Fales-Hill is a born storyteller, she came into adulthood with stories to tell. Her international upbringing was, as she says, “wildly interesting, and thoroughly dysfunctional.” Her late mother, Josephine Premice, was a groundbreaking actress/singer/dancer of Haitian descent. Her father was the multilingual and devastatingly handsome black sheep of a proper WASP Social Register family. “He was,” Fales-Hill notes, “summarily expunged from the pages of that esteemed tome when he married my mother.” But there is something she wants to clarify immediately. “We weren’t dysfunctional because we were a mixed family. We were dysfunctional for the same reason every other family is,” Fales-Hill explains. “There was pain and it was dealt with the way people did in the era before ubiquitous 12-step programs and mandatory therapy: by having cocktails and smashing china. I often liken it to Long Day’s Journey Into Night, minus the drug-addicted mother and with a great deal more laughter.” She herself laughs, and we sip more wine. There’s not an ounce of self-pity in her story. “In spite of the small fortune I have had to
“We weren’t dysfunctional because we were a mixed family. We were dysfunctional for the same reason every other family is. There was pain and it was dealt with the way people did in the era before ubiquitous 12-step programs and mandatory therapy: by having cocktails and smashing china.” —Susan Fales-Hill One Flight Up, a fictitious, wild and sexy journey into the private and public lives of four New York City women who all attended the same private school and have grown up to have it all, including extra-marital affairs. The characters are as diverse as New York: a South American heiress, the Jewish daughter of gallery owners and a high-achieving buppie among them. A terrific read, it is likely being discussed in every living room from Los Angeles to East Hampton this year. Inevitably, since the high society world of the story is so familiar and the subject is so juicy, the question Opposite: White ruffle top and black velvet spandex pants by Jackie Rogers. Beaded vest with fur trim by Naeem Khan. Lace-up booties with rhinestones by Pedro Garcia. Diamond earrings by Roberto Coin. Large Split Shank Ring in gold with green onyx and diamonds by David Yurman.
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spend on therapy to achieve some measure of sanity as an adult,” she says, “I wouldn’t trade my upbringing for the world.” Her parents, she says, were both brilliant, way ahead of their time and with a shared Voltairian sense of the world’s absurdity. Her brother and she felt embraced by both sides of the family. And their home was a salon for some of the great writers, actors, activists and social figures of the last century. “They were all mesmerized by my father’s wit, my mother’s humor, style and exquisite cooking,” she says. So it was from her father that Fales-Hill inherited her passion for language, literature and history, among other gifts. But he also made a mark on her with his roving eye, and in some ways, he helped provide the subject matter at the heart of her novel. “What inspired me was growing up in the presence of infidelity and having harsh judgments about it, then getting married myself at 34 and realizing this is not as easy as it looks,” she says. “The ‘I do’s’ are not a happy ending, they are the beginning of an emotional and spiritual education. These are the realities I wanted to address: the doubts, the wayward desires, the ‘might have beens’ that every woman who was neither 20 nor a virgin on her wedding day harbors in her secret heart. I also longed to depict the world as I know it: friendship across ethnic lines.” Josephine Premice also inspired her daughter, certainly with her sense of style, but more importantly with her inextinguishable joie de vivre, even in the face of the racism of segregated America (of the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s). She bravely fought the devastating Opposite: White ball gown with beaded torso and silver tulle skirt by Naeem Khan. Silver metallic shoes by Manolo Blahnik. Diamond bust necklace by Roberto Coin. Above: Black floor-length dress with mirror mosaic on side by CD Greene. New Albion Ring with silver and blue topaz by David Yurman.
illness, emphysema, which stole her voice and eventually took her life. “I am who I am because of her,” Fales-Hill says. “I pattern myself after my mother and her coterie of bigger-than-life friends—Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Carmen De Lavallade and, most important of all, her best friend and my second mother, Diahann Carroll—
women who came to ‘live their lives out loud.’” Like her mother’s friends she so admired, Fales-Hill is an accomplished career woman in her chosen, somewhat quieter profession of writing, which has unfolded in several acts. After she graduated from Harvard, Bill Cosby himself offered her a position of writer’s apprentice on his paradigmshifting sitcom. From there, she went to its spin-off, “A Different World,” which she eventually ran as head writer and executive producer. Other shows followed, and in all she spent close to 15 years writing for
television during the last of the “Golden Age.” It was a different time, Fales-Hill says, making her views clear. “There were few networks, and reality TV had not reared its mesquite-grilled-rateating head. It was also excellent training for writing books because it teaches you, more than any other medium, that writing is re-writing.” After her mother passed away in 2001, things shifted for Fales-Hill. “I lost my appetite for writing for television because it didn’t give me the freedom to portray the many worlds I knew,” she explains. She devoted herself to her first book, an ode to her mother called Always Wear Joy, which grew out of an article she wrote for Vogue about, as she says, “growing up biracial and not being a basket case.” More changes came when she had her one and only child at 40. “It slowed my pace considerably. I wrote a few articles, but did not get right back to the task of attacking the next book. I wrote One Flight Up on spec, the first piece of such length that I’d ever produced with no guarantee of a check.” Over that hurdle, she is already working on her next novel, for Atria. She also works tirelessly for her chosen and lucky philanthropic organizations. Mostly, it is the arts that she favors. With characteristic erudition, she cites that most quotable of world leaders: “As Churchill snapped at a minister suggesting cutting funding for a cultural organization at the height of World War II, ‘Good lord man, what are we fighting for?’” She sits on the board of American Ballet Theater (ABT), where she has forged a close bond with a young dancer named Misty Copeland, her “second child.” Misty, who started dancing when she was 13, is one of the company’s first African-American soloist. Fales-Hill and her husband recognized Copeland’s SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 53
incredible talent, and sponsored her as a dancer when she was in the corps. Fales-Hill encouraged Copeland to excel by introducing her to other great “firsts”—black women who opened doors in their industries, such as Diahann Carol and Veronica Webb. Thanks in part to Fales-Hill’s efforts, ABT has created scholarships that welcome dancers of all races into the company. Copeland, now mentoring young dancers, is also a great admirer of Fales-Hill. “I have been so lucky to have Susan in my life,” she says. “A strong, intelligent and glamorous black woman, she has been such an inspiration to me.”
education, addressing the rising numbers of men of color in prison, and keeping a woman’s right to choose safe are all causes near to Fales-Hill’s heart. Of course, there is also her daughter to raise. She is a hands-on mother to Bristol, and hopes that she will reap the benefits of her multicultural heritage without necessarily feeling the burden. “I was blessed,” Fales-Hill says. “In our home, multiculturalism was not an academic exercise; it was as natural as breathing. We spoke English to my mother, French to my father, Italian to our governess (while we had one), and my parents spoke French and Creole to each other. I’m trying to pass as much
of pressure, and makes one unwilling to take risks for fear of making a misstep. When my daughter was born, I pondered how to address the race question. I made a conscious decision not to impose all of the ‘you must be better than’ criteria that was appropriate to the world in which I came of age, but is a bit outmoded today. With African Americans helming multinationals from American Express to Xerox, and Mr. and Mrs. Obama gracing the White House, I think the case has been made, even if prejudice persists. I have also chosen to emphasize her cultural heritages (Trinidadian and Barbadian on my husband’s side, Anglo-Saxon and Haitian on mine) over color. I’m pleased to say that she’s very clear about who she is, and feels at home everywhere.” Fales-Hill’s late mother’s dear friend, Diahann Carroll, approves whole- heartedly of the job she is doing. “Susan’s parenting is quite extraordinary,” Carroll says. “I’m very proud to watch her take what her parents have given her, keep what works, discard what doesn’t and replace it with something that’s more part of today’s culture.” With all of the pressures and the changing times, there is one aspect of being a representative of her race that Fales-Hill acknowledges she embraces. “Sartorially, I do accept my role as ‘racial ambassador,’ the theory that when and where I enter, the whole race enters with me,” she says. “So I’d better not be slouching around town in cargo pants and a tank top with bra straps akimbo.” While she does not know President Obama personally, his election is deeply meaningful to her. She loves the fact that he has made intelligence cool again. More importantly, “I love what he symbolizes: our country’s miraculous ability to evolve,” she says. “He was elected almost 50 years to the day after my parents wed in 1958, a time when such a marriage was illegal in a great many states. To see this happen in my lifetime is truly awe-inspiring.” ✦
“My family raised me to believe I was an ambassador . . . for both sides of my family— for blacks, for mixed people—and that my failures would embarrass not just myself, but entire populations. Frankly, it’s a lot of pressure.” —Susan Fales-Hill Her tireless advocacy has also won her the admiration of Rachel Moore, ABT’s executive director. “I have always been impressed with how Susan can traverse wildly disparate communities with extraordinary grace,” Moore says. “She inspires friendship and confidence in people ranging from those in the highest levels of business and society to the young and passionate in the dance studio to those from less advantaged backgrounds. This is an amazing skill.” Fales-Hill also sits on the board of the Studio Museum in Harlem, and actively supports the Fales Library at NYU, a collection of rare books and manuscripts named for her father, and of course, the New York Public Library (NYPL) where she, and others far less fortunate, can find the resources and tranquility to write. Her friend Catie Marron, chairman of the NYPL’s Board of Trustees, says Fales-Hill is “always so full of life and spirit” and “reflective and compassionate.” Early childhood 54 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
of that along as I can to my daughter.” If she can pass on a fraction of her learning and refinement, Bristol will be another world-beater. “Susan can quote from books that she read 20 years before and always in the original text—English, French or Italian,” says another close and admiring friend, Peter Bacanovic. “She has the most unique combination of stellar qualities and to a degree that I have never seen in anyone else. She has held herself to the very highest standards in every context throughout her entire life.” It’s a tough act to follow, but most agree that, even at her tender age, Bristol seems more than up to the challenge. Certainly, she is growing up in a different era than her mother. “I grew up at the height of the struggle for civil rights,” Fales-Hill says. “My family raised me to believe I was an ambassador everywhere I went, for both sides of my family—for blacks, for mixed people—and that my failures would embarrass not just myself, but entire populations. Frankly, it’s a lot
Opposite: Magenta chiffon bust strapless dress by Max Mara. Pink satin shoes with grosgrain black bow by Pedro Garcia. Jade ring with diamond by David Yurman.
Andy Cohen is the real guy behind the ‘Housewives’ franchise on Bravo TV. His on-air talents are not too shabby either. The show he hosts, “Watch What Happens Live,” is a fun salon where the hip and the fabulous just keep popping in. When he’s not working, Cohen can be found hanging out and partying with friends like Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker and Barry Diller. AVENUE’s Peter Davis sat down with Cohen after a recent show, and found out how he does it all and whether there is such a thing as too much reality TV.
I
t’s 10:58 p.m. on a heat-soaked Monday in Manhattan, and Bravo reality TV star Bethenny Frankel is fretting about her earrings. She wiggles the dangly blue multi-gemmed chandelier earrings and takes a gulp from a martini glass. A makeshift waiter in a T-shirt and shorts passes out boozy drinks to a group of about 15 people, including “Saturday Night Live” alum/comedienne Rachel Dratch (who is pregnant, so no cocktails). “Are these too much, too big?” Frankel asks Andy Cohen, Bravo’s senior vice president of original programming and development and the host of the live talk show “Watch What Happens Live.” Cohen, wearing a Ralph Lauren Black Label khaki suit with a bright pink pocket square, assures Frankel that she looks great. “I love your cork shoes,” he adds, pointing to Frankel’s Louboutins. “You look fabulous.” In two minutes, the “party” begins. The handsome, boyish-looking host with the most has turned a small studio north of Canal Street into his own mini-TV salon. All the set decorations of the show are Cohen’s own, from a row of Childcraft encyclopedias to photos with famous friends to toys. “I literally feel like I am doing a show from my den with my rug, chairs, chotchkes and a cocktail,” he says as a makeup artist de-shines him with a powder brush. “It is surreal and very comfortable. I have to stop myself from doing it barefoot occasionally.” During the half-hour show, Cohen fields calls from fans phoning in (“What does Bethenny really think of Kelly Bensimon?” is one question; answer: “Not much”) and from the Internet. Part referee, part ringleader, Cohen runs the show like a pro. “Andy treats all of the Bravo talent like his group of misbehaved children,” Frankel says post-taping. “I could never have the patience to engage and transact with that many individuals. This is where we differ.”
After the stage lights dim, the last episode of the season has wrapped. Cue applause. Cohen grins for photos with fans and then heads back to his West Village apartment. Guests on “Watch What Happens Live” have included everyone from Barney Frank to Ashley Dupré (talking about Tiger Woods) to Jerry Seinfeld. Tina Fey recently told Cohen that she would love to be a guest. It’s a strange hybrid of reality TV stars and “real” stars, like when Kelly Bensimon was paired with Patti LaBelle. It’s filmed live, so just about anything can happen. “I’m not scared of live TV,” Cohen says calmly. “I’m excited by it. You really have to be on your toes. It’s always different and surprising.” One of those surprising moments: When Levi Johnston (father to Bristol Palin’s baby) announced on the show that he was willing to pose nude for the right price. “That ignited a whole bidding war for him posing nude,” Cohen says. “It actually helped him.” Cohen says he is often shocked by his sophisticated guests’/friends’ knowledge of and reaction to reality TV. “I was surprised by Ellen Barkin’s level of passion regarding ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’ and Jerry Seinfeld’s level of repulsion for the ‘Real Housewives.’ There is usually something that surprises me and makes me giggle.” Growing up in St. Louis, Miss., Cohen ate up television like candy. His favorite programs were talk shows like “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” and “The Merv Griffin Show,” variety shows like “Donny & Marie” and the news. His parents let him indulge his TV addiction, and from a very young age, he dreamed of working for a network.“I watched ‘Dynasty.’ I loved ‘All My Children.’ I watched ‘Chips’ because I was in love with Poncherello [Erik Estrada’s character]. It’s quite an obvious gay play list,” he says with a big laugh. Being openly gay in the public eye has never been an issue for Cohen, who is a staple at A-list fashion parties and exclusive clubs like the Boom Boom
Jonathan Adler and Andy Cohen
. . . with Sarah Jessica Parker and Bob Colacello . . . with Countess LuAnn de Lesseps
. . . with Madonna
Room (his current favorite). I’m very happy being openly gay because it’s part of who I am,” he explains. “There’s a great freedom in being yourself wherever you are.” Wherever Cohen is, he is at the nexus of fabulousness— whether dancing with Madonna at the Valentino party or on good friend Barry Diller’s yacht in the South of France. “Andy has an incredible optimism and joie de vivre, which he communicates brilliantly through his passion for work and popular culture,” says Diane von Furstenberg, also a dear friend. “I do work all the time,” Cohen admits, mentioning that he gets up around 7 a.m., watches cuts from his shows, then works out before getting to the office. He blogs for www.bravotv.com daily (often on his BlackBerry in the taxi to the office) and is very active on Twitter, with 107,902 followers and counting. “Andy never sits still,” Frankel says. “He’s serious about business.” During downtime, Cohen goes to favorite neighborhood restaurants like Morandi. “I love just bumming around New York. I love to travel. Do you know what makes me the happiest? Going to the beach, any beach, with a towel, and just laying there and swimming in the ocean.” These days it seems that everyone has a reality TV show, from publicist Kelly Cutrone to stylist Rachel Zoe to socialite Olivia Palermo. But why would anyone be willing to allow video cameras, often unflattering, follow their personal and professional lives 24-7? “A lot of people come on Bravo because they want to brand themselves,” Cohen explains. “I think that in the case of Rachel Zoe or Jeff Lewis [from ‘Flipping Out’] or anyone we’ve done a docu-series around, 58 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
. . . with Donna Karan
. . . with Natasha Richardson
they’re doing it because they’re good at what they do. Many of them have ended up with bestselling books or lines on QVC or HSN or endorsement deals.” Would Cohen ever take his talk show one step further and have a crew trail him, recording hours upon hours of his own fabulous lifestyle? “No,” he says with conviction. “I think I kind of do that on ‘Watch What Happens Live.’ That’s as far as I’m willing to go. Look, you can accuse me of being TMI [too much information] already. I have a blog. I have Twitter, which I’m active on, and now I have a live talk show. That’s certainly enough.” After graduating from Boston University with a major in broadcast journalism, Cohen worked for CBS News for a decade, and was then Vice President of Original Programming for TRIO (pop culture TV). In 2005 he moved to Bravo and helped turn the station into one of the most buzzed about channels. So far he’s been nominated for 11 Emmy Awards, but has yet to win one. “Working at ‘48 Hours’ was really good training for coming and overseeing production of unscripted shows at Bravo. It’s about following a story and shaping it in an edit room,” Cohen says. Of course, many people, even diehard fans, suspect that reality TV often isn’t actually that real. Cohen maintains that isn’t the case at Bravo. “I know that other shows, like ‘The Hills’ [on MTV], are scripted. We don’t tell any of our housewives or our people what to say or do,” he claims. “What’s great about the really engaged, loyal audience we have is that they can smell something fake a mile away. I think they are looking for reality that is real.” Even though Cohen is both a recognizable behind-the-scenes and on-camera celebrity, he says his life in New York hasn’t
changed much. He does get stopped on the street, and the most popular query is which housewife he is most like (answer: Bethenny Frankel). “It’s fun, but so far, because I have my day job, the show is just a cherry on top of all that other stuff.” Cohen’s charismatic, boyish charm helps him be a likeable referee when it comes to controlling the often rowdy and raunchy (think Danielle Staub) reality TV stars he deals with daily. “I really try to be fair to everybody. The reason I go to great pains to be fair is my day job [and the fact] that I’m in charge of programming at Bravo and I have relationships with these women as an executive producer of their shows. I’m looking after them. It’s an interesting dynamic for sure.” Despite being friends with mega-stars like Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker, Cohen still retains that midwestern charm. He says “gosh” a lot and always seems to be smiling. His tranquil, yet enthusiastic demeanor is perfect for handling a
. . . with Fern Mallis and Kelly Killoren Bensimon
. . . with Jane Krakowski and Kelly Ripa
. . . with Rachel Zoe
“Andy treats all of the Bravo talent like his group of misbehaved children. I could never have the patience to engage and transact with that many individuals. This is where we differ.” —Bethenny Frankel reality TV star meltdown or freak out. He even still gets star-struck. “I’m star-struck by everyone who comes on the show because I can’t believe they’re in our little Bravo club house,” Cohen says. He mentions a night when Joan Rivers was a guest. It was last year, and New York was being clobbered with a huge snowstorm. “I just couldn’t get over that Joan Rivers was going to show up,” he remembers with childish awe. “Here’s this woman that I watched as Johnny Carson’s permanent fill-in on ‘The Tonight Show’ for years, and I’m doing this little show and she’s here. It was the one show where I was the most nervous,” he admits, reflecting on how far the young TV-addicted boy from St. Louis has come. “I was really in awe of how crazy life is. That one day you could be in St. Louis watching this woman, and then you’re in New York years and years later doing TV with her.” Cohen smiles widely at how his life has turned out. And with the next season of “Watch What Happens Live” airing this fall, those star-struck moments will surely double . . . and triple. And Cohen’s legions of fans will keep shouting: “Bravo Andy!” ✦
. . . with Anna Wintour and Sarah Jessica Parker
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Tales Outof School Inside 15 of the city’s most selective private schools illustrated by EDSON ALVES AND JUSTIN WINSLOW
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ew York private schools are like tribes, with their own uniforms, dating rituals and ever-evolving slang, which these days is texted or BBMed more than actually spoken. “Gossip Girl” has televised the exaggerated abundance of high-fashion-addicted Manhattan school kids to the world, and the over-the-top looks of the GG gang are not that far from what students are actually sporting today. Still hard to get into (but even harder to graduate from—just ask Paris Hilton, who briefly attended Sacred Heart before eventually getting her G.E.D.), New York’s world of pricey private schools is a true secret society. Here, we pull back the curtain and give you a peek. Take out your No. 2 pencils, class has started. —Peter Davis
Chaperone Mick Jagger rolls with the Spence tweens
[ tales out of school ]
The Brearley School
The Chapin School
610 East 83rd Street www.brearley.org Girls, Day
100 East End Avenue www.chapin.edu Girls, Day
Grades/Enrollment: K-12/692 Ivy Placement Rate: 31.9 percent of the 2006-2010 graduating classes Uniform: Lower School, jumper with big red buttons; Middle School, navy skirt, no logos on tops. Upper School, no uniform or dress code. Famous Alums: Veronica Bulgari, Oona Chaplin, Jill Clayburgh, Téa Leoni, Kyra Sedgwick, Dorothy Schiff, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, Katharine Weymouth Street Rep: The brainiac Brearley girls study hard and avoid trouble, aiming for Ivy League admittance, not A-list party girl status. Backstory: “I always found it a bummer that Brearley wasn’t close to any boys schools. Sacred Heart is in between St. David’s and St. Bernard’s. Jackson Hole, Mimi’s Pizza and Million Dollar Deli were the hot spots to be after school.” —Minnie Mortimer, fashion designer
Grades/Enrollment: K-12/717 Ivy Placement Rate: 30.26 percent of the 2006-2010 graduating classes Uniform: Girls graduate from green jumper to pleated skirt to kilt. Polo shirt must match the plaid. Famous Alums: Serena Boardman, Samantha Boardman Rosen, Stockard Channing, Amanda Hearst, Aerin Lauder, Queen Noor of Jordan, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Lilly Pulitzer, Samantha Ronson, Lee Radziwill Ross, Ivanka Trump, Vera Wang, Sigourney Weaver, Christine Todd Whitman Street Rep: The old-school-good-girl school; the female equivalent to Buckley. Backstory: “Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick visited the school once when Footloose was out and the girls went absolutely berserk! Everybody wanted to dance with Kevin.” —Cristina Greeven Cuomo, magazine editor
“My mother, Ginny Bond, and Mick Jagger chaperoned our fifth-grade dance [at Spence]. It was crazy—we had no idea why so many people were trying to get into the dance.” —Ginny Bond Fein, socialite
Convent of the Sacred Heart 1 East 91st Street www.cshnyc.org Girls, Day Grades/Enrollment: Pre-K-12/670 Ivy Placement Rate: 13.1 percent of the 2006-09 graduating classes Uniform: Lower School, grey jumper with gingham smock; Middle School, blue skirt, shirts can have logos as long as they’re smaller than a quarter; Upper School, plaid skirt. Girls may wear white, pink or red sweaters; if it’s a shade off, they must shed the item. Famous Alums: Edith Bouvier Beale, Jordana Brewster, Melissa de la Cruz, Stefani Germanotta (a.k.a. Lady Gaga),
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Magee Hickey, Nicky Hilton, Paris Hilton, Caroline Kennedy, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, Joan Bennett Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Elaine Stritch, Gloria Vanderbilt Street Rep: The premiere Catholic girls’ school that also spawned the Hilton sisters, Lady Gaga (who wore a black “beekeeper’s” veil to her sister’s graduation) and Grey Gardens’ Edie Beale. Backstory: “Lady Gaga was not a nerd—more boy crazy. She was the only girl who ended up in St. Regis school plays. Even though she was boy crazy, she was a stellar student and in every after school program that had to do with singing, acting, madrigals, choir bells and musicals. From a young age, she said she was going to be a star, wore makeup and had her skirt shortened.” —Cristina Civetta, socialite
The Nightingale-Bamford School 20 East 92nd Street www.nightingale.org Girls, Day
Famous Alums: Millicent Fenwick, Mandy Grunwald, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Alexandra Lebenthal, Heather Mnuchin, Olivia Palermo, Charlotte Ronson, Rachel Uchitel, Cecily von Ziegesar Street Rep: The strictest of all the girls’ schools, yet alma mater Grades/Enrollment: K-12/552 to “Gossip Girl” author Cecily von Ziegesar and Shoshanna Ivy Placement Rate: 18.7 percent of the Lonstein Gruss, who dated Jerry Seinfeld while she was a 2003-2008 graduating classes student at Nightingale. Uniform: Lower School, navy or houndstooth jumper Backstory: “When we first moved to New York, my mother with white collared shirt; Middle School and Upper allowed us to choose which school we would go to. I chose School, navy skirt or gray or light blue kilt with white Nightingale-Bamford because I really loved their gingham blouse or turtleneck. No boots, clogs or sandals. uniforms.” —Charlotte Ronson, designer
Un-Ladylike Gaga at her sister’s Sacred Heart graduation
Marymount School 1026 Fifth Avenue www.marymountnyc.org Girls, Day Grades/Enrollment: Nursery-12/560 Ivy Placement Rate: Unavailable Uniform: Light blue skirts or jumpers with thicksoled shoes, no boots. Famous Alums: Jennifer Creel Street Rep: It’s not uncommon for Marymount girls to be spotted sneaking cigarettes behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art across the street. Backstory: Students are often heard moaning about writing the required biblical paper when they would rather be reading Teen Vogue.
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[ tales out of school ] Haute Hewitt girl bare-legged in a blizzard
The Hewitt School 45 East 75th Street and 3 East 76th Street www.hewittschool.org Girls, Day Grades/Enrollment: K-12/506 Ivy Placement Rate: 4.3 percent of the class of 2010 Uniform: Plaid skirt, collared shirt. Girls can wear black ballet flats and footless tights. Famous Alums: Betsy von Furstenberg, Edith Kingdon Gould, Juliet Hartford, Julie Harris, Lady Pamela Hicks, Barbara Hutton, Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, Ilona Rich, Jean Stein, Elizabeth Stribling Street Rep: Hewitt girls are fashionobsessed and can be spotted meeting Buckley boys on the corner before and after classes (the two schools are just a block apart). Backstory: “The Hewitt girls were always very good at accessorizing. One girl in my class had a Louis Vuitton book bag. They were also particularly skilled at shortening the uniform as far as it could go. During the winter, you could always spot the girls who went to Hewitt—they were the ones with bare legs in a snowstorm.” —Ariel Levy, author of It Could Be Worse, You Could Be Me
The Spence School 22 East 91st Street www.spenceschool.org Girls, Day Grades/Enrollment: K-12/684 Ivy Placement Rate: 28.75 percent of the 2005-2009 graduating classes Uniform: K-4, plaid jumper and white shirt; Middle School, navy blue skirt or pants and white shirt; Upper School, gray skirt or slacks with any shirt that has sleeves and covers the midriff. No boots (thanks to Uggs).
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Famous Alums: Serena Altschul, Sloan Lindemann Barnett, Tatiana von Furstenberg, Lauren Helm, Jade Jagger, Amy Lumet, Jennifer Lumet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Emmy Rossum, Kerry Washington Street Rep: Spence is where the cool, smart, pretty girls (who date boys from nearby St. Bernard’s) are groomed for superstar status à la Paltrow, Washington, Jagger and Altschul. Backstory: “My mother, Ginny Bond, and Mick Jagger chaperoned our fifth-grade dance. It was crazy—we had no idea why so many people were trying to get into the dance. I think we would have understood better if it was Madonna or the J. Geils Band.” —Ginny Bond Fein, socialite
The Allen-Stevenson School 132 East 78th Street www.allen-stevenson.org Boys, Day Grades/Enrollment: K-9/412 Uniform: Upper School boys wear the usual: blazer, dress shirt, tie and pants—no jeans. Students can wear sneakers through third grade. Famous Alums: Peter Benchley, Michael Douglas, Michael
Eisner, Alexandre von Furstenberg, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz Street Rep: Students are artsy and liberal underneath the blue blazer with the A&S school badge. Music, art and theater are big components of the school’s curriculum. Backstory: The original Allen-Stevenson was located in a brownstone on 57th Street next door to the old Chapin location, but moved to its current spot because boys—hormones-raging—hopped across the roof to sneak into the girls’ school. Spin the bottle anyone?
Nightingale-Bamford is the strictest of all the girls’ schools, yet Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss dated Jerry Seinfeld while she was still a teenage student there.
The Browning School
The Buckley School
52 East 62nd Street www.browning.edu Boys, Day
113 East 73rd Street www.buckleyschool.org Boys, Day
Grades/Enrollment: K-12/375 Ivy Placement Rate: Unavailable Uniform: Lower School boys can wear a polo or turtleneck shirt under their jackets, but the Upper School requires ties. Famous Alums: Paul Dano, The Honorable Whitman Knapp, The Honorable Claiborne Pell, John D. Rockefeller Jr., Winthrop P. Rockefeller, Sargent Shriver Street Rep: One of the few all-boys schools that goes through 12th grade, Browning has a Benetton ad vibe, mixing white preps with students from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Backstory: “Each year, Browning would schedule a high school field day. My group of friends and I made it a tradition to never attend. Instead we started our own day of outdoor activities. We called this annual event Revolution Day. We would meet up in Sheep Meadow and play our more alternative, yet equally competitive games. Students from the girls schools were invited to participate at their own risk.” —Max Levai, young gallerist
Grades/Enrollment: K-9/369 Uniform: The full monty: jacket, tie, slacks and leather shoes. Famous Alums: David Gilbert, Howard Johnson, Nathaniel Kramer, Harry LeFrak, Topper Mortimer, David Netto, Mark Rockefeller, Nelson Rockefeller Jr., Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump Street Rep: The most conservative of all the boys‘ schools . . . blue-blooded boys with wild sides. Backstory: “I was sent home by Mr. Ferrer for showing up in a tux after an all-nighter at Xenon. I was also put on probation for kicking holes with my cowboy boots into the hotel room wall on a 9th-grade field trip to Columbia, Maryland—my first brush with the law! But nothing beat Mrs. Hawes, my 5th-grade homeroom teacher. I was her favorite. Buckley bums rule!” —Justin Lazard, actor
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 65
[ tales out of school ]
Collegiate School 260 West 78th Street www.collegiateschool.org Boys, Day Grades/Enrollment: K-12/640 Ivy Placement Rate: 38.9 percent of the 2005-2009 graduating classes Uniform: Standard, sans jacket. Famous Alums: David Benioff, Peter Bogdanovich, Edgar Bronfman Jr., Carter Burden III, David Duchovny, John F. Kennedy Jr., Ben Lyons, Walter Murch, Mark Ronson, Whit Stillman Street Rep: At 382 years old, Collegiate is the oldest independent school in the country. Music classes are required and obviously pay off, at least some of the time—alum Mark Ronson is one of the most successful music producers today. Backstory: John F. Kennedy Jr. left for Exeter in 10th grade, but while at Collegiate, he was a young hunk-in-demand. Girls were often outside waiting to catch a glimpse of the tall, dark, handsome future sex symbol.
"I was sent home [from school] for showing up in a tux after an all-nighter at Xenon. I was also put on probation for kicking holes with my cowboy boots into the hotel room wall on a 9th-grade field trip . . . my first brush with the law." —Justin Lazard, actor
St. Bernard’s School
Saint David’s School
4 East 98th Street www.stbernards.org Boys, Day
12 East 89th Street www.saintdavids.org Boys, Day
Grades/Enrollment: K-9/382 Uniform: Blazers, ties and oxford shirts. Famous Alums: Bartle Bull, Andrew Eristoff, Peter Halley, Peter Matthiessen, Tom Mankiewicz, Gifford Miller, Jake Paltrow, George Plimpton, Benno C. Schmidt Jr., James W. Symington, Robert Thurman Street Rep: Well-behaved boys with an old-school British boys’ club vibe. The mascot of the school is a St. Bernard dog. Backstory: Alumni are called “Old Boys.” ’Nuff said.
Grades/Enrollment: Pre-K-8/400 Uniform: Tie and jacket. Famous Alums: Andrew Giuliani, Dick Wolf Street Rep: Saint David’s students are nice boys on skateboards who like to cause a ruckus; the male version of Sacred Heart. Backstory: Rudy Giuliani’s son Andrew, who attended Saint David’s, had a personal bodyguard who later became the school’s security guard. To this day, John Murphy is beloved by the Saint David’s community.
66 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
Trinity School 139 West 91st Street www.trinityschoolnyc.org Coed, Day Grades/Enrollment: K-12/997 Ivy Placement Rate: 38 percent of the 2004-2008 graduating classes Uniform: Pretty standard through Middle School; Upper School students may wear jeans and sneakers. Famous Alums: Humphrey Bogart, Truman Capote, Jim Carroll, Larry Hagman, Sophie B. Hawkins, Liz Lange, Stacy London, John McEnroe Street Rep: The place to go to high school for those who don’t go to boarding school. Rated the No. 1 school in the country by Forbes magazine. Backstory: “In 1977, John McEnroe was No. 1 on the tennis team, and I was No. 2. What I found remarkable about him, besides his unbelievable tennis talent, was his devotion to playing for Trinity. But when John got a wildcard to play in the French Open, where he won the first of his many Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles, he had to miss the National Interscholastic Tennis Championships where Trinity finished sixth in the country . . . without John.” —Tory Kiam, entrepreneur A tricked-out “Buckley bum”
The Dalton School 108 East 89th Street www.dalton.org Coed, Day Grades/Enrollment: K-12/1,302 Ivy Placement Rate: 29.8 percent of the 2005-2009 graduating classes Uniform: None. Famous Alums: Chevy Chase, Anderson Cooper, Claire Danes, Helen Frankenthaler, Jennifer Grey, Marci
Klein, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jennifer O’Neill, Tracy Pollan, Jamie Redford, Marian Seldes, Wallace Shawn, Christian Slater Street Rep: Dalton is non-traditional, artsy and progressive (no uniform!), with lots of celebrity offspring. School plays are a star-studded affair. Backstory: Dylan Lauren, according to her 6th-grade English teacher, turned in every paper with a drawing of a little bunny on top. “I really do love bunnies,” Lauren says. ✦
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 67
profile
Mind, Body and Soul Alex Reznik of Complete Body & Spa strikes a perfect balance between quality and quantity
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hen you first meet Alex Reznik, founder and president of Complete Body & Spa, what you notice is, well, his physique: tall, sturdy, striking. With a clean, buzzed haircut and sharp features, not to mention a trace of Russian accent, he’s a guy who clearly means business. When you first talk with Alex Reznik, what you realize is that his business is not just physical health, but also emotional wellbeing. There are Complete Body & Spa locations in Paris, London, Moscow and New York, and a new one that just opened at 301 East 57th Street. At 17,000 square feet, it occupies the building’s entire 5th floor and includes a 3,000-square-foot sun deck and indoor swimming pool with retractable roof. But impressive amenities are not all it has. Like Reznik’s other facilities, the 57th Street location offers a unique blend of Eastern and Western fitness techniques and practices. A former trainer with the Russian army, Reznik emigrated to the United States in the late 1980s. He continued his fitness educa-
tion here in New York, and quickly secured positions at several big gyms. “I soon realized I wanted to work for myself,” Reznik recalls. “I was really, really busy, but I didn’t like the corporate structure or the sales aspect. It was really about numbers, not what clients needed—so I left to start my own company.” Reznik developed the Six Essential ElementsSM training philosophy, which focuses on strength, aerobics, flexibility, nutrition, meditation and rest. “I see two groups in America, especially in New York,” Reznik says. “One works out hard—weights, but not stretching or meditation. The other does yoga, but doesn’t necessarily have strong cardiovascular abilities or muscular builds. I’m the bridge between these two groups; I took the best from both and created the complete body system.” Reznik’s program is largely influenced by his own personal journey, which took an unexpected turn when he started experiencing heart palpitations. Despite the alarming symptom, doctors told him nothing was wrong. “I knew something wasn’t right, so I went to India and discovered this other side
Alex Reznik, founder and president of Complete Body & Spa 68 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
of wellbeing,” Reznik says. He began working with Deepak Chopra and quickly became his personal trainer, then a lecturer and exercise instructor for numerous Chopra Center seminars. “I realized it’s not all about how many pushups you can do,” Reznik continues. “It’s about balance, about being complete. Everyone has their own idea of how to achieve that, but basically it’s not just quantity but also quality of life. My training approach reflects that.” In fact, a number of Complete Body & Spa services reflect that. One is Ayurveda, the ancient Indian holistic tradition focusing on the health of the mind, body and spirit through diet, exercise and lifestyle. “You can’t separate fitness from overall health,” Reznik says. “For example, stress at work or home interferes with wellbeing, so we can provide clients with life coaches and services from our new Environmental Wellness Design Studio.” The latter includes designing and building home and office gyms, spas, saunas, terraces, gardens and other projects, as well as evaluating and organizing clients’ existing spaces. From being at ease in their environments to feeling good about their exercise regimens, Reznik wants his clients to live healthily and happily. He reasons exercise should be enjoyable, and joy is good for you. “People say ‘no pain, no gain,’ but I’m really against that,” Reznik admits. “I believe in ‘no pain, more gain.’ You don’t want pain during your workout; you want a comfortable challenge.” For Reznik, the idea of being comfortably challenged goes beyond fitness. He lives his life according to reasonable expectations and the idea of self-improvement based on the potential of the individual, not conformity to some universal ideal. “It’s impossible to be perfect,” Reznik says. “At Complete Body & Spa, we help our clients to be better, to be their best.” ✦
ANDREW & PETER FABRIKANT
gems Rock Crystal Amulets by Temple St. Clair
Greed jade and diamond fan earrings at Jewelbox on Madison
Snake Cuff in gold and silver with diamonds and yellow sapphires at Jewelbox on Madison
She’s Gotta Have It... The latest jewelry designs that everybody wants Blue sapphire and diamond Evil Eye Swivel Ring from the Odyssey Collection by Temple St. Clair
Blue sapphire and royal blue moonstone Mandala Cuff by Temple St. Clair
Diamond Pavé Triple Leaf Earrings set in 18-karat yellow gold and platinum by Valentin Magro
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 71
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT . . .
Temple St. Clair I
n the fall of 1987, a year after Temple St. Clair founded her namesake line, Temple St. Clair Fine Jewelry, in Florence, Italy, her first collection debuted exclusively at Barneys New York. The style is best represented by the line’s signature rock crystal amulets and collectible cocktail rings. St. Clair is uncompromising when it comes to materials and craftsmanship. Hand-selected gemstones are set by master Italian goldsmiths, whom she has worked with for more than two decades. Below, St. Clair discusses her influences and offers advice for collectors. What is your unique design point of view? Through years of study in Italy, I am guided by classical rules of balance, symmetry and restraint. How should a woman build a fine jewelry collection that works for today’s lifestyle? For me, quality, individuality and versatility are key. Modern women go from home and family to work to dinner and events. A woman should buy jewelry of exquisite quality that “speaks to her,” that can become her signature. Who would you love to see wearing your jewelry? Great independent women: Michelle Obama, Zaha Hadid, Miuccia Prada, Laura Linney, Oprah, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Tina Fey . . . From where does your love of jewelry stem? My mother and grandmother had great jewelry. Both were collectors, travelers and lovers of beautiful things. A love for detail was instilled in my psyche from a young age. In your opinion, why is jewelry so important to women? For millennia, women have adorned themselves with jewels in an effort to express their individuality. With a true jewel, there is story, mystery and a soulfulness that feeds an emotional need. This desire never wanes.
Tolomeo Pendant in mixed sapphires from the Celestial Collection
Rare pink topaz and rose-cut diamond Bombé Ring
Blue sapphire and royal blue moonstone Mandala Cuff
Royal blue moonstone and sapphire Evil Eye Earrings from the Odyssey Collection
TEMPLE ST. CLAIR Available in New York City in the fine jewelr y departments of Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s Designer Temple St. Clair will make a personal appearance at Saks Fifth Avenue on Oct. 7 Please visit www.templestclair.com for further information 72 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT . . .
Jewelbox on Madison
Starfish Cuff in gold with emeralds and white diamonds
W
ith one mini, arched window, Jewelbox on Madison is a treasure trove housing an extensive and eclectic inventory. Having opened the shop back in 1987, owners and childhood friends Susan Grunberg and Ruth Weiss now like to joke that the neighboring stores, including Barneys and Calvin Klein, followed them to Madison Avenue. Many baubles are handpicked; rose-cut diamonds from India and natural shells from Australia contribute to the fun and extravagant designs the shop is known for. Although Jewelbox has sold some jewelry to overseas retailers and at various charity events, the unique nature of the pieces precludes mass production—assuring customers one-of-a-kind pieces to add to their collection. Here, Grunberg and Weiss share their insight on their unique boutique and the art of jewelry. How long have you been in business? Since October 1987, after turning what our husbands called “a hobby” into an exciting business.
What is the inspiration behind your jewelry designs? We’re inspired by our extensive world travels—absorbing the history and art of other cultures. We are drawn to unconventional materials, such as seashells and exotic skins, which we combine with various diamonds in unusual colors and cuts or gold. Who would you love to see wearing your jewelry? We feel that despite the fact that we’ve adorned celebrities and royalty over the years, we want every woman who shops at Jewelbox to look her most beautiful self.
Starburst earrings with diamonds set in lilac jade and oxidized gold
In your opinion, why is jewelry so important to women? We see jewelry as a timeless and beautifying accessory. We like to make our customers feel special with our one-of-a-kind pieces.
Aventurine Cuff in oxidized gold with diamonds
JEWELBOX ON MADISON 654 Madison Avenue 212.644.8297 www.jewelboxonmadison.com 18-karat gold earrings with natural-in-color diamond centers
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 73
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT . . .
Valentin Magro T
wenty-five years ago, Valentin Magro came to New York from the Mediterranean island of Malta. Here, he worked for Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston and David Webb before embarking on his own jewelry line. Magro’s dramatic use of color and intricate line-work inflect his sophisticated designs with a youthful charm. Attention to detail and quality craftsmanship is a key component of his design philosophy. An experienced jeweler, Magro works with customers from idea generation to execution in order to create pieces that best suit their style. “The ultimate wearer appreciates my jewelry for its originality and the fact that each piece is completely unique,” explains Magro. Now, a glimpse into Magro’s world of inspiration and behind the doors of his studio. What is the inspiration behind your jewelry designs? Nature in all its forms. What is your unique design point of view? My pieces are hand-crafted in my studio under my personal guidance to ensure the utmost quality and attention to detail. How should a woman build a fine jewelry collection that works for a contemporary lifestyle? A well-appointed jewelry collection is built to enhance and mirror a woman’s style and ultimately her lifestyle. One should never overpower the other. What are the latest trends you’ve incorporated into your jewelry? Color, whether for day or evening pieces. In your opinion, why is jewelry so important to women? Jewelry enhances and compliments a woman’s personality.
Cushion Faceted Prasolith Ring set in 18-karat yellow gold
Gothic Link Bracelet with facetted madeira citrines, peridots and padparadscha sapphires set in 18-karat yellow gold
Aqua & Tourmaline facetted teardrop earrings set in 18-karat white gold
VALENTIN MAGRO Designs sold at Magro’s studio (42 West 48th Street) and select retailers nationwide For information, please contact Terr y Magro at 212.575.9044 www.valentinmagro.com 74 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
HOUSE PROUD DISTINCTIVE MANHATTAN RESOURCES FOR YOUR HOME
Clockwise from left: A detail of a Boulle clock, treated by Period Furniture Conservation; silver-gilt and enamel case, circa 1880, at MAAC; a detail of a red Japanned gilt and silvered Queen Anne secretaire, treated by Period Furniture Conservation; a pair of Jensen obelisks, treated by Period Furniture Conservation; painting by Conrad Freyberg, circa 1876, at MAAC
SEPTEMBER 2010 路 AVENUE MAGAZINE | 77
HOUSE PROUD
Success Story New York’s largest and finest emporium for antiques recently celebrated its 35th anniversary—and shows no sign of slowing down Above left: Decorative porcelain dinnerware at Hoffman-Gampetro Galleries #37-39 Above right: Duvinage and Maison Alphonse Giroux Decorative Panel at European Decorative Arts #6; ivory, engraved brass, maple, pearwood on laminated wood, gilt bronze frame; signed; French; circa 18771883 Below: Jaguar tea set by William Spratling at Leah Gordon Antiques #18, including a teapot, coffee pot, chocolate pot, creamer and sugar with tray; sterling silver and ebony with cast jaguar surmounting each piece; circa 1960
I
n the heart of Midtown, on Second Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets, lies a unique and essential resource specializing in fine furniture, jewelry, clocks, paintings, silver and other objets of art, known as The Manhattan Arts & Antiques Center (MAAC). Spanning the length of a city block, this emporium houses more than 100 galleries on three levels, and features a wide variety of collections from all over the world. Each level of The Center has its own distinctive flare. Boutiques displaying china, silver, jewelry and other objects line the lobby level, while the first concourse (located one floor below) is filled with art deco furniture, clocks, carpets and antique tapestries. A spiral staircase leads downstairs where a water fountain sets a tranquil mood for the second concourse—devoted to European furniture, Asian and African art and architectural antiques. The idea for a street-level indoor mall dedicated to art and antiques first came about when Glenwood Management Corporation was planning to build a luxury high-rise complex and wondered how to utilize the street-level space. At the time,
78 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
small antique stores were being uprooted from their traditional sites along Second and Third Avenues. And so began The Manhattan Art & Antiques Center. The new Center allowed more vendors to participate in this upscale shopping mall. “We helped preserve the original shopping flavor of the area and provided New York City with a unique and revitalizing cultural asset,” explains The Center’s director, Steve Roedler. Fast-forward 35 years and The Center has flourished, even in these tough economic times. It has inspired loyalty and dedication from its tenants, with many galleries having been a part of The Center for more than 20 years. Brian Gaisford of Hemingway African Gallery was the building’s first tenant. Today, Hemingway African Gallery has become one of the most established and largest wholesale importer of fine African art, including sculpture, rugs, masks, pottery and paintings. Last year, one of The Center’s original tenants, Palace Galleries, returned after a 29-year hiatus. Palace is known for providing fine 15th-to19th-century European art objects to collectors,
HOUSE PROUD designers, dealers and museums worldwide. Meanwhile, Flying Cranes Antiques Ltd. is a world leader in the field of Japanese antiques. Jean and Clifford Schaefer, the owners, say their clients go directly to the gallery from the airport because The Center is so easily accessible. “The cognoscenti who collect the best in Meiji art collect from us, and have done so for the past 35-plus years—20 or so of those years happily and successfully at The Center,” Jean Schaefer says. Priding itself on quality and service, The Manhattan Art & Antiques Center caters to dealers and interior designers, as well as the public. Touring its galleries can also prove to be a learning experience. With so many experts on hand, visitors have access to a wealth of background information on any given piece and budding collectors and designers benefit from advice based on years of experience. Pieces are priced for sophisticated collectors and cost-conscious shoppers alike, ranging from $50 to $500,000. To preserve your most coveted pieces, The Center offers expert repairs of clocks, watches, silver, tapestries, rugs, quilts and more. Interior design consultations and appraisals by members of the Appraisers Association of America and the International Appraisers Association are also available. For more than three decades at its present location, The Manhattan Art & Antiques Center has been a staple resource for everyone from interior designers and collectors to antique buffs and tourists. With such a plethora of pieces, there’s something for everyone. “Since most of our dealers travel extensively, The Center is able to offer the widest range of international art and antiques that can be found under any one roof in the world,” says Roedler. Because of this, Roedler proudly describes The Center as “a mini United Nations.” ✦
Above left: Fine gilt-bronze mounted Amaranth, kingwood and sateen trellis-parquetry grand piano at F&P #39, 40, 83, 84; the movement is by Erard, Paris, circa 1885-1890 Above right: One of a collection of Nouveau and Deco vintage perfume bottles at Gallery 47 Second row: Extremely rare French animated industrial clock in the form of an ironclad battleship, circa 1890, at Sundial NYC #54 Third row left: René Lalique chandelier, Hirondelles, clear and frosted glass, 26-inch diameter, 1929, at Paul Stamati Gallery #89, 90; brown patina bronze; Fonderie des Artistes Paris; height 30.7 inches, length 30.3 inches Third row middle: Fukagawa vase modelled in high relief with ripened rice, white leaves and Chidori-at-play at Flying Cranes Antiques Ltd., #55, 56, 58; koransha blue orchid mark on base; from the Meiji period Third row right: Finely carved wood Guanyin at Chinese Art Gallery #50F, originally from a temple in the northern part of China; 18th century; height 45 inches Bottom: Derriere Le Miroir by Joan Miro, signed limited first edition, one of only 150 copies signed by the artist, with three magnificent double page lithographs on velin d”Arches at Manhattan Rare Book Company #50E
THE MANHATTAN ART & ANTIQUES CENTER 1050 Second Avenue 212.355.4400 ■ www.the-maac.com SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 79
HOUSE PROUD
Timeless Technique Blending artistry and science, Yuri Yanchyshyn of Period Furniture Conservation preserves treasures
F
or more than 30 years, furniture conservator Yuri Yanchyshyn has worked with fine furniture and objects, keeping them stable, aesthetically appealing and historically faithful. He’s known for repairing a loose chair leg or a scratch on a bureau as though such flaws never existed. Surveying collections, providing consultations or removing tarnish from a 20th-century Jensen coffee and tea service are all in a day’s work. Conservation encompasses more than simply appearance and function. “Our goal is to preserve the value, integrity and useful life of the object,” says Yanchyshyn, senior conservator and principal at Period Furniture Conservation. “For that, we have to look at the original artisan’s intent, technique and materials.” In addition to conserving furniture and objects, Yanchyshyn and his staff educate clients and collectors through detailed condition reports, treatment records and environmental recommendations. Prior to founding Period Furniture Conservation, Yanchyshyn worked as
a consulting conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His interest in woodworking started early, when he carved model ships as a child. After graduating from the University of Michigan and California Institute of the Arts with fine arts degrees in painting, he returned to his first passion. Over the years, Yanchyshyn has received training through the Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education, as well as at the Amsterdam Academy for Restoration. With a background like that, Yanchyshyn is unusually adept at multi-faceted projects involving a wide range of materials and techniques. Many of the items that enter the studio are like complex puzzles, where the pieces interact in precise ways. Thorough analysis is required before any treatment begins. This is true even when the situation is urgent. “Not infrequently we are called upon to give immediate advice on what to do with furniture and objects in the event of a flood or other catastrophe,” Yanchyshyn says. “It’s crucial work and needs to be started within hours of the incident.” Like a first responder, he and his staff at Period
Above: A set of Frederick Kiesler tables
Furniture Conservation come in and do damage control before it’s too late. Yanchyshyn’s studio handles typical structural repairs, but is primarily known for more complicated procedures. These include replacing missing or damaged sections of carving, veneer and marquetry, as well as treating sophisticated finishes, such as gilding, urushi lacquer and Japanning. Because so many wooden objects incorporate other materials, the studio has expanded its offerings to include treatments for porcelain, stone, metal and glass objects. Recently, the firm was selected by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be part of the architectural preservation team for the Philip Johnson Brick House project, a National Historic Landmark in Connecticut. Yanchyshyn’s clients appreciate his ability to preserve original artistic vision while permitting continued use and enjoyment. The results never fail to exceed expectations, which explains why the studio gets most of its business from word of mouth. “Nothing says satisfaction better than a recommendation,” observes Yanchyshyn. ✦
Left: A detail of a Louis XV marquetry commode
PERIOD FURNITURE CONSERVATION 54 West 21st Street, suite 609 212.255.7426 www.periodfurnitureconservation.com 80 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
38 Annual th
2010
160 East 71st Street, New York City October 14 – November 11, 2010 FEATURING WORK BY 2MICHAELS, AMAN & CARSON, NANCY BOSZHARDT, SHERRILL CANET, COFFINIER KU, CULLMAN & KRAVIS, DARREN HENAULT, NOEL JEFFREY, MONICA RICH KOSANN PHOTOGRAPHY, MCMILLEN PLUS, JENNIFER POST, KATIE RIDDER, ROBERT VERDI, ROD WINTERROWD, VICENTE WOLF, AND MORE
Sponsored by:
For more information on designers and events, please visit: www.kipsbay.org or call us at 718.893.8600 x245 KB2010_AveRevFall.indd 1 AVE0910_Kips.indd 1
8/24/10 1:14 5:00 PM PM 8/27/10
PARK AVENUE ARMORY 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street September 29 to October 3, 2010
SPECIAL SHOW PREVIEW
avenue show
September 2010 Exhibitors*: Antique American Wicker Arthur Guy Kaplan Camilla Dietz Bergeron Dai Ichi Arts David Brooker Fine Art Dawn Hill Antiques Dinan & Chighine Domont Jewelry Eastwood Fine Art Eleanor Abraham Asian Art The Englishman Fine Art Antiques Fleur FraMonT Franya Waide Antiques & Interiors French Country Living Gary Rubenstein Antiques Gladwell Gallery Hamshere Gallery Haynes Fine Art Hollis Reh & Shariff Il Segno Del Tempo J Gallagher Jeff Bridgman Antiques John Atzbach Antiques Joyce Grousman Estate and Fine Jewelry Larry Dalton Lynda Willauer Antiques
M.S. Rau Antiques Mantiques Modern Marion Harris Michael Haber Michael Pashby Antiques Midori Gallery Milord Antiques Moira of Bond Street N. & I. Franklin Ophir Gallery Orley & Shabahang Pat Saling New York Percy’s London Perisue Silver Piranesi Robert Lloyd Robin Katz Vintage Jewels Sabbadini Sallea Antiques Santos - London Stephen Kalms Antique Silver Steven Neckman Sue Brown Susan Teller Gallery The Hunt Gallery The Silver Fund The Spare Room Valentin Magro William Cook
*current as of Aug. 15, 2010; see www.avenueshows.com for updates
84 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
A Fair to Remember AVENUE Shows presents Antiques & Art at the Armory
AVENUE IS PLEASED to invite you to attend our upcoming Antiques & Art
at the Armory Show taking place September 29 through October 3 at the Park Avenue Armory. Featuring a remarkable selection of antiques, art and jewelry on display at Manhattan’s most elegant and iconic location, this is the most anticipated event of the fall season. Please enjoy the following exclusive introduction to this exciting event. For more information, please visit www.avenueshows.com.
michael pashby antiques A pair Regency Rosewood stools modeled after a design by Thomas Hope, circa 1815 “These elegant Regency stools are as relevant and appealing to our eyes today as they were to the late Georgian connoisseur. Attributed to Gillows, the fashionable cabinet makers of the Georgian era, this wonderful pair of x-frame stools was made from a design published in 1807 by Thomas Hope in the latest Grecian style. Exemplifying the best of Regency design and craftsmanship, the stools display a remarkably modern look.” —Michael Pashby of Michael Pashby Antiques
eleanor abraham asian art Amitayus, The Buddha of Endless Life, gilt bronze from 15th-century Tibet, 10 inches in height “Amitayus is the Buddha of Eternal Life. He is sitting on a double-lotus base in a meditative posture cradling his attribute, a vase that contains the elixir of immortality.” —Eleanor Abraham of Eleanor Abraham Asian Art
n. & i. franklin Regency The Selkirk Wine Coolers: A highly important set of four Regency silver wine coolers made for the 5th Earl of Selkirk by royal silversmith Benjamin Smith of London, 1808 “This set is from the collection of King Farouck of Egypt. This is the first time this collection is being brought to New York.” —Ian Frankin of N.& I. Franklin SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 85
avenue show
gladwell gallery La Seine près le Bar-sur-Seine by Georges Charles Robin, oil on canvas, 18 inches by 21 inches, circa 1940 “This classic French Impressionist landscape by Robin captures the deep feeling he had for the countryside of his homeland. His choice of pure colors combined with firm positive brush strokes leaves the viewer refreshed and curious to see more.” —Glenn Fuller of Gladwell Gallery
ophir gallery A Camille Fauré French art deco copper & enameled stylized floral vase in rich pastels and a lavender background, signed C. Fauré, 9.5 inches tall, circa 1920
camilla dietz bergeron
“Fauré vases have become highly collected and sought after. The present example, with its soft palette and sophisticated stylized, floral design, is a versatile decorative object that accommodates any décor.” —Edo Ophir of Ophir Gallery
David Webb gold and diamond Pine Cone Earrings from Camilla Dietz Bergeron of New York City “David Webb is a must-have for every jewelry wardrobe.” —Gus Davis of Camilla Dietz Bergeron
haynes fine art Moonlight on the Lake, Roundhay Park, Leeds by John Atkinson Grimshaw, oil on canvas, 30 by 25 inches “An outstanding painting by one of England’s finest Victorian Artists. John Atkinson Grimshaw has created an atmosphere of such silence and tranquility, which is lost in today’s modern world. The painting previously belonged to Georgia Frontiere, who once owned the L.A. Rams football team.” —Mark Shaw of Haynes Fine Art 86 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
A Fair to Remember
gary rubenstein antiques A rare and important rosewood and walnut inlaid two-door cabinet by Tomasso Buzzi, Italy, 1930s “A remarkable and timeless piece of workmanship and design by one of the great Italian masters of the 20th century.” —Gary Rubenstein of Gary Rubenstein Antiques
jeff bridgman antiques valentin magro Mediterranean Coral Fan and Diamond Pavé Starfish Brooch set in 18-karat white gold “The flowing movement of this Mediterranean rich red coral brooch is elegantly anchored by the brilliant diamond pavé starfish.” —Terry Magro of Valentin Magro
A rare pair of tiny, hand-sewn, 13 star flags made by Rachel Albright & Sarah M. Wilson, the granddaughter and greatgranddaughter of Betsy Ross in Philadelphia. “This is an extremely beautiful and graphic, homemade Civil War example. The arrangement of the stars is the most coveted geometric form, and the blue canton is resting on a red stripe, referred to by some flag experts as the ‘blood stripe,’ and is thought to be a wartime trait.” —Jeff Bridgman of Jeff Bridgman Antiques
dinan & chighine A fine botanical painting on a skeletonized banyan leaf, canton, circa 1840 “An exceptional work of art from this significant period.” —John Dinan of Dinan & Chighine
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 87
avenue show
History in the Making Join The Royal Oak Foundation for two exclusive lectures at AVENUE Antiques & Art at the Armory
A
fter the success of last year’s partnership, AVENUE Antiques & Art at the Armory will once again join forces with The Royal Oak Foundation. An independent nonprofit organization, Royal Oak is the American partner to one of the world’s most prominent conservation organizations: the National Trust of England, Wales & Northern Ireland. From small cottages to grand country estates—including the incredible homes of Winston Churchill and Beatrix Potter—Royal Oak grants members free and exclusive access to more than 300 historic houses, gardens and castles. In support of AVENUE’s Antiques & Art at the Armory, The Royal Oak Foundation is presenting an exclusive lecture series by Curt DiCamillo, executive director of National Trust for Scotland Foundation, and Dr. Lucy Worsley, chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces. Along with their longstanding relationship with Royal Oak, these lecturers and noted scholars have been sponsored in the United States to great acclaim. “Choosing speakers and lecture topics is somewhat of a creative process,” explains John Oddy, executive director of The Royal Oak Foundation. “We try to match what we know are the general interests of the audience to the lecturers’ expertise.” Accordingly, DiCamillo will present “Jewels of Scandal and Desire: British Jewelry Collections and Country Houses” at the show. Since many antique shows feature jewelry, Oddy believes DiCamillo’s lecture will not only be a great story, but a fitting one for this year’s Antiques & Art at the Armory. Meanwhile, Dr. Worsley will present “Treasures at Hampton Court: Tudor Magnificence to Modern Palace.” The lecture will connect important paintings and furniture, like those for sale at the show, to the historic estates and palaces where they were once displayed. For nearly two decades, The Foundation has educated its members on various history, design, art and conservation topics through their national lecture series. “It’s a pleasure to work with AVENUE magazine,” says Oddy. “Our members enjoy coming to the show, and we enjoy adding extra value and interest to augment the dealers and their collections.”
88 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
Show Schedule and Events *
Wednesday, September 29 Private VIP Opening Night Preview Cocktail Party for AVENUE Readers 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. RSVP to 646.442.1628 or preview@manhattanmedia.com Thursday, September 30 Show Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 1 Show Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Lectures: Designer Breakfast Panel Discussion 10:00 a.m. to 1100 a.m. “Decorating with Antiques in the Modern World,” moderated by Susanna Salk and featuring Milly De Cabrol, Maureen Footer, Philip Gorrivan, Richard Mishaan, Nina Morton, Jennifer Post RSVP: designerbreakfast@manhattanmedia.com Fidelity Investments Presents The Royal Oak Foundation Lecture 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. “Jewels of Scandal and Desire: British Jewelry Collections and Country Houses,” presented by Curt DiCamillo, Executive Director, National Trust for Scotland RSVP: 646.442.1626 or royaloaklecture@manhattanmedia.com Saturday, October 2 Show Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Lectures: Fidelity Investments Presents The Royal Oak Foundation Lecture 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. “Treasures at Hampton Court: Tudor Magnificence to Modern Palace,” presented by Dr. Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces. RSVP: 646.442.1626 or royaloaklecture@manhattanmedia.com Sunday, October 3 Show Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. *current as of Aug. 26, 2010; see www.avenueshows.com for further details
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real estate
Perfect Penthouses With unparalleled city views, these inspiring residences reach new heights in luxurious living
Three magnificent levels, forever views
PAULA BURCHILL 212.366.1110
Rising high above the Upper East Side, The Laurel Condominium’s top floor penthouse is the ultimate in exceptional living. Private elevator access takes you to this 4-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom residence on the 31st floor, featuring 12-foot ceilings and solid white oak floors. Nearly floor-to-ceiling windows display panoramic river and city views. The triple exposure great room with custom double-sided limestone fireplace makes for a dramatic entertaining space. More than 3,000 square feet of private outdoor space includes a magnificent bi-level terrace and roof deck with an outdoor fireplace. The Laurel offers 12,000 square feet of private amenities, including a 50-foot lap pool and triathlon training center, full services and on-site parking. The building is 60 percent sold with financing available and immediate occupancy.
JOANIE SCHUMACHER/JEANNIE WOODBREY 212.750.5550
90 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
This quintessential penthouse, an urban oasis in the heart of the West Village, overlooks Jackson Square Park and boasts magical 360-degree Manhattan views. A palatial triple-floor residence with two fireplaces and private rooftop, the penthouse at One Jackson Square encompasses 7,220 square feet of idyllic space. A grand 1,300-square-foot great room complements a gourmet kitchen with chef-grade Miele and Sub-Zero appliances. Other spaces include a stunning glass-encased double-height observatory, four sumptuous bedrooms and five Calacatta slab marble bathrooms. The sprawling rooftop features a pristine Endless swimming pool, powder room and fully appointed rooftop kitchen with gracious entertaining area.
THE LAUREL Al fresco on the East Side
EVAN JOSEPH
ONE JACKSON SQUARE
CHELSEA ENCLAVE
EVAN JOSEPH
Sanctuary on the square
GEORGICA
Perched on the 21st floor, Georgica’s light-filled penthouse is comprised of 2,700 gracious square feet wrapped in dramatic floor-to-ceiling glass, revealing 360-degree city views. There are four generously-sized bedrooms, including a gracious master suite with dressing room, and four-and-a-half baths. A magnificent eat-in kitchen and great room with a fireplace and adjacent terrace are perfect for entertaining. Impeccably finished, modern and warm, the penthouse is Georgica’s pinnacle offering. Building amenities include a fitness center, landscaped roof deck, outdoor and indoor play areas and concierge service by Abigail Michaels.
BETH STERN 212.988.8511
SOHO MEWS
ARCHPARTNERS
All glass and light
Penthouse A is the premier penthouse at Chelsea Enclave. Located in the southwest wing, this 3,400-square-foot, 4-bedroom duplex home is distinguished by floor-to-ceiling glass. Two huge wraparound private terraces feature city views to the South and unobstructed park views to the West and North. With interiors by Alan Wanzenberg, Chelsea Enclave marries exceptional design and new construction with one of the most charming and peaceful settings in all of Manhattan. Uniquely located on the eastern edge of the General Theological Seminary of New York, Chelsea Enclave offers a one of a kind sanctuary in the heart of New York City.
DONNA PUZIO 212.647.0077
A Gwathmey Siegel original
ZACH DESART
With 4 bedrooms and 4.5 baths plus a gas-burning fireplace, this masterfully designed, triple-exposure penthouse offers 3,468 square feet of living space. A private 1,591-square-foot wraparound terrace features an outdoor spa tub. Dramatic floorto-ceiling glass and 10-foot ceilings provide unparalleled light and panoramic views from Soho and downtown Manhattan to the Empire State Building and beyond. Soho Mews blends architecture and design by Gwathmey Siegel with all the charm and detail of the neighborhood’s traditional 19th-century cast-iron buildings. Made up of two separate structures connected by a private landscaped garden designed by Peter Walker, Soho Mews offers generous lofts, penthouses and street-entrance townhouses.
SHELLEY O’KEEFE 212.226.0020
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 91
Lisa Lippman
Caroline E.Y. Guthrie
Curtis Jackson
360 DEGREE UNPARALLELED VIEWS
PARK AVE 9 ROOM PREWAR CONDO
ARTISAN TOWNHOUSE
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UES. Excl. Approx 6,000SF, 4BR, 4.5 Bath, movie theater, libr, rm dividing aquarium btn formal DR & LR. Price Upon Request. Margery Hadar 212-906-9237 Elizabeth Lee Sample 212-906-9299 Brenda Powers 212-906-9314
Park Ave. Excl. 4,400SF, LR, library, master BR & sitting room span entire front of bldg. 2 wbfps and an EIK. 24HR DM, concierge, gym and in-house catering from Daniel. $15M. WEB# 1113163. Kyle Blackmon 212-588-5648
Soho/Nolita. Excl. 4BR, 4.5 bath TH. Sleek & mdn w/ crafted finshs, 2 terrs, juliet balcs & the only prvt basketball domed sky court in Manhattan. $12.95M. WEB# 1021882. Wendy Maitland 212-317-3660 Susan Green 212-317-3675
H c c e i M
FULL FLOOR ON PARK AVENUE
FOUR BEDROOM CONDO W/TERRACE
NEW PRICE - STEPS TO MET
L
65th/Park Ave. Excl. 12 into 11. All major rms (75+FT) on Park Ave. 4BR, 4.5 bath, libr, media rm, FDR, EIK, 2 staff rms & 2 wbfp in a FS Co-op. $9M. WEB# 1139609. Leslie W. Singer 212-588-5675 John Venekamp 212-588-5619
Park Ave. Excl. 715 Park Avenue. Expansive entertaining space, Approx 2,700SF plus 600SF wrap terrace with outstanding open city and park views. 4+BR, 4 bath. $5.25M. WEB# 1029779. Caroline E. Y. Guthrie, ELC Div. 212 396-5858
80s/Park Ave. Excl. Properly fitted with elegant proportions, approx. 3,100SF, 44’ garden, 4BR, 3 wbfps, steps off Park Ave and bright. $4.43M. WEB# 940853. Paula Del Nunzio 212-906-9207
U L b v L M
MAISONETTE ON PARK AVENUE
RARE MOMA 1BR CONDO
SUNFLOODED CLASSIC SIX
M
70s/Park Ave. Excl. Unique oppy to purchase a maisonette. Currently a medical office, this can be transformed into a 2BR, 2 bath w/DR. $2.3M. WEB# 1100174. Edith F. Tuckerman 212-906-9228 Katharine Tuckerman 212-906-9222
50s/Fifth Ave. Excl. Approx 1,427SF, 1.5 bath (could be 2), wndwd kit, LR/DA, lots of clsts. FS bldg w/gym, sauna, bike rm & storage bin. Pets ok. $1.975M. WEB# 1145410. Corinne Vitale 212-906-9249 Linda De Luca 212-906-9208
70s/Lexington Ave. Excl. Spacious & sunny 2BR, 2 bath apt in FS prewar bldg. Generously proportioned LR, FDR, wndwd kit & staff room. $1.795M. WEB# 1098789. Mary Rutherfurd 212-906-9211 Leslie Coleman 212-906-9387
6 c 1 & $ P
Cordelia Robb
Joan Goldberg
David Kornmeier
Mara Papasoff
Elsie C. Nelson
Susan Raanan
Frans Preidel
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
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John Burger
Cathy Franklin
DAZZLING PARK VIEWS
PARK AVENUE PERFECTION
CANDELA PARK AVENUE 11
Hotel Pierre/Fifth Ave. Excl. High floor corner tower apt w/unobstructed Park & city views. 2BR, 2 bath, grand scale rms, extraordinary renovation. All hotel services included. $12.5M. WEB# 1135831. Martha Kramer 212-906-9371
UES. Excl. 12 into 10 rms, 4 into 3BR, 4.5 bath, LR w/wbfp, FDR, libr, EIK w/ pantry & brkfst rm, double mds rm & lndry rm. Fab sweeping city views. $12M. WEB# 1131304. Cathy Franklin 212-906-9236 Alexis Bodenheimer 212-906-9230
70s/Park Ave. Excl. Exceptional prewar home. Magnificent scale, soaring ceils and 28 windows. Grand 28’ corner LR and 4 bedrooms. White glove Co-op. Separate studio also available. $11M. WEB# 1057314. John Burger 212-906-9274
Anne Collins
Jessica Ushan
Wolf Jakubowski
LINCOLN CENTER’S TOP 3 BEDROOM
PARK AVE PREWAR THREE BEDROOM
7 ROOMS WITH A VIEW
UWS. Excl. High above the crossroads of Lincoln Center this rarely available 3 BR, 3.5 bath home offers spacious living & the best views in the area. $4.195M. WEB# 1146390. Lucas Nathan 212-588-5694 Michael Reed 212-588-5670
Park Ave. Excl. Facing Park Ave, 3BR, 3 bath, renov, LR & MBR w/wbfp, thru wall AC, mint kit & baths, W/D kit, FS top Co-op w/gym & storg. $2.899M. WEB# 1123291. Lisa Lippman 212-588-5606 Scott Moore 212-588-5608
East End Ave. Excl. New, mint, traditional Co-op has 3 large bedrooms with marble baths en-suite plus powder room, FDR and chef’s kitchen with bkfst rm. FS bldg w/ garage at $260. $2.595M. WEB# 1135484. Jaye Roter 212-712-1124
Nada Rizk
Edith Tuckerman
Russell Miller
MAGNIFICENT TERRACE
PENTHOUSE DUPLEX W/TERRACE
VALUE PRICED PREWAR DUPLEX
69th/E. Excl. 2BR, 2 marble bath gem in FS condo. Largest terrace in the bldg at approx 1,869SF. Very private w/new floors, renov kit & over 9’ ceils make this truly unique. $1.75M. WEB# 1140540. Penny Toepfer-Guttman 212-906-9250
Midtown West. Excl. 3BR, 2 bath duplex. 1,800SF, 10FT ceilings, master with private terrace, marble and Talavera baths, 2 wbfps, skylights, open kitchen and W/D. $1.649M. WEB# 1131732. Cynthia A. Dillon 212-396-5874
UWS. Excl. Beautifully renovated 2BR, 2bath prewar duplex with open kitchen, 11FT ceilings, hdwd flrs and northern garden views. Complete with cozy patio. Pied-a-terres ok. $925K. WEB# 1141182. Judith A. Furgiuele, CFA 212-588-5693
Mary A. Vetri
Fritzi Kallop
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin.
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real estate
Broker Portfolio One of those who holds the keys to New York’s most coveted real estate FRANS PRIEDEL Brown Harris Stevens 212.906.0507 fpreidel@bhsusa.com Notes: Offering honest, balanced and educated guidance for his customers has always been the guiding principle for Frans Preidel, vice president at Brown Harris Stevens. With a keen understanding of the market and a deep knowledge of the city, Preidel provides his customers with a highly personal level of service.
Properties of the Month A selection of deluxe New York residences Saunders & Associates
ONE OF A KIND IN SAG HARBOR The 2010 Designer ShowHouse offers 10,900 square feet of indoor space with an additional 2,300 feet in porches. The home features 20 luxurious rooms, each handcrafted by 30 of today’s most notable designers, including a 2-story living room, showcase kitchen, 1,700 square-foot master suite with Chanel-inspired bath, 6 guest suites, movie theater, billiards room with wine cellar and guest apartment. Set back on a 300-foot-long driveway and surrounded by 62 reserve acres, the property is extremely private and features a designer swimming pool, spa, sunbed, fire pits and tennis. $5.5 million. Please call Frank Bodenchak at 917.968.9020. 94 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
Brown Harris Stevens
ELEGANT 920 FIFTH AVENUE COOPERATIVE This magnificently renovated eight-room home on Fifth Avenue features graciously proportioned spaces ideal for entertaining. The central gallery leads to an over-sized dining room with wood-burning fireplace, which in turn elegantly flows into an expansive living room and then the library and study. The custom-designed master suite features a sun-filled luxurious bedroom with a stunning master bath. $8.5 million. Please call William C. Blind at 212.317.7717 or Steven V. Parrino at 212.906.9322.
real estate
Senior Vice Presidents Bonnie Chajet and Ronnie Lane of Warburg Realty
Trusted Partners Together, Ronnie Lane and Bonnie Chajet have been helping New Yorkers meet their real estate needs for more than 30 years
R
onnie Lane and Bonnie Chajet of Warburg Realty have the longest running partnership in New York City residential real estate, according to real estate trade press. The duo attribute their successful 30-plus-year relationship to their respect for each other and for their clients. “We talk, we discuss and sometimes we agree to disagree—always keeping our client’s best interests at the forefront,” says Lane. She and Chajet became partners after being friends for several years—they first partnered on the tennis court, then in the planning of several charitable and social functions and later even in childcare, regularly helping each other with baby-
sitting. “We always worked very well together and complimented each other’s strengths,” says Chajet. “This translated very well to business.” In accordance with the “two heads are better than one” mantra, Lane and Chajet’s team approach affords them both a reliable and equally knowledgeable sounding board, and offers their clients the benefits of an ongoing dialogue between experts. “Whether we are pricing property, preparing a board package or submitting an offer, we always do it together,” explains Lane. Moreover, the coverage she and Chajet provide assures that clients never deal with an assistant or a shower, but one of the partners themselves.
The pair takes pride in the relationship they have cultivated, not just with each other, but with their clients. Over the course of their partnership, they have worked with numerous families of three or more generations. Chajet and Lane’s client base is garnered almost exclusively via referrals from their friends and colleagues. “Good brokers have a thorough knowledge of the marketplace and are always a step ahead of the headlines,” Chajet stresses. “They know their inventory and know how to match it to their buyer’s needs. They’re diligent and they leave nothing to chance.” Well, the same goes for good broker teams—nay, exceptional ones—and Chajet and Lane match that description to a T. ✦
SEPTEMBER 2010 · AVENUE MAGAZINE | 95
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NIKKI FIELD NikkiField.com
R E P R E S E N T I N G M A N H AT TA N ’ S
P R E M I E R P RO P E RT I E S
The Field Team Announces
2010 Market Recovering One word says it all...SOLD Please visit www.nikkifield.com for our current exclusive properties
1000 PARK AVENUE
860 UNITED NATIONS PLAZA
29 EAST 64th STREET
860 UNITED NATIONS PLAZA
417 PARK AVENUE
455 CENTRAL PARK WEST
SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY EAST SIDE BROKERAGE I sothebyshomes.com/nyc 38 EAST 61ST STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10065 T 212.606.7660 F 212.606.7661 NIKKI FIELD SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATE BROKER I T 212.606.7669 I NIKKIFIELD.COM Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. is owned and operated by NRT LLC. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark.
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RO G E R E R I C K S O N
N E W F A L L O F F E R I N G S
STUNNING PARK AVENUE GEM: Massive duplex apartment, 4 bedrooms, library, formal dining room, kitchen with breakfast area and wine cellar. Huge living room with fireplace. $14,500,000 WEB:A0017208
STUNNING TOWNHOUSE: 19 foot wide, 5 story home with elevator features museum quality renovation, spectacular garden with fountain, roof terrace, imposing façade. $14,500,000 WEB: A0017065
40 EAST 66TH STREET: Triple-mint 3-bedroom condominium, spacious living room with fireplace, formal dining room, sun-drenched master bedroom, eat-in chef's kitchen. $6,950,000. WEB:A0017272
7 HUBERT STREET: Beyond exquisitely renovated 2 bedroom plus library Tribeca apartment with spectacular views of lower Manhattan. Finest full service condominium. $6,950,000. WEB:A0017270
CONTEMPORARY CARRIAGE HOUSE: Architecturally stunning 25 footer with double-height ceilings. $19,000,000. WEB:A0017249
EAST SIDE MANHATTAN BROKERAGE I sothebyshomes.com/nyc 38 EAST 61ST STREET NEW YORK, NY 10065 T 212.606.7660 F 212.606.7661 ROGER ERICKSON SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR I T 212.606.7612 I www.roger-erickson.com Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. is owned and operated by NRT LLC. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark.
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D I S T I N C T I V E P R O P E R T I E S
S E R E N A B OA R D M A N
22 EAST 71ST STREET: Spectacular 45’ wide limestone mansion designed by renowned architect C.P.H. Gilbert. 21,000± sq. ft. on 6 floors. Zoned for residential or commercial use. $59,000,000. WEB: Q0015884.
1 EAST 94TH STREET: Grandly scaled 25’ wide limestone mansion with full car garage. Impeccably renovated, the house is comprised of 6 stories and is flooded with sunlight. $28,000,000. WEB: Q0017040.
13 EAST 94TH STREET: Beautifully renovated 20’-
EAST 65TH STREET: Grandly scaled 20’ wide townhouse just off Park Avenue. Elegant red brick and limestone façade. Perfectly suited for glamorous living and entertaining. $16,500,000. WEB: Q0016303
781 FIFTH AVENUE: Glamorous 8-room corner residence at the Sherry Netherland offered in triple mint condition. Featuring stellar views of Central Park and the Plaza. $13,500,000. WEB: Q0016996
781 FIFTH AVENUE: Magnificent high floor aerie with breathtaking Central Park views from atop the Sherry Netherland. Featuring a meticulous and truly triple mint renovation. $6,950,000. WEB: Q0016600.
720 PARK AVENUE: Unique and charming 7-room
740 PARK AVENUE: Immense 15-room duplex with
641 FIFTH AVENUE: Olympic Tower. Dramatic
Maisonette in highly sought-after Rosario Candela building. Features superb original details and sunny southern outlooks. $4,000,000. WEB: Q0017002.
high ceilings, vast marble gallery, baronial living room, four large bedrooms with ensuite baths and sunny southern exposures. $26,000,000. WEB: Q0016023.
high floor Penthouse condo with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline. 3 Bedrooms. Offered in excellent condition. $15,000,000. WEB: Q0016614.
1035 FIFTH AVENUE: Elegantly proportioned 2 bedroom situated on a high floor in an esteemed JER Carpenter prewar cooperative. Flooded with sunlight throughout. $2,500,000. WEB: Q0017171.
655 PARK AVENUE: Grand 15-room Penthouse Duplex. Sun-flooded living room with solarium opens onto a tremendous planted and irrigated terrace overlooking Park Avenue. $16,000,000. WEB: Q0017045.
79 EAST 79TH STREET: Light-flooded 12-room
wide townhouse. The sun-filled 5-bedroom residence boasts soaring high ceilings, state-of-the-art systems and a lovely garden. $15,500,000. WEB: Q0017088.
full-floor apartment in prestigious prewar coop. Open vistas of Park, bountiful southern exposures and superb period details. $12,750,000. WEB: Q0017104.
EAST SIDE MANHATTAN BROKERAGE I sothebyshomes.com/nyc 38 EAST 61ST STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10065 T 212.606.7660 F 212.606.7661
SERENA BOARDMAN T 212.606.7611
serena.boardman@sothebyshomes.com
Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. is owned and operated by NRT LLC. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark.
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Dawn Melanie Designs provides the finest floral arrangements to compliment your setting. Using the highest quality of flowers we cater to the specific needs of our clients. Let us help make your next event special.
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The Evolution of A Washington, CT Estate Designed By Architect Ehrick Rossiter
' & E HRI C K R O SSIT ER defined the style of residential architecture
for an exclusive society of friends and social leaders. He was born in Paris in 1854 and built his career in New York City, but brought his attention to Washington, Connecticut in 1882. Rossiter became architect for dozens of prominent homes and civic projects. His genius and experimentation helped shape the history of American architecture as fascination with Colonial and European precedents began to turn in a Modernist direction in a way that can be linked to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright later in the century. Artists and industrial magnates were the first â&#x20AC;&#x153;summer colonistsâ&#x20AC;? of Washington. And the town is still home to distinguished residents that are equally passionate about a quality of life defined by proximity to exclusive private schools, excellent public schools, interesting society, sophisticated culture, the charming landscape of Litchfield County and the ease of a 1 1/2 hour drive from New York City. Aglin Farm, the only Rossiter home in Washington currently available for purchase, is a stunning country estate in mint condition now ready for a family that wishes to become part of this heritage. It is a grand home that serves equally well as a weekend retreat or a permanent residence.
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the world according to . . .
Q&A
AVENUE’s back-page column asks New York notables our version of the questionnaire made famous by Marcel Proust
Fern Mallis, president of Fern Mallis LLC
FERN MALLIS AT WHAT ADDRESS WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE?
WHO IS THE FUNNIEST NEW YORKER?
David Letterman.
The Dakota on Central Park West. WHEN DID YOU FIRST FEEL LIKE A NEW YORKER? WHAT HAPPENED?
I’ve always felt like one, being born and raised in Brooklyn. But I’m truly reminded of it every time I come home from the airport and see the glorious skyline. WHAT NEWSPAPER COLUMN DO YOU READ FIRST IN THE MORNING?
Online: WWD, New York Times, “Page Six” and the horoscope in the Daily News. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE WATERING HOLE FOR LUNCH? FOR DINNER?
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE DINNER PARTNER?
Matthew Modine. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORK CLICHÉ? LEAST FAVORITE?
Favorite: If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Least favorite: New York, New York—so nice they named it twice.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORK SOUND?
WHAT PART OF THE NEW YORK LIFESTYLE CAN’T YOU LIVE WITHOUT?
WHO DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
Food delivery service 24 hours a day (all cuisines) and 24-hour Korean markets.
Michael’s, ESCA, The Standard Grille, ABC, T-Bar, Gramercy Tavern, Nobu, The Lion, Waverly Inn, Da Silvano, Peter Luger. This is hard—I love too many!
WHAT’S THE ONE THING ABOUT NEW YORK YOU WOULD CHANGE?
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE NEW YORKER, PAST OR PRESENT?
WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE NEW YORK MOMENT?
Ed Koch, Brendan Gill, Bella Abzug.
9/11 was an earth shattering New York
104 | AVENUE MAGAZINE · SEPTEMBER 2010
moment. I will always remember racing to Bryant Park when I had to close the tents at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and telling everyone what happened and to please go home to their loved ones. On an upbeat note, the launch party for Talk mag and the YSL celebration at the Statue of Liberty were both memorable!
Eliminate alternate side of the street parking and institute resident parking.
Fireworks in Central Park during the summer Philharmonic concerts.
Bill and Melinda Gates and their foundation, Bill Clinton and his Clinton Global Initiative, Scott Harrison for Charity Water and Blake Mycoskie for creating Toms Shoes. I admire those who give their time and expertise to help others. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Happy, secure and open to learning and new experiences. ✦
A® © 2010 CHANEL®, Inc.
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