Photos courtesy of Christie’s International Real Estate

Pritzker Prize-winning architect I.M. Pei passed away in May, leaving behind an unrivaled legacy that includes modern masterpieces such as the Louvre’s glass pyramid in Paris and the National Gallery of Art’s East Building in Washington D.C., as well as a slew of iconic projects here in NYC. His firm, Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, was based in New York City, where Pei also lived. For the past 45 years, he and his wife Eileen resided in a four-story townhouse at 11 Sutton Place, which has just been listed by Christie’s International Real Estate for $8 million. Pei himself outfitted the home with appropriately stunning architectural features such as a spiral staircase, a geometric skylight, and a rear wall of windows to take advantage of the East River views.

Pei purchased the 3,848-square-foot townhouse from Laura “Polly” Delano, a cousin of FDR, more than 45 years ago.  According to the Wall Street Journal, “it was ramshackle and rundown” at the time. So Pei then undertook the aforementioned renovations, in addition to designing three soapstone mantles for the four working fireplaces.

Other features of the four-bedroom home include an elevator, a marble entry foyer, a formal dining room that leads to a private garden, a second-floor library outfitted with built-in bookshelves, and a temperature-controlled wine cellar.

Sutton Place is a collection of 14 townhouses that share a garden along the East River. It first came about in the 1920s when Anne Vanderbilt and Anne Morgan (J.P. Morgan’s daughter) spearheaded the effort to turn the area into a fashionable enclave secluded from the noisy city. Other notable residents throughout the years have included Elizabeth Arden, Ari Onassis, and Kofi Annan.

Eileen and I.M. Pei were big art collectors, and Christie’s will also be handling an auction of their paintings, drawings, and sculpture this November and December in New York, Hong Kong, and Paris.

[Listing: 11 Sutton Place by Edward F. Joseph of Christie’s International Real Estate]

[At CityRealty]

RELATED:

• All of I.M. Pei’s New York City projects
• Sutton Place townhouse designed for Anne Vanderbilt asks $21M
• Ari Onassis’ former Sutton Place townhouse hits the market for $30M

Photos courtesy of Christie’s International Real Estate

Tags : 11 sutton place, i.m. pei

Neighborhoods : Sutton Place