The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-10-28
SELLS PALATIAL HOME.
Silent Smiths House Which Cost
Three Millions to Be Sold.

New York, Oct. 2S.-The coming sea-
son of auction sales of art works is to
be marked by an unusual Offering.
when the residence of the late James
tents, will be sold under the manage
ment of the American Art association.
The sale will be in January
Friends of the late Stanford White
have pronounced this modest appearing
house at the northeast corner of Fifth
avenue and Sixty-eighth street the
crowning achievement of his construc-
tive mind. When he saw a beautiful
work of art susceptible of architectural
treatment he at once made a mental
picture of it in other surroundings OF
his own creation, and with capital on
which no limit was placed to indulge
his tastes, as in this instance, he was
free to work out schemes of color and
proportion to the limit of his capacity.
A thousand persons can be entertained
in the Smith house without crowding.
Nearly fifty servants were employed in
the care of the place, which has Fifth
avenue frontage of fifty-five feet and
extends two hundred feet down Sixty
eighth street
The property was left by Mr.. Smith
to his nephews, the Mason brothers.
one of whom lives in Tuxedo and the
other in Evanston, Ill. Mrs. Smith,
formerly the wife of William Rhine
lander Stewart, to whom Mr.. Smith left
in the house. The house, which FORM
erly belonged to the late Robert L..
Stuart, was remodeled and extended by
the late William c. Whitney. who was
the intermediate owner between Mr..
Stuart and Mr.. Smith. Mr. Whitney
gave Mr.. White carte blanche for the
remodeling and the decoration of it,
and Mr.. White travelled where he
pleased in Europe accommodating the
materials.
The house and ground, judging from
the appraisal of neighboring real estate,
is estimated to be worth about a mil
lion dollars and Mr.. White expended
between $4,000 600 and 100000 in its
establishment. Mr.. Smith, when he
bought it, still further adorned it and
added new art treasures. In the re-
furnishing of the ball room alone Mr..
Smith spent about 100000 In this
room there is a $4,000 organ. Mr..
Smiths Sunday evening musicales cost
him about $1,000 an evening.
very naturally, for its antique French
walnut paneling came from the
Chateau of Phoebus d'Albret. baron de
Folk. a chevalier of Louis XIV's time.
who was field marshal of France.
Lunettes over doors and windows bear
the baron's monogram. In this room
is a Boucher tapestry, one of twenty
seven valuable tapestries which Mr.
Smith owned. Another of them is the
cloth of gold Gothic tapestry, 1.-THE
Holy Family which Mr.. Smith pur-
chased at the Henry G. Marquand sale
for $21 900.
There also are eight tapestries Of the
italian renaissance, picturing the Siege
Of Tyre and the Siege of Jerusalem,
which for some years prior to their
purchase by an American dealer, who
sold them to Mr.. Smith, were in the
possession of the Marquis Nicolai.
While these tapestries were in England
they were lent to King Edward for his
coronation festivities. Six of them
were hung in the banqueting hall of
Buckingham Palace and two in West
minister Abbey. These appear in E. A
Abbey's painting of the coronation.