The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-05-21
YERKES ART GALLERY SOLD
THOMAS p. RYAN 70 MAKE A
GARDEN ON TIE SITE.

PTies Net Annonaeed ms FMth Avsnas
Gallery Alons Assessed At 988o.OOo
-Garaea 70 ne DeRutilea ~ the,
Pillars - ire FAmSus staircase.
Thomas ?. Ryan has purchased from
Robert Z. DOwliDg the Ysrkos art GAL
lerios. adjoining tho Yerkss residence at
FIFTH avenue and siEty-sighth street. and
Inc L shaped lOt 90 which they stand.
Mr. Ryan's hOuss az sSs FIFTH avenue
touches the art gallery % IL sOnthSrn
eide.
What he paid Tor tho buildings where
charlsa 7. Ysrkss housed 80 many ar,
treasures Sad Tor the ground was no,
ascsrtainablS Neither Mr. Ryan nor
Mr. DoWling cared to give tho figure.
The opinion vas that the prios could not
have been lsus than tsoo. 100. The YsTkss
mansion remains the property o. Mr..
Bowling.
An idea Of the value u tue property
may bs gained from the city tan figures
last year. The .uhOls block, Including
galleries and houss and their sites. Was
assessed Tor t.sOO.Oop Ths building
fronting on Fifth avenue. the carpet
and tapestry gallery. wac assessed a.
sS8O 900 alone. Ths assessment on the
hOnse ana the picture gallery ct the rear
Was Si.iTO.OO0.
II is known that Ar. Ryan intends 10
ram the two buildings that Mr. Ysrkes
used for an art gallery and a picture
gallery and 70 cOnveTt the ground into an
Italian garden. One Of the decorations
of the garden will be the famous white
marble staircase which stands at the
entrance Of tho picture gallery. Il comes
into MF. Ryan's possession with the pnr-
chase Of the buildlng The thiFty-tWo
white marble columns will he used by Mr.. |
Ryan for the ornamentatiOn of HE garden
He will not b crampsd for spacs be- |
cause the galleries stand upon an l. that
runs forty feet alang Firth avenue and |
broadens 70 a hundred feet a. the rear Of /
tho YeFkes mansion. Il was the under |
standing that Mr.. Ryan feared tho gallery |
site might paas from Mr.. DOwlinG's hands |
into those Of a real estate concern or an |
individual Who would put up q business
building nsxt door 70 The Ryan home
AZ tie same time the opportunity for
acquiring = beautiful garden occurred |
10 him.
In thus beautifying bic property Mr.
RYAN is adopting plan followed by Henry |
Phipps. tho Plttsburg steel man. who lives
on the northeast corner % Fifth avenue
and Eighiy-ssventh street Across
Eighty-asventh street. on tho aoutheast /
corner. was a vaSant lot. Whioh Mr. /
Phipps feared might he taken up for
business purposes or by undesirable I
holllsrs ~ 10 bought Il for = large /
pfios and turned Il into q garden. Mag
nOlias. svsrRreana and other shrubs have /
been planted there and flower beds laid |
ont IN the centre q the grass plo, II IL |
oOS u tho beauty spots q upper Fifth
avenue
The Yerkes property has an exoeedingly 1
history M Ysrkss pur-
chased and rebuilt the large mansion al
Fifth avenue and Sixty eighth street
In 1881 South Of tho house. which stands
n the southeast corner across from Cen
Iul Park Mr. Yerkos built q white marble
cutlery for his tapestries his rugs and his
staiuary A. the rear Of the house he
built a gallery for his picturss The
IhFee buildlngs were separate. but CON
lectsd with each other Nv entrances
In oah and bronze
In the arr gallery were rugs aud carpets
which Mr.. Yerkes had collected with an
irt knowledge that surprised oOnnoisseurS
after his dsath Among them was the
iKieenth century mOSqse carpet from
4 rSlebil. for which Mr Yerkes paid SieO O0l.
panels. Beauyais tapestries aud
.ilk and gold thread tapestries 81 the
Italian Renaissance Tia picture gal-
cry contained works by many masters. A
A. the auction OF these treasures recently
VI records for art sales in this country
we're broken. the art weaves and pictures
bringing more than ~ .OOO00
The entire YeFkes property. mansion.
galleries and lots. occupying a plot isS by
IN feet. was sold az auction last month
~ order Of the United States court aud
vas bought by Mr. Downing for o. M .O0O.
such disposition u the property wac not
by Mr. Yerkes. His will
Ipecifled that the houss and galleries
lhould 20 10 the city Of New York in case
lie wife ceased 20 use them and that the
property vas 70 be administered for the
.ity 10y a corporation Of i've member 20
- appointed by the Metropolitan Museum
4 Art. A provision in the will ST aside
75O OOO a. a maintenance fund. the in
crest 10 hs used for upkesp.
Bat Mr., Yerkes's estate was found 10 he
n 20 chaotic a condition that 8, was i'm
'oasible 70 carry out he wishes. There
vere many debts that had 70 no satisfied
here was = mortgage upon the art gal
ny property Of ta2b.O09 10 the Mutual
.ife Insurance. Company. Tbs equity
D the property was small and there we're
Their circumstances that made u i'm.
ossibbs for the city 70 take advantage
{ the bsqusst The corporation pro
idsd for in the Yerksa will was never
lrmsd. Nov tho gallery itself will be
smolishad The treasures the two build
go held have been scattered air eady
] over The world.