Seven years after Judith and Gerson “Gus” Leiber died within hours of each other in their 90s following 72 years of marriage, the creative couple’s longtime home and studio in the Hamptons has returned to the market. Last sold by their estate in 2020 for nearly $3 million, the residence has since been “impeccably reinvigorated” and is now being offered at a dash under $7 million. Ann Ciardullo and Keith Green of Sotheby’s International Realty hold the listing.
The illustrious handbag designer and her husband, an accomplished abstract painter, acquired a total of six acres in the Springs hamlet of East Hampton in 1956 for a mere $10,000. They then embarked upon a decades-long construction effort that would eventually encompass the main home and a separate art studio across the property’s two acres. The remainder of the couple’s estate is now devoted to the Leiber Collection, a brick Palladian-style museum and surrounding sculpture garden that opened in 2008 to display their work, according to The New York Times.
Leiber’s green-thumbed husband Gus is said to have grown orchids and ferns in the pentagon-shaped conservatory.
Lena Yaremenko for Sotheby’s International Realty
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Hidden away behind gates and lush greenery on Old Stone Highway, the two-story gray wood-shingled primary dwelling has four bedrooms and five bathrooms in roughly 4,500 square feet, introduced via a double-height foyer displaying a terracotta tile floor and a traditional L-shaped staircase. Off the foyer is a bar-equipped dining room, which flows to a glass-encased conservatory on one side and a spacious fireside living room with built-in shelving on the other.
Also standing out is a sky-lit kitchen outfitted with an eat-in peninsula, newer stainless appliances, and a breakfast nook, plus a primary suite flaunting a fireplace, a walk-in closet, a bath, and a spiral staircase leading up to a lofted space. Three additional en suite bedrooms can be found upstairs, while brick pathways outdoors meander their way to a pool, several gardens, and the detached 1,368-square-foot art studio featuring a large, light-filled workspace, a pair of lofts, and an attached one-car garage.
A rectangular swimming pool overlooks the lushly landscaped yard.
Lena Yaremenko for Sotheby’s International Realty
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Judy, as she was known to her friends, was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1921 and grew up to become the “Queen of Minaudières,” whose fanciful designs—which famously include animals and vegetables—have been carried by a lengthy roster of first ladies, royalty, movie stars, and socialites. Today, her bejeweled handbags, which typically sell for thousands of dollars, are part of the permanent collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Smithsonian Institution. Paintings by Gus, a New York native, can also be found at the Met, as well as the Whitney Museum of American Art and National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Click here for more photos of the East Hampton residence.
Lena Yaremenko for Sotheby’s International Realty
Authors
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Wendy Bowman