Scorpios: Sold

An era came to an end a few weeks ago for the private island of Scorpios (or Skorpios), the former retreat of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.  His grand-daughter Athina Onassis Roussel, who inherited it after the 1988 death of her mother, sold the 74 acre island in the Ionian Sea to Russian fertilizer billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev via a foundation in the name of his 24 year old daughter Ekaterina Rybolovlev.


Ekaterina Rybolovlev.
Photo via New York Social Diary.

The sale, which also included the adjacent island of Sparti, was reportedly in excess of US $150 million.  When Aristotle bought Scorpios in 1962 (or 1963 according to some sources) for the equivalent of US $15,000 (or $20,000 as some sources said), it was barren of vegetation and unoccupied.  Onassis built roads, a heliport and eventually a small villa and other auxiliary buildings in addition to planting over 200 varieties of trees.


The island of Scorpios.
Photo via New York Social Diary.

The most important improvement to the island was the dock for the famous Onassis yacht "Christina", named in honor of his daughter, born in 1950. (Christina's mother was Athina 'Tina' Livanos who divorced the womanizing Onassis [having an affair with Maria Callas and others] and married twice more, first to John Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, and later to multi-billionaire Stavros Niarchos, widower of her older sister Eugenia and Onassis's rival). Originally a WWII Canadian anti-submarine frigate, it was bought for the scrap value of US $34,000 and overhauled at an expense reported to be US $4 million. 


A recent view of the yacht "Christina" and tender.
Photo via Wikipedia.

At a length of 325 feet, the "Christina" has 18 passenger staterooms in addition to a master suite, accommodating as many as 34 passengers served by a crew of 39.  Guests included the most famous names of the day in politics and entertainment.


Plans of the yacht "Christina".

The bottom surface of the swimming pool
on "Christina" is decorated with a mosaic
Minotaur pattern and can be raised at the
touch of a button to become a dance floor.
Photo via marin.ru.

Mrs. Onassis at the shipboard reception
following her wedding.  In the main saloon,
a portrait of step-daughter Christina can be
seen over the fireplace in the background.
Photo via Bunky Cushing blog.

The island was in international news in 1968 when the little chapel on Scorpios became the site of the wedding of Onassis to the former first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.  Said to be the most famous woman in the world at the time, she became known in the headlines as Jackie O. from then on.


The bride in a white lace dress by Valentino
is led by the groom through the crush of
photographers following the wedding as
Caroline stays close to her mother.
Photos via HOLA magazine.

The ultimate trophy wife, Mrs. Onassis immediately brought in her decorator, which by that time was Billy Baldwin.  Although first in contact with Jacqueline Kennedy in 1963 by way of their mutual friend Mrs. Paul "Bunny" Mellon for a weekend house in Upperville, Virginia, Baldwin was called in after the assassination to pull together the house in Georgetown using their personal furnishings taken from the White House.  That project, too, was cancelled when Jacqueline Kennedy moved to New York City instead.


Jacqueline Kennedy (left) and her sister
Lee Radziwill (right) leaving the Georgetown
house on December 18, 1963 with
Billy Baldwin carrying what appears to be
a roll of renderings, accompanied by a
Secret Service agent.
Image:Bettman/CORBIS.

In his book, BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS, his recollections jump to October, 1968, and receiving a call from the yacht "Christina", again asking to meet right away.  Baldwin was in Athens as soon as possible, just three days after the wedding, to be taken to Scorpios to discuss decorating the new house.


Jacqueline Onassis and Billy Baldwin
in the helicopter to depart for Scorpios, 1968.
Photo from BILLY BALDWIN REMEMBERS.

The project, to be completed in less than two months, was to have a comfortable house on the island so her children would not have to stay on the yacht when they came at Christmas.  Additions were being built to an existing structure that became known as the Pink House.  It was near the sea but away from the harbor.  A big room that was to serve as both a living and dining room was constructed and the existing long building with a cloister served as the bedroom wing.


The villa on Scorpios known as the Pink House.
Photo via NYSD.

 Baldwin writes that as each piece of furnish was completed it was sent to Athens on the nightly jet of Olympic Airways which Onassis founded.  Baldwin never saw the finished house but received a cable just after Christmas. "Happy New Year, and congratulations on the Erectheum of Billy, which we are now enjoying.  Love, Ari, Jackie."


Jackie and Ari.
Image via NYSD.

Sand was brought in from other islands to create some small beaches, one of which was given a hut-sized cottage in the traditional Greek style.  But even this isolation did not allow privacy from the paparazzi who caused international outrage when telephoto lens shots of Mrs. Onassis sunbathing nude were published.  Both of Onassis's children, Alexander and Christina, are buried on the island.  Mrs. Onassis was given a cash settlement (undisclosed but widely reported to be around US $20 million) after Ari's death in Paris and Christina inherited the bulk of her billionaire father's estate.  After Christina's early death, ownership of the island passed to her only child Athina, who has visited Scorpios only twice in her 28 years.


The beach cottage in the traditional Greek style.
Photo:  Hello magazine.

Ekaterina Rybolovlev is no stranger to high-priced real estate.  Her father has a house in Hawaii that he bought from actor Will Smith in 2011, and a residence in Paris with his full-time home being a duplex penthouse in Monaco.  (The house in Geneva was demolished to be rebuilt in a royal French style, but the site has just been just a hole for several years).  Located atop the exclusive La Belle Epoque, news reports state he paid US $300 million (or $308 according to some) for the rebuilt apartment that had been the site of a devastating fire started by an employee hoping to win his rich boss' favor by saving his life.  (The scheme did not work).


The duplex penthouse at La Belle Epoque, Monaco,
was bought from the widow of billionaire Edmund Safra,
after the fire intentionally started by a male nurse
using a Slakin candle, and renovated
on speculation by the Candy brothers (inset).

Dmitry Rybolovlev made news in 2008 when he bought the Palm Beach, Florida estate Maison de L'Amitie from Donald Trump for $95 million (or $100 million as there was a $5 million allowance).  First listed at $125 million, it was the most expensive house in the country at the time.  Located at 315 North County Road, it was built on the site of the famous Bythedunes estate, razed by Leslie Wexner.  (My former project, Montsorrel, is next door and the post about that notable house may be read here).  After studying the benefits of various divorce venues, Ekaterina's mother Elena filed for divorce in Palm Beach in 2009, asking for Maison de L'Amitie and half of Dmitry's fortune, estimated by Forbes in March, 2013, to be $9.1 billion.  Despite the high price of the house, it was bought as a 'tear down' and deemed in 'unlivable' condition at the time of purchase.  Ekaterina has visited twice and stayed in the pool house, but no one has spent the night in the main house which has been maintained but not improved because of the pending litigation. 


A birds eye view of Maison de L'Amitie, Palm Beach,
with part of Montsorrel seen in the foreground.
Photo via forbes.com

In December, 2011, Ekaterina's father bought her a Manhattan apartment via a trust in her name for her residence while in school.  Located at 15 Central Park West, it is an $88 million penthouse designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern.  The seller was Joan Weill, whose husband Sandy was formerly chief executive and chairman of Citigroup.  Decorated by Mica Ertegun, it was featured in the April, 2010, issue of Architectural Digest.  The furniture did not come with the sale of the apartment, however.


The floor plan of the penthouse apartment
at 15 Central Park West, New York City.
It serves as 'student housing' for Ekaterina Rybolovlev.

Private island retreats have increased in popularity among rich celebrities such as actor Johnny Depp, illusionist David Copperfield, Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, and British business magnate Richard Branson.  There is speculation that Scorpios could be developed as a resort, but the chances are just as likely that it could remain private.

Maison Jansen: The Most Influential Decorators of the 20th Century

One of the many great things about the holiday season is the launch of wonderful new books.  There are a number of new titles in decorative arts by friends and acquaintances, but they have not yet made it to book store shelves in Middle America;  I hope to blog about them soon, though.  First, I will present a 2006 gem, JANSEN by James Archer Abbott from Acanthus Press' 20th Century Decorator Series with Mitchell Owens, Series Editor.  All the images shown here are taken from this book.  The photo above shows the Library of the Madrid home of the March banking family, overseen by then-head of the firm, Pierre Delbee.

In full disclosure, James Abbott is a valued friend of almost twenty years, since we were classmates in the Attingham Summer School in England.  In addition to authoring several exceptional books, he has been the curator/director of a number of great house museums, and he is a talented artist as well as all-around Good Guy.  I was an excited youngster when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave a televised tour of the sophisticated improvements to the White House, many with the input of Stephane Boudin of Jansen, we were later to learn.  I became familiar with Maison Jansen as a teen, seeing their work credited in library books featuring European architecture and interior design.  I really became a fan, however, after seeing their designs published in 1971 for the four day celebration of the 2,500th Anniversary of the Empire at the ruins of Persepolis, Iran, as shown in the model above.  Jansen designs have often be inspirations for my own projects and my fascination with the Kennedy White House decoration has been enriched with conversations with James over the years with my knowledge of Sister Parish's valuable contributions.  I was not disappointed when JANSEN was published.

 

I am writing about Maison Jansen because there are still many design professionals and enthusiasts that are unfamiliar with the noted inteior design firm.  In James A. Abbott's JANSEN, he states that Maison Jansen was the most famous and influential interior decorating company of the 20th century.  I resisted accepting that claim at first, but I fully embraced it after reading the book.  The Jansen client list was a very diverse international group;  most of them powerful and all were rich.  With headquarters in Paris, there were eventually offices or boutiques in Buenos Aires, London, Cairo, Alexandria, Havana, New York, Prague, Sao Paulo, Rome, Milan, and Geneva.

Jayne (Mrs. Charles B.) Wrightsman, is shown above, in 1959, in the Library of her house in Palm Beach, Florida, as refurbished by Stephane Boudin of Maison Jansen.  The original 1917 house known as Blythedunes was designed by H. Hastings Mundy for Robert Dun Douglas whose family founded Dun & Bradstreet.  In 1930, it was sold to Harrison Williams, a utilities magnate who was once considered one of the world's richest men, and his wife Mona, a renown beauty, who hired architect Maurice Fatio and decorator Syrie Maugham to restyle the house into one of the most stylish of its time.  Financial reverses led to the sale to multimillionaire oilman Charles Wrightsman and his second wife Jayne who had become a serious student of decorative arts, especially those associated with 18th century France.  To make the house her own and satify her own interests, Mrs Wrightsman hired Jansen who paneled three rooms in period 18th century woodwork, altered and augmented as necessary in their own workshops, and floored four rooms in parquet of royal provenance.  The dazzling 18th century handpainted Chinese wallpaper installed by Syrie Maugham remained in the Drawing Room, but a Louis XV marble chimneypiece, set against a floor-to-ceiling framed mirror, replaced a larger baronial English fireplace.  Museum quality antique furniture was supplemented by handmade new furniture, also from the Jansen workshops, and the decor complimented the Wrightsmans' collection of Impressionist paintings.  After Boudin's death in 1967, other designers were called upon for maintenance and updating, notably Vincent Fourcade. 

When the house was sold in 1984 to Leslie Wexner of The Limited and Victoria's Secret, some of the antiques and art were divided between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Wrightsmans' Manhattan apartment.  So-called lesser pieces were sold at a celebrated auction by Sotheby's New York, an eye-opening event I experienced first hand with "decorative" and "second hand" furnishings selling for record prices.  Wexner demolished the famed house on six acress at 513 North County Road with 600 ft of ocean frontage, causing such an uproar from locals, that he abandoned plans to build a new house (designed by my former employer BeyerBlinderBelle) and decided against having a vacation house in Palm Beach after all.  Jayne Wrightsman, b. 1920, who introduced Boudin to Jackie Kennedy, still lives in a palatial, full-floor, art and antiques-filled apartment at 820 Fifth Avenue, one of New York City's most desirable addresses.

And the Wrightsmans are just one of the many clients and projects profiled in the book!  There is also a sequel of sorts, Jansen Furniture, to be reviewed in a future post.  Both are highly recommended for anyone interested in interior design.


Both Jansen books by James Archer Abbott are available at discount pricing with the option of free shipping through The Devoted Classicist Library in affiliation with Amazon here.