UNUSUAL CULTURAL PEDIGREEOn January 11, 1977, this extraordinary building known as The Barbara Rutherford Hatch house was designated an individual landmark for its special character, historical and aesthetic interest and value to the heritage and cultural characteristics of New York City.The extraordinary talent of its owners began with the heiress, Barbara Rutherford Hatch, for whom the house is named. She engaged Frederick J. Sterner as her architect. She was the daughter of Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt, an iconoclastic and artistic woman who sold her mansion on Fifth Avenue and blazed a trail to Sutton Place for its tranquility and extraordinary river views. The next owner, Charles Dillingham, a theatrical agent and producer who managed Irene Castle and Beatrice Lilly, was also the owner of The Globe Theater where he produced over 200 plays.Charles Lanier Lawrence was the following owner. A graduate of Yale and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, Lawrence's creativity expressed itself in the development of an air-cooled airplane engine that made possible Charles Lindbergh's famous solo flight to Paris in May 1927.The next owner was Jasper Johns, one of the most significant and influential American painters of the 20th Century who was given his first solo show by Leo Castelli. Johns' painting False Start was sold in 2006 for $80 million, the highest price ever paid for a living artist.The chain of artistic owners of this particular mansion seems beyond coincidence - it sits as an oasis in which the creative bent in all of the arts can flourish.FREDERICK J. STERNER (1862-1931)Praised for the true dramatic romance of the Barbara Rutherford Hatch House, Sterner was influenced by his European travels and was known for constructing unique environments for his wealthy clients. For a member of the Singer Sewing Machine family, he did 36 East 70th Street, now known as The Explorers Club, in a Tudor style. For Hatch, Steiner created a sophisticated version of the Spanish Colonial Style in which the two wings of the mansion are open to its own private courtyard. This floor plan gives the house a unique beauty and privacy unlike any other available in Manhattan.
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