The late Melva Bucksbaum was a philanthropist and a passionate patron of the arts, serving as a trustee of the Whitney Museum of American art for almost two decades before she passed away in 2015 at the age of 82.
At the Whitney, she created the Bucksbaum Award in 2000, a generous US$100,000-grant given to an artist included in the Whitney Biennial. Among the award’s past recipients are Paul Pfeiffer (2000), Mark Bradford (2006), Zoe Leonard (2014), and Pope.L (2017).
It’s no wonder, then, that Bucksbaum’s estate comes with an art gallery — one that spans 14,000 square feet, making it even larger than the main house.
Erected in 2009 as an addition to Bucksbaum’s home, the Granary Art Gallery is the crown jewel of the property. It was designed by architect Steven Learner and built by Structure Works, and spans four gallery spaces, a mezzanine level, and a library. Just as notable are the two vaults designed specifically to store art — these are accessed by a glass freight elevator, and feature a controlled geothermal heating and cooling system to ensure the ideal temperature for maintaining prized works of art, which Bucksbaum was known to collect.
To overlook the main house, pictured above, would be a mistake, however.
The 9,000-square-foot main house has five bedrooms and six bathrooms, along with palatial public spaces that welcome large-scale entertaining. Terraces and open porches on both storeys maximise the home's bucolic setting.
Located on 51 gated acres in Sharon, an idyllic town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, the estate is surrounded by nature, its beauty emphasised even more in the autumn season.
The home, art gallery, and acreage are priced at USD20 million. Listing agents are Graham, Peter and Carolyn Klemm of Klemm Real Estate, Washington, Connecticut.
Photography by Structure Works