of English furniture, which was apparent in this display.
“ He was buying from important auctions and also from the leading dealers, primarily London dealers, several of whom don ' t exist anymore because they ' ve retired,” says Dennis Harrington, head of European furniture at Sotheby’ s.“ In some ways, he was one of the last of the great old-fashioned gentleman collectors of English furniture.”
Before Harrington joined Sotheby ' s, he worked at Pelham Galleries in London and remembers Tavitian buying something there every year.( More than 20 items in the auction were from the London gallery, Harrington says.)
Tavitian turned to furnishing his homes before he became fully immersed in collecting fine art. He wanted the furniture to complement his taste in art, and he was drawn to English furniture.“ A lot of people react to English future because it tends to be slightly less ornate and slightly less over the top,” says Harrington.“ It’ s great quality, and some of it is extraordinary and beautifully carved. One of the successes of English furniture is that it was always designed with comfort in mind.”
Even after his homes were fully furnished, Tavitian still loved to go antique shopping, looking for small items that he could always find a place in his homes. Perhaps that is where he found a pair of British carved walnut and engraved steel percussion duelling pistols that were attributed to Daniel Ross, Edinburgh, c. 1835( and sold at the Sotheby’ s auction for $ 18,000). Or a pair of Chinese wood and painted plaster nodding-head figures, c. 1850( that was sold at auction for $ 45,600).
TAVITIAN’ S HOMES
In September 2024, Tavitian’ s seven-floor Gilded Age townhouse in Manhattan ' s prestigious Upper East Side near Central Park sold for $ 56 million. Tavitian’ s 6.2-acre estate at 7 Prospect Hill Road in Stockbridge, built in 1993, remains listed by Sotheby’ s International Realty for $ 9.95 million. I visited the Stockbridge home with listing agent Pat Melluzzo. When I first entered the home, my eyes immediately were drawn to the most magnificent sculpture, which I soon learned was Hercules Chained by Love( 1754) by Jean Joseph Vinache( now in the possession of the Clark). Some of the artwork was still hanging;
May / June 2025 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 19