Maurice Kanbar never saw the point in accepting things as they were. The lifelong inventor and entrepreneur, who died in 2022 aged 93, developed, among other things, a comb to “untuck” sweaters, New York’s first multiplex movie theater and Skyy vodka, which — somewhat doubtful — claimed it wouldn’t leave you with a hangover.
In addition to stories about the miracle drink, Mr. Kanbar was also a real estate investor and built an enviable real estate portfolio that included a neo-Renaissance mansion at 4 East 77th Street, which is up for sale. The 11,395-square-foot property features a two-story ground floor that currently houses the Michael Werner Art Gallery. Both of these floors were completely renovated in 1990 by Mr. Werner with architect Annabelle Selldorf.
There are four apartments above the art gallery: Two are upstairs, each with two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, on the third and fifth floors. There are two one bedroom units on the fourth floor. Mr Kanbar lived in the flat on the fifth floor and had a 15 by 19 feet terrace.
“When we visited, it was so much fun for our kids,” said Stacey Kanbar of Compass, Mr. Kanbar’s niece by marriage and co-agent with Leonard Steinberg. “He was like a mad scientist. Every surface was covered with such interesting objects. It was such a treat for the eyes of any creative person.”
The entire property is listed at $18 million after it was taken off the market late last year. The apartments — which have not been renovated since Mr. Kanbar bought the building in 1964 — are being delivered vacant, while the gallery has a purchase-price lease that the buyer has the option to terminate nine months after the building closes. Monthly property taxes are estimated at approximately $16,000.
“If you look at what a fully renovated mansion is going for today, this house is actually an incredible value,” Mr. Steinberg said, adding that similarly renovated properties can cost upwards of $50 million.
The building, clad in Tuckahoe marble sourced from a Westchester quarry, is built to nearly its full 25-foot width, thanks to incorporation of zoning regulations. Because of this, and because it is set behind the property next door, there are windows on both the east and west sides of the building.
“Not only does it have the bones and the location, but it also has provenance,” Mr. Steinberg said. “And you can’t buy provenance and you can’t build it. You either have it or you don’t.”
The residence was built by Robert McCafferty and Richard W. Buckley in 1897 as a single family home. It was converted into a mixed-use property in 1942 and included a doctor’s office on the ground floor and several apartments above. Art dealer Leo Castelli opened a gallery in his fourth-floor living room in 1957 and introduced top artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Cy Twombly to the Upper East Side.
Mr. Kanbar bought the five-story property with a full-height cellar in 1964. The building has remained a center of gravity in the art world — Castelli Gallery moved a few doors down to 18 East 77th Street, while Gagosian and several other high-profile galleries have of the gates — and are being marketed to buyers as either an income-generating property or a great single-family conversion.
The centerpiece of the building is an original spiral staircase that curves up to the roof, which lets light flood in from both the windows and the skylight. There is also an elevator that serves every floor except the 1,600-square-foot roof. Mr. Kanbar left many of the original, pre-war details intact, including the crown moldings and hardwood floors. And the building has two front windows – instead of the more common three – which allowed rooms of equal size to be built on the fourth and fifth floors. Third floor windows open onto Juliet balconies.
“A lot of it is what it was when he bought it, so it has some collector’s quality,” Mr. Steinberg said.
Whatever collection it ends up in, the property will have the added value of being for a good cause. Mr. Kanbar, a lifelong philanthropist, bequeathed the proceeds of the sale, less transfer taxes and dealer commissions, to organizations such as the Kanbar Cardiac Care Center at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television in New York University.
“It gave him so much joy to be able to give his money to people and help others,” Ms Kanbar said. “I remember him quoting Andrew Carnegie, who said, ‘I have decided to stop hoarding and begin the infinitely more serious and difficult task of wise distribution.’ That included how Maurice felt.’