The Springs house that famed handbag designer Judith Leiber and her husband, the artist Gerson (Gus) Leiber, shared is back on the market this fall. The private two-acre enclave served not only as the Leibers’ home but also as their creative space for six decades.
Keith Green and Ann Ciardullo of Sotheby’s International Realty represent the sellers of 464 Old Stone Highway, who purchased it after the Leibers passed away. The asking price is $6,995,000.
“The studio and garden complex is simply extraordinary, by any standard,” says Ciardullo. “But the real story is this: This property is the 50-year passion project of a world-famous artistic couple who simply loved life. Everywhere you walk, everywhere you look, you will see their joyful and artistic view of life and nature. The vegetable gardens and the cutting gardens were planted not just for beauty — although they are quite beautiful — but to literally add richness to their acclaimed artistic life. Judith’s studio is one-of-a-kind with a wall of glass overlooking the most formal of the six gardens that make up the entire estate.”
Judith Leiber, known for her evening bags, metal minaudieres or clutches in the shape of animals and other objects decorated in Swarovski crystals, are in collections at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Smithsonian, and The Victoria and Albert. Celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to Nancy Reagan carried her bags and they continue to be sought after in pop culture.
She and her husband purchased the shingle-style home in 1956.
After the couple died in 2018 — within five hours of each other at the age of 97 — the 2.16-acre property sold for just $2.995 million, according to records. The reason was simple, Green says: The property had 50 code violations at the time. “It was virtually unsaleable when the Leibers passed,” he says, adding that the couple who bought it spent the last three or four years fixing the violations and renovating the home.
The 4,500-square-foot home offers four bedrooms and four-and-a-half baths, but could be expanded to over 9,000 square feet, according to the listing. There is a sun-drenched pool, chic cabanas, and a hot tub overlooking the living arboretum of mature trees and meandering garden paths.
The property also boasts a 1,300-square-foot artist’s barn, which Green says, “has a bit of code magic,” in that it is a pre-existing, non-confirming building, meaning it does not have to be used only as an artist’s studio and checked routinely by the Town of East Hampton. It’s a space that could be used for almost anything. “That means a car collector could move in. A woodworker could have the most beautiful woodworking shop,” he says.
Separate from the estate for sale, there is an adjacent seven-acre property that the Leibers gifted to the town, which holds the Leiber Collection. In 2005, the couple built the Renaissance-style Palladian structure to hold their art collection and chronicle their careers. A sculpture garden that Gus Leiber designed surrounds it. Before their deaths, they started a foundation to ensure that the museum would continue.
A legal, private gate from the property at 464 Old Stone Highway to the town property next door, which allows immediate access to the park-like grounds. “The properties are forever intertwined but legally separate,” Green says.
Check out more photos below.
