For more than half a century, the art collector Hester Diamond called the imposing, twin-towered Eldorado on the Upper West Side home. It was there, in her sprawling duplex, that she put together extensive collections of Modernist and old masters works, entertained art world dignitaries and raised her family.
“My parents didn’t separate their social lives and work lives — they existed in the same ecosystem in the apartment,” recalled one of her sons, Michael Diamond, known as Mike D, one of the founders of the Beastie Boys.
Ms. Diamond and her first husband, Harold Diamond, started their collections slowly. “They loved art and going to galleries,” said their oldest son, David Diamond, a marketing and strategic planning consultant. “They bought extensively on the layaway plan — my mom used to joke that they owed $50 a month to every gallery in town.” Eventually they gave up their day jobs — she was a social worker, he a schoolteacher — to pursue careers in art, then set up their own business.
death two years ago at age 91, all of the art and furnishings have been auctioned off, bringing in more than $26 million, as well as donated or divided among family members. And now the empty duplex is up for sale. The asking price is $19.5 million, with $22,200 in monthly maintenance, according to the broker Amy Katcher of the Corcoran Group, who is listing the property with Michael J. Franco of Compass.
The apartment sits on the 18th and 19th floors of the south tower. It measures around 6,300 square feet and includes a total of around 800 square feet of terraces on both levels, offering stunning vistas of the Central Park Reservoir and Midtown skyline. “The views, the light and the space are incredible,” Ms. Katcher said.
died at age 56. (A third son, Stephen, died in 1999.)