Behind The Scenes: 33 West 67th Street
You know how they always say people in New York get things for cheap if they have the right name? The NYT Real Estate section proudly boasts of a long-in-the-making bohemian transaction at 33 W. 67th street—Claude Ruiz-Picasso, son of guess-who, shelled out 3.25 million for a 4BR, 1.5 bath co-op in a Lincoln Square "artist" building. Up until then Ruiz-Picasso, the article wryly notes, still lived with his mother, Fran oise Gilot-Salk, one-time mistress of the greatest 20th century painter and wife of the greatest 20th century scientist. It also notes Ruiz-Picasso will be living above Tommy Brokaw, who bought a 3rd floor apartment from the estate of Barbara Epstein for $3,267,650. But, strangely, no mention is made of Arnold Newman.
Why, that's Arnold Newman, the former occupant of the Picasso apartment, portrait photographer and friend of the Picasso family, whose widow sold their apartment to Ruiz-Picasso at 15% below the asking price. Newman, who died last year, befriended Picasso, Stravinsky, Dali and others whilst working as a photographer both in New York and Miami. His last major exhibit was at the Corcoran Art Gallery in DC in 2000, a gallery founded by none other William Wilson Corcoran, (perhaps? God we hope so!) a distant relative of Barbara Corcoran, founder of the Corcoran group who sold the place. See? A diagram!
