By Andrew Wood
This antique stone house originally built in 1799 has quite the pedigree, with a famous painter and a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer numbering among its owners.
The residence at 102 Melius Road in Warren, Connecticut was in the same family for about 70 years, that of the abstract artist Cleve Gray, whose works can be viewed at the Met, the Whitney and the Museum of Modern Art among other museums. Known for his large-scale paintings combining brilliant color with calligraphic elements, Cleve started living in this home owned by his parents in 1949. In 1957 he married Francine du Plessix Gray, a novelist, biographer and New Yorker writer who was nominated for the Pulitzer for her biography of the Marquis de Sade. The two lived there for their entire marriage, working in separate studios they set up on opposite sides of the driveway, until Cleve passed away in 2004. Francine continued to live there and finally sold the home in 2014.
The 2014 buyer, who is now selling the home, embarked on a total renovation in 2015, maintaining its authenticity while ensuring its ability to endure well into the future. The light-filled main farmhouse has beamed ceilings, wide-board wood floors, eight fireplaces, a screened-in porch, renovated kitchen and baths, and a preserved wing with original details including the home’s original farm office.
The two Gray studios still stand: Cleve’s is the old barn with its silo redesigned by the renowned minimalist sculptor and architect Tony Smith, and Francine’s is the light-filled writing studio. The 89-acre property also includes a new tennis court, pool, updated gardens, a pond, fruit trees and acres of open lawn and woodland.
Even before the Grays arrived, this house captured the imagination. In 1927 the well-known librarian R.W.G. Vail, who became director of the New York Historical Society and President of the Bibliographical Society of America, visited the estate and left enamored of it. He wrote a memoir rhapsodizing over the architecture and the land.
For more information: Ira Goldspiel, 917.626.3481, igoldspiel@williampitt.com, Howard Schissler, 917.304.0871, hschissler@williampitt.com
