The Architecture of Mott B. Schmidt

Mott B. Schmidt and interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe collaborated on the renovation of Elisabeth Marbury’s house at No. 13 Sutton Place. Schmidt was brought in to remake the old, deteriorating Victorian. It was a profitable commission for Schmidt, for he would soon do the renovations for two more Sutton Place mansions—those of Elisabeth’s friends Anne Morgan, daughter of J. P. Morgan; and Anne Vanderbilt, widow of William K. Vanderbilt.

When the New-York Tribune reported on December 1, 1920 that “Miss Marbury will make extensive alterations,” its readers could not have imagined how extensive those renovations would be.  Schmidt’s transformation would cost “Bessie” $20,000—more than a quarter of a million dollars today. Marbury explained the migration to The Evening World reporter Will B. Johnstone a few weeks after the renovations began. “It is the obvious thing to do. Here is sunlight and air and a river view as desirable as Riverside Drive. Why should the East River be neglected? Our garden will be a gem; a quaint old English garden with a red bricked wall.”