André Leon Talley’s ‘Sanctuary’ in White Plains, N.Y., Is for Sale

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The fashion icon, who died last year, loved to escape the city and deal with the world from his front porch.

By Joyce Cohen

For the last 18 years of his life, André Leon Talley — Vogue's pioneering creative director — lived in a stately center-hall colonial in White Plains, N.Y.

Mr. Talley died last year at age 73, after complications from Covid. The house is now for sale for $1.25 million. "The house is a masterpiece," said the listing broker, Bonnie Stein, an associate broker at Julia B. Fee Sotheby's International Realty in Rye, N.Y. "It has tons of character. There is a leopard carpet throughout the house."

The house is being sold by a limited liability company created by the fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg.

The 3,600-square-foot house, with 11 rooms, sits on nearly 1.2 bucolic acres at 75 Worthington Road. Annual taxes are around $26,000. Last fall, part of the street was renamed "Honorary André Leon Talley Way."

Mr. Talley was the first Black creative director of Vogue Magazine. He was often described as larger than life, fitting his 6 foot 6 inches tall frame into stylish garb. He was an influencer before influencers were a thing, helping to pave the way for diversity in fashion media.

He used every room of the house, said Alexis E. Thomas, a friend and the trustee of his estate, except, perhaps, for one. The least-used room was the kitchen, which has a walkout to the patio. Mr. Talley didn't cook, Ms. Thomas said. "I think he could make one or two things but I can't remember what those two were."

The most-used room was the study off the kitchen. A particular point of pride was Truman Capote's sofa, which Mr. Talley bought at auction, though he wouldn't let it be used. "I said, ‘You should put stanchions up’" so nobody could sit on it, Ms. Thomas said.

Mr. Talley used one of the four bedrooms in the house as a linen closet. Another was a guest room. "Nobody slept there but me," Ms. Thomas said.

Ms. Thomas met Mr. Talley in 1996 at a fund-raiser at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where Ms. Thomas was carrying a shopping bag full of papers. "André said, ‘That doesn't go with your whole look,’" she said, and the next week he brought her a Fendi tote.

"The house was, for André, the perfect place because it was down a private road," she said. "His porch became a place where he spent a lot of time, particularly in warmer weather. He conducted interviews from there, and he would Zoom from there. I can't tell you how many hours I’ve spent with him on that porch."

Most of the furniture, clothing, artwork, jewelry, accessories, books, luggage, tableware and personal items that filled the house — including the Truman Capote sofa — were auctioned off a few months ago by Christie's. The proceeds of more than $3.5 million were split between the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem and Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Durham, N.C., where Mr. Talley grew up.

The house, dating from 1854, has an unfinished basement and a shed in the yard. There's a circular driveway but no garage. It has been well-maintained, Ms. Stein said, and the underground oil tank was recently relocated to the basement. "The basement stairs are brand-new," she said, adding that contractors "took the old stairs out and put in new stairs to bring the oil tank down."

His tenure at the house turned tempestuous in late 2020. The owners of the house were his longtime friends, George Malkemus — a Manolo Blahnik executive, who died in September of 2021 — and his husband and business partner, Anthony Yurgaitis. When the couple wanted to sell the house, the parties had a dispute over ownership and the friends filed a lawsuit. Mr. Talley filed a countersuit in early 2021.

Court documents say that the couple bought the house for $1.02 million in 2004 for Mr. Talley when he needed to move. His old place in Hastings-on-Hudson had mold issues and, amid "rushed circumstances" and "credit issues," he couldn't obtain traditional financing, court documents say. In an interview with The New York Times a dozen years ago, he said he moved when his landlord decided to increase the rent.

Over the years, Mr. Talley maintained the house, according to court papers, repairing the roof, replacing the boiler and restoring shutters and windows. He kept the yard well tended, and spent $10,000 on carpeting.

The dispute over the house was settled in early 2022 when a "confidential settlement agreement" was executed.

Less than two weeks later, the house was purchased by Helping Les Amis, the limited liability company created by Ms. von Furstenberg.

"André was one of my very best friends," she said, "and when I found out there was the possibility for him to be evicted, I didn't want that to happen." So she bought the house. "I was happy I could help," she said. "That's what friends are for — to help."

A few years ago, Mr. Talley described the White Plains house as "my sanctuary."

Mr. Talley owned a house in Durham, N.C., which he bought for his beloved grandmother, who raised him while she worked as a dormitory maid at Duke University. "He used it as a southern destination for himself," Ms. Thomas said, adding later, "André didn't really love city living. He intentionally chose to live outside the city so that he could, in some ways, replicate the environment of the south that he loved so much. He invested a considerable amount of time and energy into the landscape."

He favored azaleas, hydrangeas, ferns and Japanese maples. "When the yard was in full bloom, it was enchanting," she said.

Inside are several fireplaces, Dutch doors and beamed ceilings. Vestiges of Mr. Talley's unique taste remain. "Leopard — he loved that print, so the stairwell and part of the second floor are covered in leopard carpeting," Ms. Thomas said. "He was attracted to that print, but I couldn't tell you exactly why."

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