Billionaire Leon Black, the owner of Phaidon Press and the recent buyer of Artspace, has purchased the $50 million former home of the Knoedler Gallery on the Upper East Side, a 17,000-square-foot Italian Renaissance-style home at 19 East 70th Street that was last inhabited by London developer Christian Candy.  (more…)

Damien Hirst has purchased one of London’s most impressive examples of Regency architecture, a five story mansion built in 1811 by John Nash and overlooking Regent’s Park.  The home was previously owned by Anne Van Lanschot, a Dutch banking magnate who lived there for over 50 years.  The home was put on the market last year for £34 million, but some speculate that the artist paid more. (more…)

After several years of petitioning, Jeff Koons has been granted approval to gut a pair of houses the artist purchased at 11 and 13 E. 67th St, and to combine them into a colossal mansion.  “It must be nice to not only be an artist but to be your own Medici,” comments one local renter. (more…)