The Rosen House

The Mediterranean-style House was built during the period between 1929 and 1939 by Walter Rosen, a Berlin-born, Harvard and New York School of Law-educated international banker specializing in railroads, and Lucie Bigelow Dodge Rosen, an independent, spirited, and highly intelligent member of a prominent New York City family.

Filled with examples of fine and decorative Asian and Renaissance art, the House offers a number of treasures, including complete 18^th-century rooms, originally from private villas and chateaux in Italy, France, and England.  The Burgundian Library is a French 17^th-century, paneled room with a brilliant blue groin-vaulted ceiling. An exquisite 16^th-century painted Spanish ceiling resides in an alcove off the Music Room.

The Formal Dining Room features doors thought to have been designed by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1695-1770), made for a Venetian palace, along with turquoise Chinese export wallpaper featuring birds perched in flowering trees.

Walter Rosen’s bedroom has Gothic paneling from a residence in the Tyrol region of Italy and is furnished with pieces from Renaissance Italy and Spain. Lucie Rosen’s bedroom contains a carved and gilded bed that belonged to Pope Urban VIII.

The majestic Music Room includes Renaissance furniture and architectural elements such as the intricately carved coffered ceiling from a house in Lecce, Italy; a pair of pink marble twisted columns from Verona, once in the collection of William Randolph Hearst; Urbino maiolica; reliefs from the workshop of Della Robbia and Old Masters; and a magnificent Franco-Flemish tapestry titled “The Holy Family.” From a slightly later period, our 18^th-century needlework chairs delight Music Room visitors.

Many other rare and distinctive art objects, including sculpture from the 16^th through 20^th centuries, paintings, stained glass, an impressive Asian collection, and a spectacular array of works by E.F. Caldwell, many commissioned by Walter Rosen, also fill the 25,000-square foot House.

The House’s Spanish Courtyard contains gardens and cloisters, as well as niches with intricately painted wall designs. This distinctive space is “Spanish under the influence of the Italian Renaissance” given the architectural styles reminiscent of 15^th-century Italian architect Filippo Brunelleschi.