A 52-acre estate in New Canaan, Connecticut, humorously named Le Beau Chateau, has been listed for $25.5 million. The property was previously owned by the late reclusive copper-mining heiress Huguette Clark, who held it for over 60 years. The listing is held by Rob Johnson and Mary Higgins of Brown Harris Stevens.
Despite being free to leave, Clark lived quietly in a Manhattan hospital room for two decades before her 2011 death at 104, with reported costs exceeding $800 a day. A passionate doll collector and painter, she accumulated a collection of rarely used homes, including several cooperative apartments on Fifth Avenue, a grand villa in Santa Barbara, and Le Beau Chateau, which she purchased in 1951 as a potential refuge during the Cold War but never stayed in.
After her passing, her Manhattan apartments were sold for a total of $55 million, and her Santa Barbara mansion, Bellosguardo, was bequeathed to a foundation for limited tours. The Connecticut estate, which she tried unsuccessfully to sell several times before her death, was acquired in 2014 for $14 million by fashion designer Reed Krakoff and interior designer Delphine Krakoff, a significant reduction from the original $34 million asking price. They undertook a respectful restoration, blending modern conveniences with the property’s historic charm.
The estate features a long drive flanked by two modest cottages, leading to a motor court in front of the 21-room French-style manor house built in 1937. The nearly 15,000-square-foot mansion includes nine bedrooms, ten bathrooms, and four powder rooms, with three of the original fireplaces still functional.
The Krakoffs chose a neutral color palette of creams and beiges, creating a light and airy feel with plush fabrics and art-friendly white walls. Antique chevron-patterned wood floors adorn much of the main floor and several upper bedrooms. Notable features include a sweeping circular staircase, a large living room, a spacious library, and a formal dining room enhanced by a modern Cloud sculpture by French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. The estate also boasts a formal garden, a large lawn leading to a rectangular pool, a reconditioned tennis court, and dense woodlands ensuring privacy.
The Krakoffs have a history of buying and selling notable properties on the East Coast, including a Manhattan townhouse sold to Roger Waters of Pink Floyd in 2007 and another townhouse for $51 million in 2014. They previously owned Lasata, Jackie Kennedy’s childhood summer home, and have since built a striking new residence in the Hamptons, featuring modern glass and concrete pavilions overlooking the dunes in Amagansett.
