That was due, in large part, to the landscape’s charm. There’s an apple orchard with 40 trees, which the Mallins used as a pretext to invite 600 to 1,000 people every year for an apple picking and cider-making party that “ran from morning until night,” says Sherry. The property also includes a forested area, rolling lawns, vast flower beds, and a large pond.
“The overwhelming, unasked-for comment is made day after day after day by people who say, ‘It’s so strangely calm here,” says Sherry. “It just exists. Everyone feels it.”
Saying Goodbye
Given their long history with the house, not to mention the fact that the property is currently a showcase for their very large, ungainly outdoor sculptures, the decision to sell the land wasn’t easy. After a time, the Mallins made up their minds.
“We are blessed with decent health, but we certainly know we’re declining,” says Sherry. “Eighty-eight is very different than 68.”
As a consequence, she continues, “We are going to live a different kind of life, one more suitable to the aging process. We decided not to have life happen to us, and that we would take charge of what we can manage.”
In practical terms, this meant acknowledging that owning a large estate and an art collection containing what she says is “less than 2,000, and much more than 1,000” artworks, was not sustainable. “It’s a chapter in our life that’s closing, whether we close it or not,” she concludes, “so we should choose to close it in a way that makes us happiest.”
So they’re selling the property. As for the art collection, “some of it will be donated, some will be sold, some will be gifted,” Sherry says, “but basically, we are disassembling it.” All the sculptures can be moved once the house is sold, with the exception of one work by Andy Goldsworthy, which will come with the property.
Should a potential buyer be interested in the house and the art, they might find very accommodating sellers.
“My dream is that there’s this fantasy person who adores art and adores sculpture, who would buy all the sculpture and just let it sit,” says Sherry. “But I’m also practical. The art will live on, regardless of what we do, because it has a longer lifespan than we do.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.