Located in a spectacular spot on Spain’s Costa Brava, the Staempfli House is new to the market via Sotheby’s International Realty in Spain. Built on the seafront in the town of Cadaqués in the heart of the Cap de Creus Natural Park, the terraced house has balconies that overlook the town’s main beach.
The house is located in the heart of Cadaqués
The Staempfli House was built in 1958 for the Swiss-born art dealer George William Staempfli (1910-1999). Staempfli moved to the US in 1935, took up a role at the venerable New York dealership of M. Knoedler & Company and served as curator of paintings at Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts from 1954 to 1956. In 1959, he set up his own dealership, the Staempfli Gallery on 77th St, with his second wife, Emily McFadden Staempfli.
This Catalonian house served both as a bolthole and a place to entertain the European artists he represented. The town itself was a favourite spot of Salvador Dalí (the Casa-Museu Salvador Dalí is a short walk away on the adjoining bay) and other key artists including Picasso, Miró, Duchamp and Richard Hamilton were also visitors.
The house was extensively rebuilt in the late 50s by the British architect Peter Harnden and Italian architect Lanfranco Bombelli, partners in the exhibition design specialists PGHA Peter Graham Harnden Associates. Harnden and Bombelli were also regular visitors to Cadaqués and built extensively for themselves and other artists in the region.
Traditional tiles are combined with built-in furniture and plenty of space for art
The Staempfli House fulfilled a dual role as residence and museum, with house guests including Dalí and Duchamp, along with Isamu Noguchi, Harry Bertoia, and Xavier Corberó, renowned for his impressive house in Barcelona. The house retains these qualities in the present day, blending traditional tiles and timber with (then) state-of-the art kitchen and bathroom fittings, giving off an eclectic mid-century vibe.
Elements like the floating fireplace with integrated seating, the tiled ‘water mirror’ sculpture terrace, timber-clad ceilings, niches, arches and integrated furniture all come together to create a house that demands to be a backdrop for art and design.
A bedroom in the Staempfli House
Staempfli retained his New York gallery until 1988, representing Dalí alongside the Belgian realist Paul Delvaux and the neo-figurative artist Elmer Bischoff, amongst others. In retirement, Staempfli moved to Maryland, where he died in 1999.
The dining room in the Staempfli House
The house in Cadaqués passed into similarly enlightened ownership, retaining its strong creative vibe. The town itself continues to be an artistic haunt into the present day, with museums and galleries adjoining the more traditional beachside restaurants and bars of the region.
The stairwell in the Staempfli House
Staempfli House, Cadaqués, Spain, €9,500,000, Spain-SothebysRealty.com, @Spain.SothebysRealty