A WATERCOLOUR DRAWING OF MARIO BUATTA IN BED, BY KONSTANTIN KAKANIAS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES, CIRCA 1988

By the late 1980s Mario Buatta had become a household name. In addition to his client portfolio and chairing the Winter Antiques Show, he had licensed his name to a variety of products including telephones, fragrances, fabrics and a line of furniture. The New York Times decided to commission a drawing of him for their Style Magazine and sent the Greek-born artist Konstantin Kakanias to sketch him at home. As one of Buatta's trademarks had always been his bedrooms, and Mario himself never tired of professing his love of canopy beds, nothing made more sense than to depict Mario having breakfast in bed, especially as his bed had reputedly been made for Prince Albert at the Brighton Pavilion, so it was eminently suitable for a 20th century Prince in New York.

Kakanias recalls how much he enjoyed the assignment, as well as how much he loved the apartment - "Messy and super entertaining but elegant and so so fun. Not dry fake modernism of our days - or pretend wannabe of the late 80s. Just exuberant, and full of life, like Mario himself...he made me feel immediately at home and his kindness I will never forget."