Richard Prince Spends $11.5 M. on Upper East Side Mansion

When Jeff Koons closed on his six-story uptown townhouse this March, it had taken the kitschy genius two whole years to finish the deal. Richard Prince is quicker: According to a deed filed in city records Thursday, he just spent $11.5 million on a nearby townhouse only a month and a half after signing his contract.

Smart contemporary artists like smart old Upper East Side mansions: According to its listing, Mr. Prince's new place at 57 East 78th Street was built in 1869, and has a marble kitchen; six bedrooms (or five, depending on the layout); a landscaped garden with trees; wine storage in the finished basement; and an 11-foot-tall living/dining room with "a large window of beveled glass, a fireplace and French doors leading to a terrace." (There's also a humidification system and a back-up generator, for some reason.)

A woman who picked up the phone at Mr. Prince's house in Wainscott hung up, and broker Louise Beit did not return a message. She had listed the house for $15 million just this year, which means wily Mr. Prince got a $3.5 million discount.

mabelson@observer.com