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choice, having up until the construction of Shangri La in 1937
completed projects across multiple styles and sectors for clients
of similar fortune. His residences in the playground of Palm
Beach, in particular, where Wyeth based his practice, were
temples of extraordinary privilege.
Many of these projects are highlighted in the forthcoming
book From Palm Beach to Shangri La: The Architecture of Marion
Sims Wyeth (Rizzoli) by Jane S. Day. The exuberant tome, a paean
to Wyeth and historic preservation, gives overdue recognition
to an architect who is too little considered in contemporary
times. Wyeth did, after all, design buildings of great elaboration,
with Shangri La (now the Shangri La Museum of Islamic
Art, Culture & Design) a pinnacle of these grand, expressive
statements. But it's hardly alone. The much marbled Mar-a-
Lago and Hogarcito (residences of heiress and businesswoman
Marjorie Merriweather Post) as well as the opulent La Claridad
and Cielito Lindo, are also part of a repertoire that includes the
Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee and the Norton Museum of
Art in West Palm Beach, among countless other masterworks.
Born in 1889 in New York City, Marion Sims Wyeth was a
cosmopolitan. Raised among the well-educated, he attended
Princeton then enrolled at the architecture school at École des
L E G E N D S | M A R I O N S I M S W Y E T H
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(FROM TOP) THOUGH MARION SIMS WYETH CREATED OPULENT AND GRANDLY
SCALED HOMES, THE ARCHITECT WORKED CAPABLY—AND MEMORABLY—
ACROSS ARCHITECTURAL STYLES, OFTEN DRAWING ON DIFFERENT
AESTHETICS FOR ONE HARMONIOUS DESIGN.
