In Palm Beach, a Wyeth House Is Ready for Jennifer Gilbert's Collection

Jennifer Gilbert, a philanthropist and collector, now has a Palm Beach house worth hanging her collection in. The estate was designed by Marion Sims Wyeth, and it has spent four years being restored and given a new addition. Wyeth's name still matters on this island, and a house of his is a landmark here, so the owner of one takes on its care as much as its rooms. The work here took four years, and nobody hurried it. Gilbert's collection mixes fine art with design, and it keeps growing, which means the house has to hold what she owns now and leave room for what comes next. That is the real test of an addition: the new wing has to suit the original house and also suit the works going into it. A collector who shows painting and design side by side is asking a reader to look at an object and a canvas with the same seriousness. When a house built by one of Palm Beach's defining architects becomes the setting for that collection, the island gains a carefully restored landmark and a home where serious work will live.

With reporting from Galerie.