To take photos in 25 New York City’s finest penthouses, a Budapest artist took the role of a wealthy property buyer.
Andi Schmied is an architect. However, she was posing as a wealthy Hungarian buyer and agent to see the luxurious apartments.
Schmied’s work is an exclusive and carefully crafted glimpse into New York City’s vast vistas.
Schmied captured the magic landscapes during her residency at Dumbo’s Triangle Arts Association. She told Curbed that she got inspired by seeing buildings taller than the Empire State while visiting the landmark.
“I quickly realized that these buildings were all high-end residential luxury residences. And I started to think, I don’t have too many choices — how do I get up there?’ According to her, the outlet was informed.
Schmied was part of the Triangle Arts Association’s artist residency. She captured magical landscapes on her journey. Northern view of the Empire State Building and western view of the Hudson River from one of the upper floor staged living rooms at Cetra Ruddy’s One Madison
‘There was one agent who asked me to sit down and close my eyes — it was in the Ritz-Carlton Residences on Central Park South — and the curtains were closed, and she asked me if I like Édith Piaf. This was an unusual question. I replied, “Ofcourse,” then I inquired, “How are you able to know?” She replied, “Oh, because you have European sophistication,” and she relates about one exchange.
Andi Schmied is an architect. However, she was posing as a wealthy Hungarian buyer and real estate agent to be shown the best penthouse apartments of Manhattan. The unit facing central park was not completed when she visited, as its floors and walls were unfinished.
Schmied decided then that the only way to get to the properties was to pretend to be a billionaire. Gabriella Schmied was her persona.
Schmied used Schmied’s name as her husband to make her story plausible. She was an antiquarian gallerist and she is now a galerist.
‘He wouldn’t be able to afford those apartments but he has professional websites that somehow put him in this sphere of ‘well …’ she said.
Schmied was asked casual questions by agents to help determine if Schmied had enough money to buy the luxury apartments.
Schmied invented a fake assistant called Coco and used her entire budget to buy her outfits. This added credibility.
After that, the artist would ask her if she could take photos for her husband. When questioned by suspicious agents about why she used a film camera over a digital, she explained that the gift was from her grandfather and was meant to record all of the memorable moments. [her]”Life.”
Schmied was not impressed by the all too similar penthouses, nor weary from the compulsive designer name droppings of the agents. “They’re all the same!” she said. It’s true! The layouts of each apartment are almost identical, for example.
Schmied was asked the following questions by agents: Who designed her jewelry? Had a personal chef been hired for her and how much she could afford to live in the luxury apartments she wanted to purchase? View of the Met Life Tower from one of the upper floor living rooms at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates’ Madison Square Park Towe
Schmied came up even with Coco as a fake assistant and used her entire budget to buy her outfit. That added credibility.
The artist would ask, “Can you take pictures of my husband?” Southern and western views from one of the bedrooms at Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue
“And they would just place me in this box as an ‘artsy billionaire’, and then start talking to me about MoMA’s latest collections. “So anything is possible,” she stated.
The story was accepted by other agents without any question and they used the ‘almost dramatic scenes’ to attempt to sell the penthouses.
‘There was one agent who asked me to sit down and close my eyes — it was in the Ritz-Carlton Residences on Central Park South — and the curtains were closed, and she asked me if I like Édith Piaf. It was a strange question but I answered, “Of course,” and then I asked her, “How did you know?” I asked her a strange question, but she replied “Oh, because your European sophistication,” she then recalled a specific exchange.
‘And she sat me down and put on Édith Piaf. And meanwhile, I was sitting there with my closed eyes, and she opened the curtains and there was Central Park in front of me, and she had this line: ‘Just imagine — you could do this every day,’ she added.
Western view from a bathroom from one of the staged apartments at Rafael Viñoly’s 432 Park Avenue
‘… After a while I realized that it was most easy for me to tell as many truths as possible, even though I was a nonexistent individual. Schmied shared his thoughts about the experience.
Schmied stated that she is ready to give up her personality for now. ‘After the book is out, she’s going to be banned from the real estate agents, but in one thing or another, I use her regularly — if I have to call my phone company, say,’ she said
Schmied was told by another agent that the aroma of her favourite food would be a strong smell throughout the apartment.
Schmied reported that the agent stated, “Maybe it’s a goulash,” after recognizing she was Hungarian.
Schmied, on the other hand, was not impressed by the all too similar penthouses or weary of the designers’ obsessive name-droppings.
They are all one! You’re right! The layouts of each apartment are almost identical.
‘Then there’s the countertop, which usually a kitchen island in the middle, and there’s different types of marble but there’s marble — Calacatta Tucci, or Noir St. Laurent, or Chinchilla Mink, and they always tell you, ‘It’s the best of the best,’ from a hidden corner of the planet where they hand-selected the most incredible pieces.
Schmied indicated that for the moment, she was ready to let go of her persona.
‘… After some time, I found that the truth was what made me feel the most at ease, even though it meant being an inexistent person. Schmied said that he would be honest if he didn’t like the apartment or asked questions sincerely about it.
‘After the book is out, she’s going to be banned from the real estate agents, but in one thing or another, I use her regularly — if I have to call my phone company, say,’ she concluded.
Schmied’s book Private Views, A High-Rise Panorama Of Manhattan was published by Random House in 2020. Nur 1000 editions of the book were ever published.