Internationally recognised abstract painter Michael Johnson and his wife Margot have sold their grand Paddington terrace, Cawdor.
The four-bedroom, two-bathroom terrace with 3m-high ceilings was listed with a $4.3 million asking price. There has been no price reveal, but prospective buyers were being advised late this week the 1880s terrace was set to fetch a little over $4 million.
The home is lined with large paintings on almost every wall. There is a bohemian feel throughout the home that harks back to the loft-living aesthetics of New York, where Johnson lived during the early 1970s.
The 162 sqm property includes a studio where he painted the work Oceania high low that won him the 2014 Wynne Prize for the best landscape painting of Australian scenery.
The Bent St property was sold to the couple for $2,235,000 in 2012, and has since been extensively renovated. It features include a French marble fireplace, and French doors opening into a modern kitchen and an entertainer’s deck.
Johnson and his wife have decided to spend more time at their country property and a Woollahra bolthole.
Paddington’s latest listing is a Stewart St home, redesigned by the late architect Ken Woolley, which has hit the market with a $4.5 million buyer’s guide.
The three-bedroom was purchased by Woolley and his widow, Virginia, in 1995 for $730,000.
BresicWhitney agent Emily Davidson has it listed for September 19 auction.
Woolley, who died in 2015, was a leading figure in a romantic architectural movement referred to as Sydney School.
Paddington currently has 33 properties for sale, with a median terrace price over the past year of $2,440,500. Based on five years of sales, Paddington has seen a compound growth rate of 7.9 per cent for houses.
This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.