Gustave White Celebrates A Century of Real Estate History

From the sale of “Crossways” in 1926 for $50,000, to the purchase of the John Nicholas Brown estate in 1988 for $4 million, to the sale of “Seafair” in 2017 for $13.5 million, and that of “Clarendon Court” in 2022 for $30 million, Gustave White has witnessed the evolution of the local market.

Whether one is driving casually about town or reading headlines of the day on social media or in the local newspaper, one business is always, prominently featured: Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty. With offices in Newport and Tiverton, this self-described “boutique” brokerage of 35 agents has handled both the purchases and sales of some of Newport’s most notable residences and is set to reach a milestone rarely seen today: its centennial, celebrating 100 years in business.

The storied firm, still in its original location at 37 Bellevue Avenue, has a rich and colorful history beginning with its vibrant and accomplished founding partner, Gustave John Schirmer White.

A direct descendant of one of the incorporators of Springfield, Mass., White was born to American parents in Munich, Germany, where he graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Munich and, later, from Exeter College at Oxford University in England. At the onset of World War I, he enlisted in the Navy and rose to the rank of commander in the Naval Reserve.

In 1919, White became a Newport resident and joined the local real estate and insurance firm of Andrews & Weaver. He soon became a partner, and the firm was renamed Andrews & White. The company then was incorporated in 1925 and named Gustave J. S. White Inc., with White serving as president until his retirement in 1956. The firm sought to service all needs for its clients, from real estate sales and rentals to insurance coverage and auctions of local estates.

According to many who knew him, White was a refined gentleman active in social affairs. He was a skilled pianist (who played duets with Rachmaninoff when he visited White in Newport) as well as an enthusiast of fine fashions and gourmet foods. White was once named one of the 10 Best Dressed Men in the United States.

Numerous social and professional clubs welcomed him; he served as a president of the Reading Room and a secretary of the Clambake Club. In addition, White was a director of the Redwood Library, a trustee of Newport Hospital, and a member of the exclusive Brook and Union Clubs in New York City and the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati, among other social organizations.

His varied personal interests and relationships helped to build the company, as marketing in those days largely was word-of-mouth, consisting of conversations between friends and neighbors. Indeed, White’s legendary attention to detail extended to meeting clients at the railway station and wining and dining them at local establishments.

His professional and social memberships almost certainly translated into the firm’s early handling of sales for such famed Newport properties as Stuyvesant Fish’s home “Crossways” (site of the annual Harvest Ball that closed the Newport social season each year), which sold for $50,000 in 1926, and August Belmont’s home “By-The-Sea” in 1927.

White later partnered with James Dwyer, whose son Francis “Gerry” Dwyer eventually joined the business and was influential in passing legislation to build the Newport Bridge. Following White’s death in 1963, Gerry Dwyer became the principal owner of the company and led the firm into the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1976, Sotheby’s auction house made the leap into real estate, looking to launch into luxury markets such as Palm Beach, Bel Air, Aspen, and Newport by partnering with established local brokerages. Dwyer was instrumental in securing one of the first Sotheby’s International Real Estate affiliations. The relationship immediately bore fruit when Gustave White handled Sotheby’s first-ever real estate transaction, the sale of “Hammersmith Farm,” owned by Hugh D. Auchincloss and the site of the wedding reception of his stepdaughter, Jacqueline Bouvier, and John F. Kennedy in 1953. Gustave White subsequently represented the property again in a later sale.

In 2005, Sotheby’s sold its real estate license to Realogy and all affiliate offices became official franchises. For 10 years, Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty was the only Sotheby’s franchise in Rhode Island. The company underwent additional leadership changes in 1994, when Gerry Dwyer sold the business to Peter Dunn, whose wife, Gloria, remains an agent with the firm. Chris West joined the business as its office manager, while Newport native and beloved auctioneer Michael Corcoran — recently the subject of a New York Times profile — continued to oversee the auction house, which he owns and operates as the Gustave J. S. White Company.

Indeed, Corcoran may be one of the few Newporters who can recall working with the original Gustave White. Corcoran has fond memories of White’s fashion flair and refined social pursuits.

Paul Leys joined the firm as a sales associate in the spring of 1988. By 2000, he and Chris West officially purchased the company, with the goal of putting their own stamp on the venerable business while retaining its “boutique” feel by maintaining a collaborative office environment as well as brokers who live in the community amongst their clients. David Huberman, an agent with the company since 2005, is soon to take over West’s share of the partnership and join Leys as co-owner of the business.

Through the decades, the firm has handled some eye-popping listings. They include “Harbour Court,” the John Nicholas Brown estate the New York Yacht Club purchased for $4 million in 1988, and “Seafair” (locally known as “Hurricane Hut”), the oceanfront mansion comedian Jay Leno bought in 2017 for $13.5 million. In 2022, the company enjoyed a trio of record-breaking prices with the sales of “Clarendon Court” ($30 million), “Miramar” ($27 million), and “Beacon Rock” ($23 million).

Sales volumes have mirrored the success of individual sales, going from $14,000 in 1925, to $11 million in 1994, to more than $300 million in 2024. But the leadership and sales teams will be the first to acknowledge that while the firm clearly specializes in the luxury market, the goal of Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty is to represent properties of all kinds and in all price ranges with integrity and confidence, whether it be a summer or winter rental, an office compound, a starter home, or an Ocean Avenue estate.

If its unique and distinguished history is any guide, Gustave White Sotheby’s International Realty may continue to be a market leader for another 100 years.