An ardent history buff and passionate aesthete, William F. Reilly, former chief executive officer and chairman of Primedia, spent more than a dozen years acquiring art and antiques with which to furnish his town house in Manhattan’s Sutton Square. With the celebrated New York art and antiques consultant Timothy J. Whealon as his guide, Reilly, who died last year at age 70, outfitted his home as "a modern take on a great English country house," says Whealon. The resulting collection of upwards of 250 objects hits the block on October 14 at Christie’s New York in a sale estimated to earn a combined $7 million to $10 million. No expense has been spared in showcasing the objects: With Whealon’s help, the auction house has re-created five of Reilly’s lavish rooms down to the paint colors, which were selected to complement the rich browns and blues of the bespoke suits the collector favored.

"History Lesson" originally appeared in the October 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's October 2009 Table of Contents.