Tour the U.S. embassy residence renovated by Ambassador James Costos and his partner, interior designer Michael S. Smith.

Hanging at the top of the gracefully twisting staircase inside the American ambassador’s residence in Madrid is a painting of a dwarf and his black-and-white dog. A work by John Singer Sargent—after Diego Velázquez—it is one of more than 80 pieces borrowed through the Art in Embassies program by the current U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra, James Costos, and his longtime partner, designer Michael S. Smith. The Sargent marks the passage from the main floor’s public spaces to the private areas upstairs, and quite often guests will find, lying on the carpet beneath the painting, one of the couple’s two rescue dogs, Greco, who bears a notable resemblance to the dog in the 19th-century portrait. The painting can be seen as a symbol of the long history of cultural dialogue between the U.S. and Spain, not to mention a reminder of the consideration that Smith and Costos put into every detail of their comprehensive renovation of the residence. That Greco (named in honor of both the Spanish Old Master El Greco and the ambassador’s Greek ancestry) is allowed to meet visitors is also emblematic of the warm, open, modern style of diplomacy being practiced here.

A cluster of Philip Taaffe artworks and an Esteban Vicente painting animate a corner of the piano room at the U.S. Ambassador to Spain’s Madrid residence, which was renovated by decorator Michael S. Smith, partner of the current ambassador, James Costos. A sofa designed by Smith joins club chairs clad in a gold Brunschwig & Fils velvet, a Giacometti-style cocktail table from JF Chen, and Jasper gilt armchairs upholstered in a Jasper leather. The windows are dressed with curtains of a Templeton stripe and bamboo shades by Smith, while the table lamps are by Vaughan.

Take Smith’s favorite space, the living room, which features a blend of antique, vintage modern, and contemporary furniture, with accents ranging from a 12-panel Coromandel screen (once owned by Coco Chanel) to a Philip Guston painting borrowed from American art patron Agnes Gund.

Throughout the renovation, Smith worked with a State Department design team headed by Jenny Howery-Ford to integrate his own pieces with existing furniture, such as the dining room’s table, which seats up to 30, and vast 19th-century Persian carpet. He also included items sourced in Spain, among them rugs woven in Alicante and pottery from Toledo.

Perhaps what most gives the residence its distinctive feel is the art. The works installed here represent one of the most extensive Art in Embassies projects ever undertaken. Some pieces came directly from artists, such as Ed Ruscha’s Screaming in Spanish—which hangs in the entrance hall with Robert Rauschenberg’s Bilbao Scraps—and the Glenn Ligon neon work Double America, which glows in the dining room.

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Inside the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain | Architectural Digest

Carlo Corbellini