Marcel Breuer
Rufus Stillman Cottage

The Rufus Stillman Cottage by Marcel Breuer is an exceptional design and living experience. It is a rare opportunity to own a historically significant home that espouses the simple and streamlined ideals of one of the 20th century’s most influential architects.



Architect Marcel Breuer
Date 1973–1974
Location Litchfield, Connecticut
Lot Size 10 acres
Square Feet 2,426 (including garage)
Provenance
Rufus and Leslie Stillman, 1973–1974
Toby Moffett, 1976
Private Collection, c. 1998
Acquired by the present owners in 2004
Select Awards
Connecticut Preservation Award, 2018
Space The home was built by longtime Breuer client and friend Rufus Stillman and is identical to Breuer’s first Wellfleet cottage design, Breuer Cottage (1944). Set upon stilts and nestled privately in the rolling Litchfield hillside where it offers elevated views of the Naugatuck valley, the cottage is a study in economy and landscape. The main structure is comprised of two bedrooms, one bath, a combined kitchen and dining space, and a cantilevered screened-in porch. Connected by a breezeway is an MBA-designed pavilion addition (posthumously built—and as found on two of the four Wellfleet cottages Breuer designed) with foyer, great room, master bedroom with bathroom and walk-in closet, and two abutting screen porches running its full length. There is a detached garage and carport that has been added and is in keeping with the cottage design. Designated trails through a bestowed 70 acre land trust connect the Stillman Cottage to two other Breuer-designed Litchfield homes (Stillman 2 and Stillman 3) which were all once the property of the Stillman family.
Estimate $2,000,000–2,500,000

For more information about the property, to schedule a viewing, please contact:
Emilie Sims | 312 235 4181
esims@wright20.com
The Significance of the Rufus Stillman Cottage
The Rufus Stillman Cottage was designed by Marcel Breuer and built by Rufus Stillman in 1973–1974. The Stillman Cottage is an important contribution to modern architecture, as gesture between client and architect. Additionally, it holds a unique place in the cross currents of Connecticut mid-century artistic and political movements.
While Breuer’s other cottages were all located in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, the Stillman Cottage was built in Litchfield, Connecticut by Rufus Stillman on the hill behind Stillman Houses 2 (1965–1966) and 3 (1973–1974), where the three structures shared a hundred-acre parcel owned by the Stillman family. It was constructed with the identical floor plan and square footage as the original Breuer Cottage (1944) and like its peers, serves as a study in economy and landscape.

Complete List of Breuer / Stillman Projects
1950 Stillman House I
Litchfield, Connecticut
1951 Caesar Cottage
Lakeville, Connecticut
1953 Edgar Stillman Cottage
Wellfleet, Massachusettes
1953 Torin Industries
Oakville, Canada
1955 Litchfield High School
Litchfield, Connecticut
1955 Northfield Elementary School
Litchfield, Connecticut
1955 Bantam Elementary School
Bantam, Connecticut
1955 Connecticut Junior Republic School
Litchfield, Connecticut
1956 Torin Industries Building
Van Nuys, California
1963 Torin Industries Machine Division
Torrington, Connecticut
1964 Torin Industries Building
Nivelles, Belgium
1966 Stillman House II
Litchfield, Connecticut
1966 Torin Industries Administration Center
Torrington, Connecticut
1966 Torin Industries Building
Swindon, England
1968 Torin Industries Building
Rochester, Indiana
1971 Torin Industries Technical Center
Torrington, Connecticut
1973–1974 Torin Industries Assembly Plant
Torrington, Connecticut
1973–1974 Stillman House III
Litchfield, Connecticut
1974 Rufus Stillman Cottage
Litchfield, Connecticut
1976 Torin Industries Plant
Penrith, Australia
1978 Litchfield County Courthouse
Litchfield, Connecticut








One Client’s Point of View
By Rufus Stillman
Essay from Marcel Breuer Sun and Shadow:
The Philosophy of an Architect
published in 1955



Modern architecture is not a style,
it’s an attitude.Marcel Breuer
Contact Information
For more information about the property, or to schedule a viewing, please contact:
Emilie Sims | 312 235 4181
esims@wright20.com