Remembering James Mont, 'Singular Scoundrel-Aesthete'

Rare is the interior designer/decorator whose fiery temper leads to a prison term for assault, but James Mont (1904-1978) was anything but ordinary. Born in Istanbul as Demetrios Pecintoglu, Mont created dramatic, largely Asian-inspired furniture (dig those circa 1950 ebonized settees, pictured above) for a mix of celebrities (Irving Berlin, Lana Turner) and mob kingpins (“Lucky” Luciano, Frank Costello), and he’s the subject of an illuminating, if not online, article by Gregory Cerio in this month’s issue of The