Mario also drew inspiration from his own impressive body of work. Kayel De Angelis of the venerated New York upholstery firm recounts the decorator hauling in his nearly seven-pound monograph to consult while choosing sofas and chairs for the apartment. “While paging through the book with him, I asked who his most difficult client was,” recounts De Angelis. “Without hesitation, he replied ‘Why, me, of course!’ ” This humorous deflection was classic Mario, who never told tales about clients. It was also an acknowledgment of his own demanding nature. Not compromising—whether on his vision or on level of execution—is one of the reasons he was a great.

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