Mario Buatta was born on Staten Island, New York on October 20, 1935. He briefly studied at Wagner College and at the Cooper Union in Manhattan. He began his interior design career working in the decorating departments of stores like B. Altman & Company, and for the interior designers Elisabeth Draper and Keith Irvine. Buatta opened his own business in 1963. His book, Mario Buatta: Fifty Years of American Interior Decoration written with Emily Evans Eerdmans, was published in 2013. He died from complications of pneumonia on October 15, 2018 at the age of 82.
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