The former New York studio and apartment where Jean-Michel Basquiat lived and worked from 1983 to 1988 is up for rent. Leased from his friend Andy Warhol, Basquiat lived at 57 Great Jones Street in the Bowery until his death.
Basquiat used the second floor as a studio and is described as an “open loft space with high ceilings and multiple skylights.” The building, which was built in the 1860s, is believed to have been used by the gangster Paul Kelly as his headquarters in the early 1900s.
The listing boasts a “fully equipped restaurant space with venting & gas in place” and a ground floor dining room. However, all uses for the premises will be considered.
The architectural conservation society Village Preservation, in partnership with Two Boots Pizza, installed a plaque commemorating the property’s former inhabitant in 2016. It reads: “Basquiat’s paintings and other work challenged established notions of high and low art, race and class, while forging a visionary language that defied characterization.”
Although Basquiat started out as one half of the graffiti art duo SAMO, some locals are unhappy to see that the building is currently adorned with contemporary street art. “It would be nice if building owners made any effort to remove graffiti before leasing spaces,” reads one comment on EV Grieve, a news and lifestyle blog about the East Village. “And the cops actually made any effort to prevent it in the first place.”
The 6,600 sq. ft. space is available to anyone willing to pay $51,000, plus $9,000 in taxes each month, according to The Daily Beast.
