Café des Artistes was a fine

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

at 1 West 67th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. New York City. It was owned by George Lang, who closed the restaurant in early August 2009 and announced later that month that the restaurant would remain closed permanently. His wife, Jenifer Lang, had been the managing director of the restaurant since 1990.

History

The restaurant first opened in 1917, at street level of the

Hotel des Artistes Hotel des Artistes is a historic residential building located at 1 West 67th Street, near Central Park West, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1917, the ornate 17-story, 119-unit Gothic architecture, Gothic-style ...

tower. Café des Artistes was designed for the residents of the Hotel des Artistes, since the apartments lacked kitchens. Artists such as

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

Isadora Duncan Angela Isadora Duncan (May 26, 1877, or May 27, 1878 – September 14, 1927) was an American-born dancer and choreographer, who was a pioneer of modern contemporary dance and performed to great acclaim throughout Europe and the United States. Bor ...

and

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguella (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor who starred in several well-known sile ...

were patrons.''New York Deco'', page 127, Richard Berenholtz, Carol Willis, Maren Elizabeth Gregerson (captions), Welcome Books, 2009, . Late in 1985, there was a fire in the kitchen, but the restaurant was able to reopen. In early September 2009, two years into the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.

, Lang announced that the café was closing; shortly thereafter, Lang filed for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

protection, claiming debts of nearly $500,000, some of which was owed to a union benefit trust. At the time, he also faced a lawsuit from the

Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union (HERE) was a United States labor union representing workers of the hospitality industry, formed in 1890. In 2004, HERE merged with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (UN ...

Welfare Fund. Hotel des Artistes sidewalk tables jeh

In 2011, a new restaurant, the Leopard at des Artistes, opened in the location. According to the ''New York Times'', it caters to those in New York society who derive "fame from power rather than the other way around".

The murals

The restaurant's famous murals, retained in the new restaurant's 2011 renovation, were painted by

Howard Chandler Christy Howard Chandler Christy (January 10, 1872 – March 3, 1952) was an American artist and illustrator. Famous for the "Christy Girl" – a colorful and illustrious successor to the "Gibson Girl" – Christy is also widely known for his ico ...

. Christy was a tenant of the building, Hotel des Artistes, until his death in 1952. There are six panels of wood nymphs, the first of which were completed in 1934. Other Christy works on display include paintings such as ''The Parrot Girl'', ''The Swing Girl'', ''

Ponce De Leon Ponce may refer to: *Ponce (surname) *Ponce (streamer) (born 1991), French streamer *Ponce, Puerto Rico, a city in Puerto Rico ** Ponce High School ** Ponce massacre, 1937 * USS ''Ponce'', several ships of the US Navy *Manuel Ponce, a Mexican comp ...

'', ''Fall'', ''Spring'', and ''

the Fountain of Youth The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Hero ...

''.

In popular culture

* 1981: It is the setting for the film ''

My Dinner with Andre ''My Dinner with Andre'' is a 1981 American drama film directed by Louis Malle, and written by and starring André Gregory and Wallace Shawn as fictionalized versions of themselves sharing a conversation at Café des Artistes in Manhattan. The ...

''. Actual filming took place in the then-unoccupied Jefferson Hotel in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. * 1986: It is the location of dinner between Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke in the film ''

9½ Weeks ''9½ Weeks'' is a 1986 American erotic drama film, directed by Adrian Lyne, and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke. Basinger stars as a New York art gallery employee who has a brief yet intense affair with a mysterious Wall Street bro ...

''. * 1988: In the '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' first-season episode " We'll Always Have Paris, Captain

Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the commanding officer of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Gene ...

visits a holographic recreation of a restaurant in 24th-century Paris that bore the same name. * 1993: It is the location of a poker lesson in the

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

film ''

Manhattan Murder Mystery ''Manhattan Murder Mystery'' is a 1993 American black comedy mystery film directed by Woody Allen, which he wrote with Marshall Brickman, and starring Allen, Alan Alda, Anjelica Huston, and Diane Keaton. The film centers on a married couple's i ...

''. * 1994: In the ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' second-season episode " The One With The Bullies", Monica states that she was a

sous chef A sous-chef is a chef who is second in command of a kitchen, ranking directly below the head chef in the Kitchen Brigade system developed by Auguste Escoffier. In large kitchens, sous-chefs are typically left in charge of managing members o ...

at the restaurant. * 1996: The film ''

The First Wives Club ''The First Wives Club'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. The film stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three divorcées who seek retributi ...

'' used the restaurant as the location where the three women have lunch after their friend's funeral. * 2007: In the ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'' first-season, Blair Waldorf states that she was supposed to have lunch here with her mother, like they used to when they were younger. * 2024: In the TV series '' Feud: Capote vs. The Swans'', Lee Radziwiłł suggests the restaurant and Lutece as a possible place for their next lunch together, as possible alternatives to their typical lunch spot

La Côte Basque La Côte Basque was a New York City restaurant. It opened in the late 1950s and operated until it closed on March 7, 2004. In business for 45 years, upon its closing ''The New York Times'' called it a "former high-society temple of French cuisin ...

References

External links

* – The Leopard
At Cafe des Artistes, the Host's Enthusiasm Is Contagious
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafe Des Artistes Defunct French restaurants in Manhattan Defunct restaurants in Manhattan 1917 establishments in New York City Companies that filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2009 Companies that have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Upper West Side Restaurants established in 1917 Restaurants disestablished in 2009 2009 disestablishments in New York City