Angelina Jolie visited New York a lot in the last few months. She has been living in Los Angeles since 2016, when she filed for divorce. She bought a house that is close to Brad Pitt’s Los Feliz compound. Pitt sold it recently. I wondered why she made so many trips, and hoped that maybe it was to spend time with Jonny Lemke. She brings her children to NYC often, and late in June she was there with Zahara Pax and Shiloh. Is she moving to a new home? Does she want residential property? Art News reported that Angelina had been looking for a commercial space to house her new fashion group, Atelier Jolie. She decided to rent the famous address that was Jean-Michel Basquiat’s former work space.

Angelina Jolie, actress and humanitarian, will take over the Manhattan property where Andy Warhol lived and worked. John Roesch, Garrett Kelly and Meridian Capital Group, two directors of the agency, confirmed the deal today for the property located at 57 Great Jones Street. Jolie will lease the space under long-term commercial usage for eight years for her latest venture, Atelier Jolie.

The interior features 6,600 sq. ft. of space spread over three floors. The building's exterior is decorated with street art. Jolie plans to keep it this way as a tribute to Basquiat who began his career as half of the SAMO graffiti art duo.

Roesch said that "[Jolie] wished to preserve the older artwork on the building and maintain the Basquiat feeling to the space."

Kelly said, "She loved that the building's facade was adorned with street art in a tribute to Basquiat."

Warhol rented Basquiat's second-floor apartment shortly after their first meeting. Warhol bought the building originally in 1970.

The property had a long history before Warhol bought it. The building was originally constructed in the 1860s. It was bought by Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli, aka Paul Kelly, who opened the Brighton Athletic Club in 1904. The building was used for a kitchen supply business, a metalworks company and subsequently as a metalworks business until 1970. The property most recently housed the exclusive Japanese restaurant Bohemian.

Atelier Jolie is a workshop that will provide an opportunity for tailors and artisans from around the globe who are underrepresented. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase and work on their designs at 57 Great Jones Street. Roesch said that Jolie intends to open her business "as soon as possible". The property had previously been listed with Meridian Capital Group at $60,000 per monthly for a minimum period of 10 years.

From Art News

That's expensive. I understand why it is so expensive. I can see the reasons, not only for the space, but also because of the pedigree. So I was curious about what Atelier Jolie actually entailed, what type of business it would have and how it would operate. We are getting a closer look at that. Refugee creators will create capsule collections, and they will likely collaborate with established design houses as well. The first collaboration is with Chloe. Will Atelier Jolie designers come to this Basquiat property and work there, or is this more of a showcase space? Will they be at New York Fashion Week this year? The time will tell. But it's still interesting. Do you think Angelina will actually buy or rent residential property in New York to manage this project nearby?

Backgrid is the source of these photos.