Josef Birdman Astor studio 845 By Josef Birdman Astor

We’re they free or just subsidized?
Neither, and that’s a misconception that needs to be clarified. I’ve read some blogs written by those who believed the artists had a sweet deal, so were blinded by New York ‘real-estate envy’ and unable to see the real issue at hand. But there were three categories of tenancies – commercial, residential, and rent control. Most of the tenants paid market rate commercial rents, only a handful were rent controlled. One purpose of the studios was to support the concert hall; but Carnegie Hall in recent and more solvent times looked at the artists’ colony as a burden, and wanted the studio space for the operations of the Carnegie Hall Corporation. So the rents were increased beyond what an artist could afford.

What was going on in your career at the time?
Not much. I was just starting out as a photographer and had done some small photos for Vanity Fair, but was not financially stable, so taking on the studio was a gamble, but eventually turned into the jump-start that I needed.

What effect did having such a place have on your life and art?
I was living in a secret, hidden world, which soon became a real home to me, which was a blessing considering the nasty midtown neighborhood below. My friends from the East Village never migrated to midtown, so I had no alternative than to be reclusive and work in my new studio.