This month in real estate history

1922: Artists ask DA to probe studio rentals

Artist George Bellows
Artist George Bellows

From the September issue: An influential group of American artists asked the New York District Attorney to investigate landlords who were renting artists’ studios to “pseudo artists and loose living people,” 92 years ago this month.

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The League of American Artists, which included important painters such as George Bellows and Robert Henri, cited a survey that found that 70 percent of the studios in Manhattan were occupied by people of “questionable character,” with the problem particularly acute in Greenwich Village and Columbus Circle. [more]