Café des Artistes, French restaurant in Upper West Side, United States.
Café des Artistes was a French restaurant on the Upper West Side that featured six wood panels painted with nymph murals by Howard Chandler Christy, which remain preserved today. These murals formed the decorative centerpiece of the dining space and gave the restaurant its distinctive visual character.
The restaurant opened in 1917 to provide meals for residents of the adjacent Hotel des Artistes who had no kitchen facilities in their rooms. It remained a fixture in the neighborhood until it closed permanently in 2009.
The restaurant served as a gathering place for painters, writers, and performers like Marcel Duchamp, Norman Rockwell, and Isadora Duncan who made it part of their daily routines. It functioned as a social hub where the artistic community of Manhattan connected and exchanged ideas.
The original murals can be seen at 1 West 67th Street, where they were moved after the restaurant closed. It is worth checking ahead about current access to view these artworks in person.
The location appeared in several films and television shows including My Dinner with Andre, 9 1/2 Weeks, Friends, and Gossip Girl, making it a frequently recognized New York setting. Its appearances in entertainment media helped keep it culturally relevant even after closure.
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