When Lorna Simpson couldn’t find the right spot for her Brooklyn art studio, she did what many artists in New York City often can only dream of doing: She had one built from the ground up.
Ms. Simpson, renowned for her photographs and multimedia work, and her then-husband, the artist James Casebere, commissioned the British architect David Adjaye to design a building at 208 Vanderbilt Avenue in the Fort Greene neighborhood where a one-story garage previously stood. (It was one of Mr. Adjaye’s first projects in the United States.)
“I could not find something that I liked that felt spacious and that did not feel like a tight traditional townhouse domestic space with limited free-wall space,” Ms. Simpson said in an email.
The four-story, 22-foot-wide structure, which Mr. Adjaye called “Pitch Black,” is clad in polypropylene panels on the front and side facades, while the back portion is mostly glass. Ms. Simpson created many of her works there, but today the building, which was completed in 2006, is mainly used for archiving and storage, as well as entertaining and hosting guests. Several years ago, Ms. Simpson moved her primary studio to a larger, leased commercial space nearby.
Now she’s putting the Vanderbilt Avenue building on the market with an asking price of $6.5 million, according to the broker, Leslie Marshall of the Corcoran Group, who is listing it with her colleague Nick Hovsepian. Annual property taxes are $12,161.
The 3,293-square-foot, modern-style townhouse could be used solely as a residence, especially for avid art collectors, or as a live/work space for an artist, Ms. Marshall said. “The walls for art collections are incredible,” she said, noting that the ceiling heights range from eight to 23 feet, “and its exhibition potential is great.”
There are three bedrooms/offices and two and a half bathrooms, along with a massive great room and additional space on the third floor that could be converted into another bedroom. There is also an 828-square-foot rear garden.
“The outdoor space is tranquil day or night,” Ms. Simpson said, adding that the “natural light throughout the building is extraordinary. I could work until the daylight fades.”
Ms. Simpson, whose work has been shown internationally, started out as a street photographer and gained prominence in the 1980s and ’90s for her conceptual pieces in a variety of mediums, often exploring gender, race and culture. She was among the first Black women to exhibit at the Venice Biennale and currently has an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Some of her work, along with that of other artists, was also displayed in the Vanderbilt Avenue studio. One of her more famous pieces, “Wigs (Portfolio),” images of wigs lithographed on felt, was once mounted across a large wall on the skylighted third floor, which has a 23-foot ceiling.
The house has custom millwork throughout, as well as floors of dark-stained oak and stained birch plywood.
Enter on the first level through a foyer that leads to a dining area and a kitchen outfitted with concrete countertops and stainless steel appliances. Beyond that space is the great room, which has 17-foot ceilings, a wall of windows and floor-to-ceiling storage with a rolling ladder attached for easier access. There is also a full bathroom.
Off the great room is a concrete terrace with steps down to a Japanese-inspired, minimalist garden. An 18-foot concrete trough water feature is surrounded by flowering crape myrtle and Japanese pine trees.
A staircase climbs from the foyer to the second floor (the building has no elevator), where there is a bedroom with a wall of built-in bookshelves and a raised reading nook by a window, as well as a separate laundry area.
The third level has a large work space and bedroom area, and contains a separate staircase to the top floor. Both levels have skylights and plenty of built-ins and storage. There is a full bathroom on the top floor and a half-bath on the third.
Ms. Simpson has “great memories” of all the holiday parties, book launches, poetry readings and other events held in the house over the years. “Always well attended,” she added, “and lots of fun and joy.”
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