Built as a villa in the Latin Suburb in 1893 (some sources indicate a date of 1883) by a rich Greek merchant, Tamvaco, the Atelier was originally used as his residence.
Later, the ownership passed to a wood merchant named Karam, who replaced the precious stones of the floors with rare woods, and redecorated the villa, which was later renamed the Karam palace. In 1956 the building became the property of the National Egyptian Italian Bank and in 1969 was founded as the Atelier of the Artists and Writers of the City of Alexandria.