Mies house to be auctioned

The National Trust and the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois are trying to raise money to buy the historic Farnsworth House in Plano, Ill., fearing another prospective buyer might want to move the Mies van der Rohe-designed glass house, which goes on the auction block Dec. 12 in New York.

“It’s not hard to envision someone wanting to take this masterpiece from its countryside setting to a theme park or a private sculpture garden,” Richard Moe, president of the National Trust, and David Bahlman, president of the council, said in a joint statement. “It would be an architectural disaster of the first order if it were moved from its original location.”

The house is one of three residential buildings by Van der Rohe in the United States and is widely considered a 20th century landmark. Sotheby’s estimates that the house will bring between $4.5 million and $6 million.

Each of the two organizations will put forward $1 million and, if successful in their fundraising and bid, preserve the home on its original site and maintain public access.