Modernist Masterpieces For Sale

Start counting your pennies. The New York auction company, Sotheby's, is selling two masterpieces of modernism -- one of glass, and one of concrete.

1. The Farnsworth House
Friday, December 12 is the big day when Sotheby's auctions off the famed glass-walled Farnsworth house by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The house, which is located in Illinois, is expected to sell for $4.5 to $6 million.

Preservation groups worry that the new owner will alter the Farnsworth House or move it away from its river-side location. They have been scrambling to raise funds to buy the house and turn it into a museum. But so far, they're short on cash.

More About the Farnsworth House:
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Sotheby's

2. The Richard Mandel House
Nestled on 21 private acres an hour north of Manhattan, the gleaming white Richard Mandel House is a hallmark example of 1930s International Style architecture. The architect, Edward Durell Stone, later designed the Museum of Modem Art (1939) and 2 Columbus Circle, both in New York City. The interior designer, Donald Deskey, became famous for his art deco interiors at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Constructed of steel columns and fifteen-inch thick concrete walls, the Richard Mandel House is built to last, and there's little chance that the new owner will try to dismantle and relocate it. The house is valued at about $5.9 million.

More About the Richard Mandel House:
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