“Ben Yeshurun, 31, who has redeveloped Chicago residential properties for about six years, faced that question after he agreed in October 2025 to purchase the Lincoln Park home and studio of painter Roger Brown.

“Brown gained national fame in the 1960s and ‘70s as one of the Chicago Imagists. A year before his death in 1997, the celebrated artist gave the 1880s residence at 1926 N. Halsted and its contents to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which maintained it as a study center until closing it in 2020.

“Then, last year, the school stunned the local art world by putting the home on the market as a possible teardown. Historic preservationists and Brown enthusiasts rallied to have it listed as a local landmark.

“They prevailed. Just days after Yeshurun signed the contract for his $1.196 million purchase, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted unanimously for the property to receive preliminary landmark status. Final City Council approval came in May.

“The developer does not plan to live in the house or return it to the previous use as a study center. Instead, he intends to gut the interior and rearrange it with six bedrooms (four upstairs and two in the basement) and an open floor plan on the first floor. Then he will sell it and play up the connection to Brown and Chicago art history when he puts it on the market.

“‘I really liked the fact that this was a really big house already, and I didn’t see a reason to tear it down,’ he said. ‘I like those projects where you can keep the history of it.’

“The elements a Chicago landmark designation protects are unique to each property, and, in the case of the Brown home, such protection is limited to the exterior. Included is the original iron-frame storefront façade and a “ghost sign” on the north side of the house – a fading painted advertisement for the Daily News, a newspaper that ceased operations in 1978.

“According to Matt Crawford, a coordinating planner at the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, just three other locally landmarked properties have a connection to visual artists: one at 1810 W. Cortland formerly owned by Richard Nickel and two others that housed artist studios – the Erie Street Row, 161 E. Erie, and Tree Studios, 603-621 N. State. (More are connected to writers or other kinds of cultural figures.)

“As for preserving Brown’s connection to the property, Yeshurun wants to hold a kind of celebratory open house during which he will pay tribute to the artist with a display of historical photos of the structure. He’s even considering exploring a collaboration with Gray, the art gallery that handles Brown’s estate.

“Yeshurun also hopes during the event to display Brown’s 1967 Mustang, discovered in the garage when the new owner was inspecting the property. He bought the car for $6,500 and is having it brought back to a drivable condition.” (MacMillan, WBEZ Chicago, 6/4/26)

Preservation Chicago worked closely with Preservation Partners to mount a Rapid Response advocacy campaign to landmark the Roger Brown Home and Studio. We’re thrilled that the building will be protected, but we are highly disappointed by the decision of the School of the Art Institute to sell off all the contents of the collection. Liquidation was not the intent when the School of the Art Institute was entrusted with this important collection.

Read the full story at WBEZ Chicago

• What will become of artist Roger Brown’s house? Ask the developer who bought it; Brown gained national fame in the 1960s and ‘70s as one of the Chicago Imagists. His home and studio sold for $1.196 million last year, Kyle MacMillan, WBEZ Chicago, 6/4/26
• Lincoln Park’s Roger Brown Home, 2 Historic DePaul Buildings Get Landmark Protection, The landmark designations protect the late artist’s Halsted Street home and studio as well as DePaul’s Byrne Hall and Cortelyou Commons, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 5/20/26
• Final landmark recommendation approved for Roger Brown Home and Studio; The 1888 home and studio building stands at 1926 N. Halsted, The 1888 home and studio building stands at 1926 N. Halsted, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 4/25/26
• Art Institute sells former home of artist Roger Brown to rehabbers, Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 4/8/26
• Artist Roger Brown’s Lincoln Park Home Nears Landmark Status; The 19th-century Halsted Street building was the Imagist painter’s residence and studio. It now awaits approval by the city’s zoning committee and the full City Council., deserves protection as the sale of the property continues, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 4/3/26
• Artist Roger Brown’s Lincoln Park Home And Studio Moves Closer To Landmark Status; Preservationists say the 19th-century Halsted Street building, once home to the famed imagist painter, deserves protection as the sale of the property continues, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 11/26/25
• Preservationists rush to head off potential demolition of Roger Brown home, Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/19/25
• Roger Brown Home and Studio secures preliminary landmark; The 1888 home and studio building stands at 1926 N. Halsted, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 11/24/25
• ‘Incredibly important’ Imagist Roger Brown gave his collection to Chicago. How’d it end up in Wisconsin? As a new exhibition opens in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, some in the art world ponder whether the School of the Art Institute let slip a key piece of the city’s cultural history, Kyle MacMillan, WBEZ Chicago, 10/16/25
• Artist Roger Brown’s longtime home and studio for sale by School of the Art Institute, Dennis Rodkin, Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/12/25
• Landmark the Roger Brown Home and Studio — or lose it forever, Elizabeth Blasius and Susannah Ribstein Op-Ed, Chicago Tribune, 9/19/25
• The Future of Roger Brown’s Home & Studio, Rachel Freundt, Architecture and History of Chicagoland, 9/22/25
• Can Preservationists Save Artist Roger Brown’s Former Lincoln Park Home From Demolition? The famed artist’s Halsted Street residence and studio is under contract. Advocates want the city to landmark it before its history is lost, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 9/23/25
• Open Letter to Preserve, Don’t Demolish, The Roger Brown Home and Studio
• Roger Brown Study Collection, Time Tells, Vince Michael Blog
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago to Sell its Roger Brown Study Collection to Kohler Foundation, School of the Art Institute
• Roger Brown House, 1926 N Halsted St, Chicago Listing