Artful Architecture

What: Seven bedrooms, six full baths in 12,000 square feet on 245 acres

Where: Hume, Va.

Amenities: Domed foyer, wrought-iron staircase, gilded plasterwork, marble floors, baths and fireplace, silk-covered living-room walls, mahogany-paneled library, conservatory, exercise room, detached artist's studio with office and bath, barn, paddocks and riding arena.

Asking Price: $5.9 million

Opening Bid*: $5.6 million

Agent: John Coles, Thomas and Talbot, Middleburg, Va., (540) 687-6500

Due Diligence: In the late 1980s, sculptor Frederick Hart designed this Greek Revival-style home and spent three years supervising the four carpenters who built it. An advocate of realism who worked in stone, bronze, marble and acrylic, Mr. Hart is best-known for public works in nearby Washington, like the Three Soldiers statue for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In 1990, he and his family finally moved in. The home became a meeting place for the local art community; in 1998, artists William Woodward and Becky Parrish painted a mural in the foyer of Apollo chasing Diana. Working in his studio on the estate, Mr. Hart produced statues of former President Carter and the late Sen. Richard Russell and many other projects. In 1999, Mr. Hart died at age 55 after a series of illnesses. His widow, Lindy Hart, says she's selling to move to Washington because the couple's two sons are now grown, and keeping up a big estate is too much work. Local agents say the listing is well-priced; similar estates in the area are for sale for as much as $17.5 million.

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*The opening bid is Weekend Journal's estimate of a reasonable starting point for negotiations to buy the property, based on past sales, prevailing market conditions and interviews with local real-estate experts.

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