The Farnsworth House is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) and operated as a house museum by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois (LPCI). The National Trust and LPCI — with financial support from hundreds of contributors including the Friends of the Farnsworth House — were able to purchase the house for $7.5 million at an auction in New York City on December 12, 2003. The National Trust-LPCI partnership was able to outbid other prospective buyers at the auction, thanks to an urgent fundraising campaign that was quickly mounted after news of the sale at auction was announced fall 2003.