COVINGTON, Ky. — The childhood home of a world-renowned artist was on the brink of collapse until the city of Covington used a new state law to take control.

What You Need To Know

  • In 2025, the Duveneck House, which is on the National Historic Registry, is back on track to being stabilized and preserved

  • This is after years of code enforcement violations that weren’t addressed and a lot of back and forth between the city of Covington and the owner of the home

  • Covington filed a conservatorship lawsuit with the state

  • One of the most celebrated American artists of the late 19th century and early 20th century, Frank Duveneck painted in the style of realism, and his work can be seen at museums around the world

Spectrum News 1 looked at the Frank Duveneck house last March. It wasn’t in great shape and even had someone squatting underneath it.

In 2025, the house, which is on the National Historic Registry, doesn’t look much different. But it’s back on track to being stabilized and preserved.

This is after years of code enforcement violations that weren’t addressed and a lot of back and forth between the city of Covington and the owner of the home, as Neighborhood Services Director Brandon Holmes explained.

“Unfortunately, we could not come to terms to work a partnership together,” Holmes said.

Covington ended up filing a conservatorship lawsuit with the state. It’s the first time the relatively new statute has been used in Kentucky, according to the city.

“It allows a third party to come in and be able to preserve, take care of the building, manage the building,” Holmes said. “Right now, the city’s primary objective is focusing on making sure the building doesn’t fall down.”

Frank Duveneck is one of the most prominent figures from Covington. One of the most celebrated American artists of the late 19th century and early 20th century, he painted in the style of realism, and his work can be seen at museums around the world, including in Cincinnati.

“He grew up there, and then the house was added on to, and he had a family, and added on to it,” Holmes said. “This is something that we do need to preserve. It’s one of those assets that, once it’s gone, it’s gone. There’s too many buildings in Covington over the past 20 or 30 years that have disappeared.”

Saving the house is not only a matter of preserving culture but also of public safety. Under the conservatorship, city engineers could walk around inside.

“The engineer was not very comfortable, and wanted to get out relatively quickly just because of the state of structure,” Holmes said. “The Duveneck home was right at the end of the amount of wear and tear it could take before we were gonna see catastrophic failure. We got there just in the nick of time.”

The city will spend about $175,000 in grant funds to stabilize the building. After that, Holmes said he’d love to see it redeveloped down the line so future generations can appreciate where a local icon got his start.

The city says stabilization efforts should begin the first week of March. The project has been delayed by winter weather.

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