On the market: A five-bedroom house and artist’s studio in Bala Cynwyd for $1,150,000

Artist Stuart Yankell and his wife, MaryEllen Velahos, had long thought of moving from Bala Cynwyd to the New York area to be near their children and grandchildren.

But tempting turned to irresistible when the couple had the chance to buy the Stamford, Conn., home and studio built by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore, and once occupied by cartoonist Mort Walker, creator of Beetle Bailey.

Yankell and Velahos, an artist-turned-acupuncturist, will be leaving behind a five-bedroom, 3½-bath house built almost a century ago and an adjacent 19th-century studio of indeterminate pedigree, although Yankell says it was probably a barn serving what was then an agricultural community.

The couple, South Jersey natives, met at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts while both were getting dual degrees with the University of Pennsylvania.

They bought the house in 1991, drawn by the Lower Merion School District as a place to educate their two daughters, and fell in love with the neighborhood.

Over the years, “we didn’t leave an inch of the house untouched,” Yankell says. The rare — for the neighborhood — double lot “enabled us to sculpt the property with gardens. It has a stately elegance to it … there’s a kind of flow throughout the rooms.”

The covered front porch has wrapped stone walls, and the kitchen has granite countertops, a butcher block island with bar sink, and a dual-fuel range. There are numerous large bay windows throughout the home.

The primary suite has a sitting area, built-in cabinetry, shelving and closets, and a bath with honey onyx marble, glass-enclosed shower and heated floor.

The second-floor sun room was recently turned into a laundry room.

There is a saltwater pool with changing area. The studio has heating and central air and could easily serve as an in-law suite or home office.

There is an easy walk to the SEPTA Regional Rail station, library, playgrounds, and restaurants.

The 3,098-square-foot house is listed by Israela Haor-Friedman of BHHS Fox & Roach Haverford for $1,150,000.