Ben Marcin: The Holdouts

Ben Marcin: The Holdouts by Sally Ann FieldFebruary 28, 2026

©Ben Marcin, Baltimore, MD, from The Holdouts published by GOST

I have been following Ben Marcin’s work for years–his terrific typologies of houses/buildings standing alone in the landscape – vestiges of history, time, and community. He has built a legacy of considering the architecture of how we live. I am happy to share that Marcin is releasing a book of several projects, published by GOST. He is raising funds to make it happen through a KICKSTARTER. Consider supporting this meaningful exploration of place and time.

Ben Marcin is a photographer based in Baltimore, MD. He was born in Germany and has lived in Baltimore since 1978. Many of Marcin’s photographic essays explore the idea of home and the passing of time. “Last House Standing” and “The Camps” have received wide press both nationally and abroad (The Washington Post, The Paris Review, Slate, Wired Magazine). His work has been shown at a number of national galleries and venues and is included in several important collections including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the New Britain Museum of Art and Le Musée de la Photographie in Charleroi, Belgium. He is currently represented by C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore. His book, “The Holdouts”, about marginalized homes in and around Baltimore, is being published by GOST Books in London and will be released in the United States in the summer of 2026.

The Holdouts

A holdout is a real estate term that describes a property owner who refuses to sell a building or lot to a developer, thus greatly hindering the completion of a larger, community-based project. Sometimes eminent domain is invoked to force an owner to vacate a property for the common good but, in other cases, the larger project is simply built around the house.

Strictly speaking, none of my houses or campsites would be considered real estate holdouts. No shopping center, highway overpass or gambling casino ever took their place. However, they do personify a more straightforward definition of what a holdout is, namely, the act of resisting something or refusing to accept what is offered.

©Ben Marcin, Baltimore, MD, from The Holdouts published by GOST

The Holdouts focuses on three very different sets of homes: solo row houses in the inner city that somehow survived the wrecking ball; abandoned houses on the Eastern Shore where the last generations of families either passed away or moved on after decades of farming the land; and homeless camps in Baltimore, none of which survived more than a year.

The former occupants of these homes came from vastly different walks of life: farmers who settled across the Eastern Shore, some likely tracing their lineage back to the American Revolution; African Americans who moved north during the Great Migration of the last century, establishing roots in cities like Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Camden, New Jersey; and present-day homeless men and women, many struggling with addiction, who avoid city-run shelters and instead stake out lives in the shadows, exposed to the elements.

©Ben Marcin, Baltimore, MD, from The Holdouts published by GOST

Many of the homes in this book were difficult to find, many no longer exist. All of the people who lived in these places played a role in making America what it is today and the remaining fragments of their homes raise mysterious questions about their ultimate fates. These photographs are not simply about abandoned buildings and encampments —they are about history, memory, and marginalization. They ask us to consider whose stories get preserved and whose disappear.