One of the United States’ wealthiest couples, billionaires Annette de la Renta and Alfred Taubman, agreed in court last week to sell off $676 million worth of their art for the benefit of their divided assets.
The agreement, filed in a New York State court last week, allows for the sale of as many as 90 pieces, including paintings by Willem de Kooning, John Singer Sargent, Salvador Dali, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Motherwell.
According to court documents, the sale proceeds will be directed to a trust fund that will go toward community property, paying for Mrs. de la Renta’s massive collection of 500 works. The remaining funds will go toward more personal items, including $21 million worth of luxury cars and toys.
Though the sales aren’t final, a “trust and things you’re able to sell” list the de la Renta-Taubman collection to be auctioned off, including works by Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Jean-Michel Basquiat, “The Sun” by Henri Matisse, “Les Fanciutes” by Claude Monet, and “Madonna” by Francis Bacon.
Mrs. de la Renta made her fortune in the high-end fashion business, which includes the boutique fashion line The de la Renta label. She and her husband have been married for 60 years.
As reported by The New York Times, Ms. de la Renta’s art collection is worth as much as $684 million. The couple had originally sold the Alexander Calder mobile that hangs at their Upper East Side home.