Hendel bought the painting for $350,000 cash and $150,000 in artwork from Miami Art Fund LLC after it failed to sell at a Sotheby’s auction of Impressionist and modern art in May 2013, according to court filings. It was offered under the title “Tete (Portrait de Marie-Therese),” with an estimated value of $700,000 to $900,000, according to a catalog for the auction.
‘Tete’ in Sotheby’s Auction
Tisch said she only discovered earlier this month that the piece had been offered for sale at Sotheby’s. The work was titled “La Penseuse” when her husband bought it for $11,000 in 1965, according to court filings. While the auction listing described the painting as having passed from Laurence Tisch to a private collection, Wilma Tisch said that neither she, nor anyone authorized by her, sold the work and that it remains on her insurance policy.
Day & Meyer didn’t immediately respond to phone and e-mail requests, made after regular business hours, for comment on the lawsuit. Dan Abernethy, a spokesman for Sotheby’s, declined to immediately comment.
Tisch is listed No. 1367 on Forbes’ list of billionaires worldwide with a net worth of $1.41 billion.
The case is Tisch v. Hendel, 153319/2016, New York State Supreme Court, New York County (Manhattan.)