McCartney Sued Over Art Millions

Fashion designer Stella McCartney is embroiled in a family court battle over the proceeds from her late grandfather’s £27.5m art collection. McCartney and six of her relations are being sued for a share of the money raised from the collection of Lee Eastman, who was a successful American lawyer. The seven were beneficiaries of the sale at Christies in New York last year of Eastman’s collection, which held works by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Picasso, Matisse, de Kooning, Rothko and Giacometti. Although details of the division of the proceeds are not known, an equal share for McCartney would have amounted to about £4m. The battle over the Eastman fortune has been launched by Paul, Peter and Philip Sprayregen, the sons of Lee’s second wife Monique from a previous marriage. They claim their mother built the collection jointly with Eastman and that, as her heirs, they are entitled to part of the money raised from it. For the full story - click the title Irish Art