10 Things to Know About Michael Jackson’s Art Collection

Many people didn’t know that Michael Jackson had a $900 million art collection and that he was a visual artist. Over a year ago, his family requested that the lawyers running the estate try to stop his former art mentor from selling the $87.7 million art to an unnamed buyer. ARTINFO discusses all the factors you need to know about the dispute:

1. An unnamed international businessman has purchased the 182-piece collection for $87.7 million

2. Appraisers have actually valued that artwork at $902.5 million. The value is escalated by a combination of Michael’s death and his mystique.

3. Brett-Livingstone Strong, an Australian artist, was Jackson’s art mentor. Brett has worked on paintings in the Sydney Opera House, rock carvings in Lubbock, Texas, a life-sized bronze statue of John Lennon that Andy Warhol unveiled, the National Monument to the U.S. Constitution, and NASA’s National Space Exploration Monument in the Smithsonian Air and Space-Museum. Brett also painted a scene of Jackson in a lily pond surrounded by water nymphs in imitation of John Waterhouses’s “Hylas and the Water Nymphs.”

4. Brett is the seller of the collection. Jackson allegedly requested that the art be given to Brett as a token of appreciation. A letter accompanied the bequest.

5. The gift to Brett is in question. Specifically, the validity of the letter that Jackson’s business manager conveyed to Brett with the artwork.

6. The ultimate purchaser of the collection remains unknown, but two of the underbidders were Billionaire Guy Laliberte, founder of Cirque du Soleil and a World Poker Tour participant, and Howard Mann, a Toronto gambling entrepreneur.

7. Michael Jackson’s art was inspired by the American presidency and other historical figures.

8. Jackson also dabbled in architecture. His collection includes designs he made of chairs, gates, sculptures, and doors Michael designed for Neverland Ranch.

9. Jackson was really into self-portraits and created several of himself.

10. Michael Jackson created all of his work in his studio which was a secret airport hangar at the Santa Monica Airport.

See Ashton Cooper, The 10 Craziest Things About the $900 Million Michael Jackson Art Feud, Blouin ArtInfo, July 12, 2011.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.