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Leibovitz's life work hangs in balance as deadline passes
Ed Harris09.09.09
The deadline for celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz to repay a $24million loan or risk losing her life's work passed today - without word from either side.
She could lose the lucrative copyright to her images, which include instantly recognisable portraits of figures from the Queen and Michelle Obama to David Beckham and Clint Eastwood, if she does not pay back the loan.
The deadline passed at midnight. The lender, Art Capital Group, sued the photographer in July, claiming she breached an agreement that authorised it to act as the agent in the sale of her photography and property.
Art Capital, which has been described as "a pawnbroker to the stars", is a Manhattan-based company that issues short-term loans against fine and decorative arts and real estate.
Spokesmen for Art Capital and Leibovitz, 59, said both sides were trying to resolve the situation, and neither side would comment as speculation mounted that Leibovitz's lavish lifestyle would catch up with her in dramatic fashion.
Last year the photographer put up her three Manhattan townhouses, a fourth property in north New York state, and the copyright to every picture she has ever taken - or will take - as collateral to secure the loan with Art Capital.
The properties, which Leibovitz has expensively restored, include the homes she once shared with her partner Susan Sontag, who died in 2004, and their children in Greenwich Village and at Rhinebeck in upstate New York.
A source said last month: "If she had it to do all over again, she wouldn't have done this. These are pretty scary guys, they are predatory lenders.
"This is gratuitous what they are doing now. But she is not running away from her responsibilities in any way."
Art Capital consolidated all Leibovitz's loans last September.
The lawsuit charged that Leibovitz had breached a December 2008 sales agreement with the company, granting Art Capital the right to sell the collateral before the loan came due.
The lawsuit claimed she refused to allow property experts into her homes to assess their value, and blocked the company from selling her photographs.
Art Capital has estimated the value of the Leibovitz portfolio at $40million, and estate agents say her New York properties are worth about $40million.
The company would get 10 per cent commission on the sale of Leibovitz's homes and 15 per cent on the sale of her portfolio.
Leibovitz would get the remainder after paying off the $24million loan, interest and other fees.
If she defaults, the company would get a net 12 per cent commission.
