Mugrabi divorce threatens to split 1,000+ Warhol works
David Mugrabi, heir to a Pop Art fortune, is divorcing wife Libbie with no prenuptial agreement. The couple's joint collection includes over 1,000 Andy Warhol works, plus pieces by Jeff Koons, Pablo Picasso, Damien Hirst, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, amassed over generations by the Mugrabi family. Patriarch Jose Mugrabi, a former fabric seller turned billionaire, owns an estimated 3,000+ Pop Art pieces. David's brother Alberto "Tico" is an art dealer. Separately, David is suing storage firm Mana Contemporary for allegedly reneging on a free-storage deal, with over $500,000 in disputed fees and part of the collection under sequestration. The divorce echoes other high-profile art-world splits, including Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova (Garage Museum co-founders) and Harry and Linda Macklow, whose collection includes Picasso, Pollock, Rothko, Warhol's Marilyn Monroe series, and Giacometti.
Key facts
- David Mugrabi and Libbie Mugrabi are divorcing with no prenuptial agreement.
- The collection at stake includes over 1,000 Andy Warhol works, plus pieces by Koons, Picasso, Hirst, and Basquiat.
- Patriarch Jose Mugrabi built the collection, estimated at over 3,000 Pop Art works.
- David Mugrabi is suing Mana Contemporary for over $500,000 in disputed storage fees.
- Part of the Mugrabi collection is under sequestration pending the storage lawsuit.
- Roman Abramovich and Dasha Zhukova divorced amicably, co-founding Garage Museum of Contemporary Art.
- Harry and Linda Macklow's divorce involves a collection with Picasso, Pollock, Rothko, Warhol, and Giacometti.
- No official statements have been released by David or Libbie Mugrabi.
Entities
Artists
- Andy Warhol
- Jeff Koons
- Pablo Picasso
- Damien Hirst
- Jean-Michel Basquiat
- Jackson Pollock
- Mark Rothko
- Alberto Giacometti
Institutions
- Sotheby's Australia
- Mana Contemporary
- Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
- Garage Gorky
- Artribune
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Australia
- Russia