DE YOUNG AGREES TO SELL WORKS FROM FRIEDE COLLECTION

By John Cote - San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco has agreed to sell 76 pieces of tribal art pledged to the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in a bid to resolve an inheritance dispute that threatens the city-owned museum's cornerstone collection of Oceanic art.

But as the city is trying to help settle part of that inheritance fight among Annenberg family heirs, it also is battling one of the family members in court over a promised $3.7 million donation - money that is supposed to help sustain and promote a collection considered to be one of the world's finest compilations of Papua New Guinea art.

That nation's ambassador to the United States has hailed the compilation of items as an "unparalleled and extensive collection of masterpieces," one that the de Young Museum specifically designed an 8,000-square-foot wing for when it rebuilt its Golden Gate Park home.

The 4,000 or more pieces were compiled by New York philanthropists John and Marcia Friede over four decades and promised to the de Young Museum for public showcase in a series of agreements dating back to 2003. But the art has since been at the center of legal battles in California, New York and Florida, involving the estate of John Friede's mother, Evelyn A.J. Hall. Hall, who died in 2005, was the sister of publishing tycoon Walter Annenberg.

The latest legal twist came Tuesday when City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed a court challenge that accuses John Friede's half brother of "malice and a desire to destroy the relationship between the Friedes and the museum" by opposing a $3.7 million payment to the de Young from Hall's estate. Herrera contends the half brother, Thomas Jaffe, has intentionally harmed the museum and public by trying to block the payment, which was promised by the Friede family for the upkeep, promotion and study of the collection.

The artwork, named the Jolika Collection after the first letters in the Friedes' three children's names, was to be transferred over a period of years. While more than 400 pieces are on display at the museum, the vast majority of it remains at the Friedes' home overlooking Long Island Sound in Rye, N.Y.

None of the 76 items to be sold is on display at the museum, and they are pieces that are either redundant or less significant than others in the collection, museum and city officials said.

"It's a bitter pill to swallow, but we're wiling to swallow it," Deputy City Attorney Don Margolis said. "The city's overarching goal is to make sure (the collection) is available to the public."

Debt to brothers

John Friede's two brothers contend they have the right to seize the collection and sell up to $20 million worth of its art after a Florida judge ruled that Friede had violated the terms of a legal settlement involving their mother's estate.

In that case, Friede agreed to pay his brothers $30 million and put the Jolika Collection up as collateral, despite having pledged it to the de Young in a deal finalized a week earlier. Friede values the entire collection at about $300 million.

He so far has paid his brothers more than $22 million of the $30 million, but legal fees and interest make the shortfall around $10 million, court documents show.

In order to preserve the art collection for the city, museum officials and Friede agreed in March to auction off 76 items like masks, headrests and mortars. They expect to raise about $3.5 million, according to court documents.

John Buchanan, director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, which includes the de Young, said the sale of those 76 items would have "minimum impact" on the overall collection.

Friede's half brother opposes the sale. In a letter to Margolis, Jaffe's attorney, Jonathan Bell, said the auction proposal contained unrealistic estimates, didn't include valuable enough items and didn't give Jaffe input into what should be sold. Jaffe is also a collector of Oceanic art, albeit a less prolific one, and John Friede has blamed the dispute in part on sibling rivalry.

"The basic interests of Tom - in having a few, high-quality, high-value pieces sold off to cover the shortfall - and of the museum - in keeping the 'good stuff' and seeing the less desirable pieces sold off - have always been in some conflict," Bell wrote.

Jaffe has also opposed the sale of a painting the brothers jointly own to cover the debt, even though "Le Dejeuner" by Pierre Bonnard has been valued at up to $10 million, court records show.

Family laundry

Even brother Robert Friede, who has regularly sided with Jaffe in the dispute, questioned Jaffe's opposition to those sales. In Florida court documents filed last week to compel the sale of the Bonnard painting, Robert Friede's attorney wrote that "Tom is, in essence, objecting to the very relief he previously sought and successfully obtained from this court."

Margolis called Jaffe's position "kind of perverse."

"Why are you frustrating efforts to get your debt paid?" Margolis said.

Bell refused to comment on specifics about the proposed sales, saying to do so could compromise settlement talks.

"Tom's interest is in getting all of the money he is owed paid to him on time," Bell said. "This is purely a business matter, purely a business matter. Any suggestions to the contrary are completely inaccurate."

Jaffe also opposes the disbursement of a separate $3.7 million payment from their mother's charitable foundation to the de Young to sustain and promote the collection, saying John Friede hasn't lived up to his obligations. The funds are being held by the trustee, JPMorgan.

The city maintains the payment of those funds is not tied to John Friede at this point, and is seeking court permission to sue over them.

"This just happens to be one of the most unique collections in the world," Herrera said. "We're lucky to have it, and we'll do everything we need to protect its integrity."

The players

John Friede: The eldest of three sons of Evelyn A.J. Hall. He and wife Marcia pledged the Jolika Collection to the de Young Museum over a period of years, then put it up as collateral on a $30 million payment to his brothers to settle an inheritance dispute.

Robert Friede: John Friede's brother. He initially sided with their half brother, Thomas Jaffe, in the inheritance dispute. Was owed $10 million by John Friede, now partially paid.

Thomas Jaffe: Half brother to John and Robert Friede. Was owed $20 million by John Friede in inheritance case, now partially paid. Has aggressively sought payment through legal action. A less renowned Oceanic art collector than John Friede.

Daniel Rootenberg

www.JacarandaTribal.com