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Debts closing in on star photographer Leibovitz

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Annie Leibovitz's artsy, provocative portraits of celebrities regularly grace the covers of Vanity Fair and Vogue, images that have made her as famous as her subjects and earned her millions.

Now Leibovitz risks losing the copyright to the images — and her entire life's work — if she doesn't pay back a $24 million loan by Tuesday. Art Capital Group, a New York company that issues short-term loans against fine and decorative arts and real estate, sued her in late July for breach of contract.

"We have clear contractual rights and will protect them in any scenario," said ACG spokesman Montieth Illingworth on Friday. "Our preference is for this to be resolved."

Some experts say filing for bankruptcy reorganization could be the best option for Leibovitz, 59, who has put up as collateral her three historic Greenwich Village townhouses, an upstate property and work. She bought two of the townhouses in 2002, embarking on extensive renovations to combine them into one property. That spurred protests from historic preservationists and a $15 million lawsuit by a neighbor.

"Based on the magnitude of her obligations and the facts as they are publicly known, that would be the best option," said art lawyer Peter Stern.

Leibovitz's images of musicians, presidents and Hollywood glitterati are cultural touchstones. One of her most famous photos is of John Lennon curled up naked in a fetal position with Yoko Ono, taken just hours before he was assassinated in 1980.

So to many, her decision to gamble the rights to her work seems inexplicable. "Jaw-dropping," Stern said.

Her editorial agent, Contact Press Images, has declined to comment on the case.

Her spokesman, Matthew Hiltzik, has accused ACG of harassment.

"There has been tension and dispute since the beginning ... For now, her attention remains on her photography and on continuing to organize her finances," Hiltzik said.

A reorganization filing would suspend all litigation against Leibovitz and place her finances under the protection of a federal judge, said bankruptcy lawyer Paul Silverman, who works with Stern. Neither attorney is involved in the case.

Last year, Leibovitz put up her homes and the copyright to every picture she has ever taken — or will take — as collateral to secure the loan to pay off her mounting debt: unpaid bills, mortgage payments and tax liens, ACG said.

While no one has suggested publicly how Leibovitz got into such desperate financial straits, the mortgage debt on all her properties — including the townhouses in Greenwich Village and a sprawling estate in Rhinebeck, N.Y. — totaled about $15 million.

Leibovitz joined Vanity Fair in 1983 and has a salary there of about $2 million, according to New York magazine.