Dealer Pierre Levai Was Held ‘Captive’ by His Lover Before His Death, Lawsuit Claims

The long-running legal saga over Marlborough Gallery dealer Pierre Levai has deepened further with yet one more lawsuit, this one centered around the gallerist’s final months.

His son, Max Levai, has now alleged that Pierre was held “captive” by Marcia Levine, a beneficiary to his trust whom Max’s lawsuit describes as a “long-time paramour.” Per that lawsuit, which was filed on December 9 in New York’s Supreme Court, Pierre’s wife, Rosemary Levai, was “aware” of Levine’s relationship with him.

The suit, which was first reported this weekend by the New York Post, alleges that Levine “kept him sick, starved, and physically incapacitated so as to better misappropriate his assets and the assets of the trusts with which he was associated.” Levine is also accused of having obfuscated details about Levai’s health so as to keep family members out of the loop.

Max Levai is now suing to keep a trust set up by Pierre from disbursing funds to Levine. According to the lawsuit, there is more than $1 million in that trust, which is allegedly being represented by trustee Hanno Mott, an art lawyer who is named as a defendant alongside Levine.

A representative for Levine did not respond to requests for comment. Lawyers for Levai and Mott declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, Pierre Levai died on June 26 at 87, though news of his passing was not reported publicly until mid-August. For multiple decades, Levai led the New York branch of the London-based Marlborough Gallery. In New York, where Levai ran operations from 1963 onward, the gallery mounted important solo shows for artists such as Philip Guston, Marisol, and Alex Katz.

In April, Marlborough Gallery announced that it would start to wind down operations in June following nearly 80 years in business. In the years prior to that announcement, the gallery had been at the heart of several lawsuits, including two competing ones in 2020 centered around the leadership of Max Levai, the gallery’s president. Both cases have since been settled. This year, Max told ARTnews that he had not been involved with the gallery since 2020.

Also this year, prior to Levai’s death, members of his family sued Levine in Miami, claiming that she was trying to consolidate her power over the dealer’s estate, which was allegedly worth $50 million at the time.

The new lawsuit in New York revolves around whether Levine had “recklessly caused” Levai’s death prior to his hospitalization in Florida.

According to this suit, Levai was diagnosed with vascular dementia in Florida in January. Against the backdrop of a dispute over Levai’s New York apartment, his family allegedly made attempts to reach him, both by phone and in person, and were unable to do so. The suit alleges that Levine then changed Levai’s finances such that they were under her control.

In April, with his health in decline, Levai appears to have authorized documents that provided Levine with power over him and his estate. Max Levai alleges that he did not do so willingly. “It was only after Ms. Levine was able to put Pierre’s purported signature onto these papers that she belatedly brought Pierre to the hospital,” the lawsuit says.

Pierre Levai was admitted to the hospital that same month in critical condition. Medical records submitted as part of the lawsuit note that he had not eaten for three weeks.

His death certificate from June 26 notes that he suffered from respiratory failure and pneumonia. He had experienced septic shock prior to his passing, the certificate says.