Art of the Astor Matter

Now that the media has been able to see the papers in the battle over Brooke Astor's care, it turns out that Supreme Court Justice John Stackhouse has made some decisions about the ailing philanthropist's care. When Astor's grandson, Philip Marshall, accused his father, Anthony Marshall, of mishandling Astor's estate - with Anthony spending money on his own dealings, not his 104 year old mother - temporary guardiandship of Astor went to her friend Annette de la Renta and JP Mordan Chase. And Justice Stackhouse told JP Morgan Chase to get rid of the couch that smells like dog urine and to buy Astor "new nightgowns, new outfits, new underwear and new accessories" as well any medicine she might need. And the judge suspended Anthony Marshall's $2.3 million salary, with noting the bank could pay Astor's staff and themselves.

And the NY Times focuses on a possibly questionable sale of a beloved painting. Anthony Marshall sold Astor's favorite painting, "Flags, Fifth Avenue," by Childe Hassam for $10 million and took $2 million as a personal commission. There are some who question why Astor would sell the painting when she wouldn't need the money and that she may have been interested in bequeathing the painting to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Painting by Childe Hassam, "Fourth of July, 1916," from a Metropolitan Museum exhibit on Hassam