Heated Lawsuit Between Cy Twombly Foundation Directors Reaches Settlement

The legal battle between the four directors of the Cy Twombly Foundation has been settled in Delaware court. The suit was filed in March 2013 by the foundation’s president and vice president, Twombly’s companion Nicola Del Roscio, and curator and Twombly expert Julie Sylvester. The defendants were the foundation’s other directors, art-world lawyer Ralph E. Lerner and financial adviser Thomas H. Saliba.

The two men were accused of attempting to raise the appraisal value of the estate’s Twombly artwork, so as to receive higher commissions during sales. They also allegedly charged the foundation fraudulent fees of up to US $750,000 for their services. Twombly died in 2011.

The terms of the settlement are confidential, but both Lerner and Saliba are resigning from the foundation, leaving Del Roscio and Sylvester as controlling directors. Lerner has dropped a related counter-suit.