The Nassau County Legislature voted to allocate $6 million toward a fund dedicated to the maintenance, care and operation of the historic Falaise Estate at the Sands Point Preserve.
The Falaise Estate, located within the Sands Point Preserve Conservancy, belonged to Harry F. Guggenheim, a distinguished businessman, philanthropist and diplomat. In 1923, after Guggenheim married Caroline Morton, his father presented him with 90 acres of waterfront property for which Guggenheim hired architects to design his home in the style of a 13th-century Norman manor house.
The fund’s resources to care for and maintain the estate are sourced from a settlement between the county and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.
Under the agreement, the county is returning certain artwork from the estate in exchange for receiving $6 million and a full settlement of any possible future claims by the Guggenheim Foundation since the transfer of Falaise to Nassau County.
“There were three pieces of artwork that the Guggenheim Foundation basically left to the county, from what I understand. And the county really did not have a proper way to display them,” Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton said. “The artwork was being stored, so rather than leave it there, a decision was made to sell it in an auction. This November, Sotheby’s will present the three art pieces at auction.
According to Sotheby’s website, the offered artwork will be “Franz Marc’s Das Lange Gelbe Pferd, a striking example of Marc’s most iconic subject, completed on the eve of World War I; Alberto Giacometti’s Buste (Tête tranchante) (Diego), a bust of Diego Giacometti acquired by Guggenheim soon after it was cast and lent to the artist’s first-ever museum exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in 1955; and Paul Gauguin’s La Femme noire, a key ceramic work showcasing the artist’s signature blend of earthy materials and bold, primal forms.”
It is anticipated $6 million will be coming to the county from the auction, DeRiggi-Whitton said.
“The county is so lucky to be entrusted with such beautiful property, buildings and facilities,” she said. “With budgets being what they are, it’s really important to have revenue like this to help subsidize that and preserve these places for future generations.”
