Corruption

Imelda Marcos Owned Monets, and Now They're Trapped in Brooklyn

Hear the name Imelda Marcos and everyone, of course, thinks shoes. But, it turns out, the former Philippines first lady had a thing for fine art too and amassed a collection of paintings worth millions of dollars.

There were Monets and a Sisley, and for years they hung in an Upper East Side townhouse owned by the Philippines and a Fifth Avenue apartment across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Today, they sit in a high-security, climate-controlled warehouse in Brooklyn’s Red Hook section, the focus of a contentious legal battle raging across multiple New York courts to determine ownership of the artwork.