High society art critic Anthony Haden-Guest is throwing the sketchbook — and a massive lawsuit — at jet-setting fashionista Libbie Mugrabi, accusing her of holding nearly 100 of his cartoons and scribbles hostage in her Southampton estate.
The legendary 89-year-old British-American art critic and cartoonist filed a Manhattan Supreme Court complaint, demanding the immediate return of 97 “original drawings and cartoons” he claims Mugrabi has been “wrongfully” displaying on her walls for 15 years.
Haden-Guest says the large collection consists of artwork worth at least $1,000 a pop, and Mugrabi “has refused to return them despite repeated demands.”
The two were longtime pals, with Haden-Guest frequently accompanying the litigious Mugrabi to court with her arm draped over him.
He says the drawings were originally framed and hung on Mugrabi’s walls fifteen years ago “solely for exhibition and sale purposes,” the Manhattan Supreme Court filing claims.
Instead of returning the goods, Mugrabi allegedly kept the art hanging.
In 2024, Haden-Guest was offered a pair of art shows for his doodles, and told his old friend he “urgently” needed them back.
He even offered Mugrabi the chance to buy whatever she wanted for a friend’s-only price of $750, but the drawings were never returned, the suit claims.
“There was no contemplation whatsoever that [Mugrabi] would own the Drawings,” the suit states.
But Haden-Guest also claims Mugrabi stiffed him on a 2023 oral agreement to help design her fashion and clothing brand.
Haden-Guest says he logged six months of creative labor drafting up looks, bags, hats, and even handkerchief concepts at $3,000 a month — stiffing him for $18,000.
The suit claims Mugrabi owes a total of $115,000.
Mugrabi, in a statement to The Post, called Haden-Guest’s allegations “bogus” and bizarrely claimed she wasn’t being sued by the art critic.
The Post has reached out to Haden-Guest’s lawyers for comment.
Read the full article here