SHE IS one of the richest women in the country, a multi- millionaire Canadian philanthropist who set about taking the London art world by storm when she arrived here a few years ago and now she is even richer.
Monogram vernis Bags ReplicaLouise MacBain has sold her 10-bedroom home in Holland Park for a huge profit. She bought the stucco-fronted house for 11.35 million six years ago and has now sold it after putting it on the market for 28 million. Agents Knight Frank would not disclose how much the house went for, but it is believed to have almost reached the asking price.
Ms MacBain is moving to a smaller apartment south of the river and as a result selling off her massive collection of shoes and handbags. Christie's, which is holding the sale next month, described it as "a collection of fashion accessories that go beyond the wildest dreams of any international fashionista."
Among the lots, expected to raise 1.5 million, are handbags and belts by Herms, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, shoes by Manolo Blahnik, and furniture and fittings including a 60,000 chandelier.
However, the true significance of the sale lies in what it says about Ms MacBain's plans to become a leading light in the capital's art scene and whether they have been thwarted. Named as the 33rd richest woman in Britain by the Sunday Times worth an estimated 187 million Ms MacBain, 48, arrived here a few years ago with dreams of establishing herself as a major arts patron.
After buying a clutch of art magazines and setting up the website Artinfo.com, two years ago she launched the Louise T Blouin Foundation and opened a 20 million arts centre near Holland Park.
A controversial figure, her detractors suggest she is a social climber who has tried to buy her way into the arts world. But she is not short of admirers, either, who say she has a long-held passion for the arts and is using her influence to do good. Since then there have been reports that the arts centre, the LTB Institute, has not created as big an impression as she might have wanted. The Christie's sale is of the contents of her former Holland Park home and her chalet in St Moritz.
t5 tube with ledAlthough Ms McBain is not leaving London, she is downsizing here significantly. She has bought a six-bedroom penthouse in Lord Foster's Battersea development Albion Riverside for an estimated 6 million, as well as a 19 million duplex apartment in New York.
Ms MacBain's spokeswoman said: "Mrs MacBain is moving to a penthouse in Battersea with spectacular views of the Thames. This reflects her love of a minimalist style. In the process of this change she has put some items up at auction."
he spokeswoman denied the move meant Ms McBain would be spending less time in London. "Absolutely not. London is her home. She has always had homes in London and New York, but London is where she has her foundation. There's not a change taking place."
Inside Louis MacBain's home
German ormolu and glass lustre 36-light chandelier, circa 1830 (40,000- 60,000)
Pair of rococo north Italian silvergilt mirrors (one pictured) c. 1735 (40,000-60,000).
Set of 12 neoclassical Russian brass-mounted, stained mahogany dining chairs, late 19th or early 20th century (15,000- 25,000)
Chinese export famille rose part dinner service, Qianlong 1736- 95, (30,000- 50,000)
Large collecti
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