The New York Times tells a sad story about one of the great collector/dealers in Chinese classical works, C.C. Wang, who sowed suspicion and rivalry among his children who now maneuver endlessly to gain control of the remaining treasures from his estate:

C. C. Wang died in 2003 at 96, still owning about 240 works yet to be sold or donated, the remainder of what experts had called the greatest collection of Chinese masters outside China.

Since then, his son and one of his younger daughters have been locked in a $50 million will battle that reads like a movie script, with claims of stolen masterpieces, smuggled art, a furtive meeting in Shanghai and old grievances stemming from the decision to leave the son behind six decades ago.

At the crux of the fight in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court is the significant difference in the lives of the two warring siblings. The sister, Yien Koo Wang King, now 73, lived a comfortable life in New York. The brother, Shou-Kung Wang, 80, lived much of his life in China. His adversaries claim he has long believed he should be compensated for those lost years.

Art Collector’s Kin Battle Over Will (New York Times)