Modern art trove seized from Portugese businessman Jose Berardo

Portugal has seized a trove of contemporary artwork, including paintings by Joan Miro and Piet Mondrian, from its debt-riddled owner, the government said on Tuesday. “There has been a court ruling to this effect,” a spokeswoman for the Culture Ministry said, confirming media reports. For months, three Portuguese banks had tried but failed to seize the art collection from Portuguese businessman Jose Berardo. The 75-year-old had offered the works as collateral for his debt which totalled nearly one billion euros ($1.1 billion). The lenders refused to comment on the case when contacted by AFP. The modern art collection of more than 900 works which includes, besides Miro and Mondrian, other famous artists such as Gerhard Richter and Francis Bacon, was valued in 2006 at 316 million euros. But the collection could have doubled in value since then given the growth in the art market. Bacon’s “Self-Portrait”, for example, sold for over 17 million euros when it was auctioned at Southeby’s last