Annie Leibovitz, the photographer who has become almost as much discussed a celebrity as the Hollywood stars and world leaders she depicts, has managed to avoid financial and personal meltdown by renegotiating a $24-million loan with a Manhattan firm.
Leibovitz had stood to lose her Greenwich Village home, property in upstate New York, and the copyright to her entire work — past and future — when the deadline to repay the loan passed on Tuesday. It has now been announced that she has managed to reach agreement with Art Capital Group, the lending company that bailed her out last year.
The precise terms of the deal are not known, but the details available suggest she is being allowed to keep her homes, and the lawsuit against her that Art Capital filed in July claiming she had broken the terms of the loan has been dropped.
Crucially, she has been allowed to buy back from Art Capital the rights to her work. How much Leibovitz paid to secure those rights, and what penalties she could face if she defaults again on the loan repayments, is not known.
Art Capital indicated that its desire to recoup the money had forced it to back off from the most draconian action. ”It was important to us to be flexible and to work out an agreement with Ms Leibovitz that helps her achieve financial stability,” the firm said. – guardian.co.uk