Jury Gives Warhol Portrait of Fawcett to O'Neal

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After a three-week trial, a Los Angeles jury voted 9-3 to award an Andy Warhol portrait of the late actress Farrah Fawcett to her decades-long companion, actor Ryan O'Neal, rather than her alma mater, the University of Texas, the Associated Press reported.

After Fawcett, who gained stardom in tv's Charlie's Angels, died of anal cancer in 2009, her estate bequeathed her art collection to the Univ. of Texas. O'Neal, who became a star in the '60s tv version of Peyton Place and whose personal life has been a soap opera ever since, removed from Fawcett's condo one of two 1980 Warhol portraits of the actress with the permission of her estate's trustee that O'Neal claimed was gifted to him by the painter for setting up the portrait session with Fawcett.

The jury sided with O'Neal, despite evidence from the university, including a loan agreement signed by Fawcett to the Warhol Museum that listed her as the owner of both portraits. The contested painting's value was assessed during the trial as ranging from $800,000 to $12 million, according to the AP article.

Earlier this year, a California appellate court allowed O'Neal's defamation suit to proceed against producer Craig Nevius who allegedly accused O'Neal of filching the portrait (see "TUOL" post 2/15/13).