Firm Sells 11 Paintings for $124 Million

Within days of announcing plans to sell some assets of its newly merged company, MGM Grand Inc. on Monday reported the sale of 11 paintings once owned by Mirage Resorts Inc. for $124 million.

Three of the 11 paintings were purchased by former Mirage Chairman Steve Wynn, who had assembled the $400-million art collection.

MGM Grand spokesman Alan Feldman would not disclose which three paintings Wynn acquired nor the purchase prices. Feldman said MGM would not identify any of the paintings that were sold nor would he identify any other buyers.

The company completed its $6.4-billion purchase of Mirage last week, and company executives said at the time that they planned to sell nonrevenue-producing assets such as paintings, planes and land to reduce the company’s debt by $250 million.

MGM Chairman J. Terrence Lanni has said the speed with which the assets are sold will determine how quickly the company proceeds with new resorts planned for the Las Vegas Strip and Atlantic City.

Wynn had acquired about 45 pieces of fine art by such masters as Picasso and Renoir, spending about $400 million for a collection that was showcased in a gallery at the company’s $1.6-billion Bellagio resort when it opened in October 1998. Wynn kept about half of the collection when the MGM-Mirage deal was completed.

Wynn promised to display some of the artwork when he purchases the Desert Inn hotel-casino. That $270-million purchase is expected to close later this month.

MGM Grand has temporarily closed the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and will reopen it “after we have developed an exhibition schedule in cooperation with major museums and art institutions.”