Biography of Barbara Piasecka Johnson
The desire to donate her wealth and herself to others is the driving force behind Mrs. Barbara Piasecka Johnson’s ostensibly disparate hobbies. True altruism extends oneself to those in greater need, effective business operations encompass and benefit many, just as an artist embraces viewers with his or her creation.
The late Mr. J. Seward Johnson, Sr., one of the founders of Johnson & Johnson, and Mrs. Johnson, an art historian, amassed an outstanding art collection that is well-known worldwide. This collection includes, among other things, Old Master and 19th-century paintings, as well as 18th-century French furniture.
Only individual parts were shown to the public during its creation. To commemorate Poland’s recovering its independence from communism, a large piece of the Collection was presented there for the first time under the moniker Opus Sacrum. Poland is Mrs. Johnson’s native country.
Barbara Piasecka Johnson’s Net Worth $4 Billion
Piasecka Johnson, Barbara Barbara Piasecka Johnson, an American heiress of Polish descent who was also an expert on art and a collector, had a $4 billion net worth. She was born Barbara “Basia” Piasecka on April 25, 1937, in Poland. After earning her MA in art history from Wroclaw University, she fled Poland with just $100. Esther Underwood Johnson, who was then married to J. Seward Jonson, the heir to Johnson & Johnson, initially employed Barbara as a cook. However, she performed poorly in that position and eventually moved up to become the family’s chambermaid.
Later, they started dating, and by 1971, Johnson had filed for divorce from his wife in order to wed Piasecka. After 12 years of marriage, Johnson passed away, designating Piasecka as the main beneficiary of his estate. He left her a sizable wealth, which included 18 million shares of Johnson & Johnson.
The six Johnson children who were left out of their father’s will sued on the grounds that their father wasn’t mentally competent at the time he signed the will. The children were given around 12% of the fortune after a settlement was struck after the matter went to trial, leaving Piasecka in charge of the remainder of the assets.
Barbara Piasecka Johnson’s Career
Esther Underwood Johnson, the then-wife of John Seward Johnson I, employed Piasecka as a cook. Later, she was employed as the Johnsons’ chambermaid.
When she noticed his appreciation for one of the paintings he had purchased, she casually remarked that he had overpaid for it because the painting actually depicted his apprentice rather than the master, and she provided dates to support her claim.
Johnson hired her as a consultant for his art acquisitions after being astounded by her knowledge and experience. After serving as Johnson’s chambermaid for a year, she was appointed curator of the Seward Johnson art collection.
Personal life of Barbara Piasecka Johnson
John Seward Johnson had adulterous relationships with Piasecka Johnson throughout this time. He married Esther “Essie” Underwood Johnson in 1971 after divorcing his second wife (who had employed Piasecka), but none of Johnson’s children were invited. Piasecka Johnson allegedly “frequently physically and emotionally abused her husband,” according to trial witnesses that J. S. Johnson’s children called in court during the will contest procedures. For 12 years of marriage, Piasecka Johnson claimed to have been a loving wife.
She was the main beneficiary of his will and acquired the majority of her late husband’s $400 million wealth ($1.18 billion as of 2022) after his passing in 1983. Seward Johnson’s six children who were left out of his will filed a lawsuit, claiming that their father was not mentally sound at the time he wrote the will. A trial was held, but the matter was resolved before a decision was reached. The children received around 12% of the inheritance, leaving Piasecka Johnson in charge of the remainder of the estate.
Through the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation, which she founded in 1974, Johnson was active in numerous charity endeavors, particularly in Poland. Johnson made donations to the Polish church, charity organizations, and a school in Gdansk for kids with autism.
Barbara Piasecka Johnson Dies
In spite of a contentious legal dispute over her husband’s will, Barbara Piasecka Johnson, a former chambermaid who married into the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical dynasty and ultimately walked away with a portion of its enormous fortune, passed away on Monday in her home in Poland. She was 76 years old.
According to her office, BPJ Holdings, she passed away following a protracted illness. She was one of the wealthiest ladies in the world and had lived in Monaco for many years.
She went by the name Basia and married J. Seward Johnson, a director of Johnson & Johnson for 50 years and the son of co-founder Robert Wood Johnson, as his third wife in 1971. J. Seward Johnson was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He had left his 32-year marriage to be with her; she was 34. He was 76.
She started working at J. Seward Johnson’s estate in Oldwick, New Jersey, for him and his second wife, the former Esther Underwood. She left after nine months to pursue an English degree in New York City, at which point, according to People, J. Seward Johnson sent his driver to take her to his office in New Jersey where he declared his love.
She founded, among other things, humanitarian programs in Poland and Polish students studying in the United States through the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Foundation.
The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection
Old Masters | New Perspectives: Masterworks from the Alana Collection, one of the most significant collections of Italian Old Master paintings, sculptures, and antiquities ever presented at auction in New York, was just announced by Christie’s.
The choice will make its debut in London in conjunction with Christie’s 20/21 exhibition, offering a novel perspective on Old Masters by putting the work in conversation with 20th- and 21st-century artworks showcasing an incredible breadth of masterpieces across history.
The Gothic, Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings in the Alana Collection were assembled with great skill and passion over many years, and they now command international acclaim thanks to the acclaimed 2019–2020 exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart–André, Paris.
Christie’s Presents Masterworks From The Alana Collection
The collection of works offered in this sale, which is highlighted by masterpieces by Fra Angelico, Orazio Gentileschi, El Greco, and many other illustrious artists, is notable not only for its exceptional artistic quality but also for the way that, taken collectively, they reveal significant information about both the culture that produced them and our own.
On June 9, 2022, Rockefeller Plaza will host a single-owner live auction featuring more than 50 exceptional pieces from the auction, which will include Impressionist, Modern, and Post-War highlights from London, Hong Kong, New York, and Los Angeles.
The sale proceeds will go to a nonprofit dedicated to the arts and education. The overall estimated profit from the sale of these works ranges between $30 million and $50 million.
Old Master Paintings, Sculptures, and Antiquities from the Alana Collection were created with a great deal of zeal, taste, and sophistication, and they are reminiscent of notable collectors from the late 19th and early 20th centuries like Norton Simon, John G. Johnson, Robert Lehman, Barbara Piasecka Johnson, and Jayne Wrightsman. A striking yet heartfelt representation of The Madonna and Child by Orazio Gentileschi (estimate: $4,000,000–6,000,000) serves as the collection’s focal point.
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