The death on Saturday of Sylvia Roth, the widow of renowned art collector Daniel Wildenstein, has introduced a new twist into the story of her lawsuit against her stepson, Guy Wildenstein, the scion of the famous art-dealing family who has run the renowned Old Master and Impressionist gallery Wildenstein & Company since 2008. But Claude Dumont-Beghi, Roth's attorney, told reporters that she will continue to pursue justice despite her client's death. Roth "wrote her will over two years ago," the attorney said. "She gave me a mandate dictating what to do after her death; her fight will continue."

As ARTINFO previously reported, Roth accused Guy Wildenstein of concealing much of his father's fortune from her and from the French state after Daniel Wildenstein died in 2001 without a will. Guy and his brother Alec (since deceased) allegedly duped Roth into believing that their father had been saddled with excessive debt. His estate was officially declared to be worth $60 million, although it is now believed to be worth closer to $4-5.5 billion.

Founded in Paris in 1852, Wildenstein & Company — which between 1993 and this year operated in conjunction with the Pace Gallery as PaceWildenstein, with the galleries splitting in April — has specialized in historical French and European art, either selling or aiding in the sale of countless masterpieces to museums. Daniel Wildenstein's estateis believed to include more than a thousand paintings by Caravaggio, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Watteau, Fragonard, Courbet, Bonnard, Picasso, and others in trusts held in offshore tax havens. 

Speaking of her legal battle with her stepson last May, Roth told the Journal du Dimanche, "they stole from me, and now they're waiting for me to die." She added: "I will fight until the end, even when I'm not around anymore. I've left instructions."