Jury sides with O’Neal over Fawcett portrait

LOS ANGELES – A 40-inch by 40-inch canvas bearing the silk-screened image of actress Farrah Fawcett, an Andy Warhol creation that became the subject of a 2 1/2-year legal battle, belongs to the star’s longtime companion Ryan O’Neal, a Los Angeles jury decided Thursday.

The panel sided with O’Neal over the University of Texas, Austin, the actress’s alma mater, which said the painting was bequeathed to the school along with her art collection after Fawcett’s death in 2009. The trial over the portrait lasted three weeks and became, in part, a scrutiny of O’Neal and Fawcett’s relationship.

The jury voted 9 to 3 in favor of the Oscar-nominated actor, who wasn’t in court due to a medical procedure. His son, Patrick O’Neal, said his father would have loved to have been present for the reading of the verdict.

“It’s not even about victory. It’s about redemption,” he said. “We are happy the truth came out.”

The University of Texas released a statement saying the school was disappointed by the outcome and that it brought the lawsuit “only because we wanted to honor her legacy.”