One of Ed Ruscha’s greatest works of art might be his real estate portfolio.
Many of the artist’s paintings, drawings and books are inspired by or focused on Los Angeles, and his property deals are too. The Culver City-based pop artist — whose works have commanded prices as high as $30.4 million — owns eleven properties in Southern California now that he and his wife Danica purchased a home in Beverly Hills. Variety reported the deal was for $8.4 million, after the property was first listed for just under $9 million in May.
Located on Burk Place in the Trousdale Estates, the property last sold 50 years ago for $65,000. The home includes 3,443 square feet with three beds and three-and-a-half bathrooms. It was built for law professor Jesse Dukeminier and psychiatrist Dr. David Sanders, who lived there until he passed away last year.
Ruscha owns another home in the Trousdale Estates that he purchased for $3.6 million in 2002, a property near Marina Del Rey, and two lots in Morongo Valley. He also owns two properties in Malibu in the celebrity-filled Point Dume, and a third was deeded to their son. In total, his trust is listed as the owner of 11 properties in the L.A. area, according to county records.
They previously owned a bungalow in Los Feliz that was also deeded to their son, an artist studio in Culver City, and several hundred acres of vacant land in the Mojave Desert. Records show Ruscha also previously owned seven properties in Culver City, as well as parcels in Silver Lake, Venice, Hollywood, and another place in Point Dume that sold for $4 million in 2010. [Variety] — Gregory Cornfield