Sotheby billionaire's widow Judy Taubman is locked out of her flat by her stepchildren

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Judy Taubman had just arrived into London after a flight from New York
She found herself locked out of her £5million home after stepchildren row
Family feud originates from argument over two paintings hanging in the flat
She was finally allowed in after paintings were collected by Sotherbys

By Neil Sears And Alisha Rouse For Daily Mail

Published: 17:38 EST, 13 September 2015 | Updated: 19:31 EST, 13 September 2015

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Step-families usually come with baggage. And as billionaire's widow Judy Taubman stood angrily outside her Mayfair flat – ten suitcases piled up on the pavement – she seemed like the perfect example.

The 70-year-old former Miss Israel arrived back in London after a flight from New York to find herself locked out of her £5million home and a security guard on the door after a row with her stepchildren turned nasty.

Her husband Alfred Taubman, a property tycoon who bought the world-famous auction house Sotheby's in 1983, died in April this year aged 91, leaving his vast fortune to be divided up. A forthcoming sale of his art could raise as much as a billion dollars.

Draped in a grey cashmere jumper, the former 1962 Miss Universe runner-up told the Mail: 'I walked to the door and this guard told me I could not come in

But relations between his widow and his children by his first wife – Gayle, 64, Robert, 62, and William, 57 – are now so strained that on Friday open warfare broke out, over two paintings hanging in the flat which are worth a 'mere' £200,000 each.

The daughter of an Israeli jeweller, Mrs Taubman was astonished to see security guards hired by her stepchildren outside the apartment she used to share with her late husband.

Draped in a grey cashmere jumper, the former 1962 Miss Universe runner-up told the Mail: 'I walked to the door and this guard told me I could not come in.

'I was married to my husband for 33 years, he will be turning in his grave at how his children are behaving.'

Surrounded by a pile of large suitcases from her overnight flight from America, she added: 'It is evil, pure evil.'

Mrs Taubman claimed that the Mayfair flat was left to her in her late husband's will, but until the estate is released in mid-October it remains under the control of his three children.

Although they have been allowing her to use the property, the stand-off arose because of a dispute over two paintings inside.

The children wanted them to be collected by Sotheby's and readied for auction – and the auction house wanted a whole team of experts to pick them up.

Mrs Taubman said that as she would be flying in on Friday, only one expert would be given admission to her home then, with the larger team having to wait a few days until she had unpacked her bags with the assistance of her maid.

Although they have been allowing her to use the property, the stand-off arose because of a dispute over two paintings inside

Mr Taubman (pictured right with his wife Judy) decided to purchase Sotheby's after his wife, who used to work as a receptionist at rival auctioneers Christie's, encouraged him, describing the business as 'cute'.

But according to Mrs Taubman, her stepchildren – who now run their father's property empire –insisted the paintings would be collected on Friday. After an eight-hour stand-off, the auction house sent a van to pick up the two paintings, and former beauty queen Mrs Taubman was finally allowed into the apartment.

But not – according to neighbours – before the children's solicitors sent someone to change the locks on the property.

Mrs Taubman, who was once said to have sent a private jet hallway across America to collect a forgotten pair of shoes, said: 'My husband was a wonderful man, the kindest man.

'We had a lovely life together. He would cry seeing this happen. He left the estate in the control of his children, because he loves them and trusted his children to do best. He would never have expected this.'

She added: 'These paintings are not even worth a fraction of my husband's art collection. It is worth £1billion, some paintings are worth £100million.'

Mr Taubman decided to purchase Sotheby's after his wife, who used to work as a receptionist at rival auctioneers Christie's, encouraged him, describing the business as 'cute'.

When he was 78, he was jailed for nine months for overseeing a £290million price-fixing scam between Sotheby's and Christie's.

He flew to prison in his own private jet, being fed caviar by his butler, and always insisted that he was innocent.

His estate is controlled by the children from his first marriage to his high school sweetheart, Reva Kolodney.

Last night a spokesman for the three Taubman children, who are all based in America, said that the incident had been 'regrettable and unnecessary', but stressed that it had been resolved by negotiation with 'no force needed'.

They went on to point out that the flat was owned by the estate, rather than Mrs Taubman, adding: 'No one was blocking her entry.'