Times have gotten so tough for model Stephanie Seymour's estranged hubby that he's been forced to sell his Picasso to make business ends meet.
Lawyers for the catwalker said Peter Brant had auctioned off one of the couple's prized paintings, "Le Baiser" ("The Kiss") by Pablo Picasso, in an effort to save his White Birch Paper Company from bankruptcy, according to court testimony yesterday.
The declaration was made at a court hearing in Stamford, Conn., in the messy divorce battle between the paper magnate and his leggy ex.
Brant sold the famous artwork at a London auction in June for $19.1 million -- a massive profit over the $4.4 million he originally paid for it.
Lawyers for Seymour complained that Brant has not told them enough about the sale and asked the court to make him provide his soon-to-be ex-wife more information so they could decide their position on it.
The onetime power couple also squabbled over some of their other high-end possessions.
Seymour's lawyers complained that Brant has jewelry of hers that he has failed to hand over. They asked that the gems be inventoried, along with some of her vintage clothing.
When Seymour's lawyers brought up the jewels, Brant's lawyer, Robert Dobrish, shot back: "I don't know where Mr. Brant's watches are. They may have been taken by Ms. Seymour and given to someone else."
The dispute over the relatively small items in the divorce made Judge Michael Shay chastise the couple.
"Both parties in a marital dispute play hide-the-ball for a variety of reasons," he said. "Nobody should get distracted on minor things. Keep your eye on greater things."
The hearing, which was called before the divorce trial starts in September, was intended to hash out a request from Brant that the rules for drug testing of the couple be changed.
Brant is challenging the former Victoria's Secret model's custody of their children: Peter Jr., 16, Harry, 14, and Lily, 5.
Brant asked that he be exempted from having to submit to random drug tests, because he's had a clean record in the tests ever since they began in June of last year.
However, he asked that his 42-year-old wife, a former gal pal of Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose, continued to be tested for drugs.
He argued that she has missed some of the random tests and that some suspicious substances have been found.
The judge denied the request to excuse Brant from testing and ordered that both partners continue to be tested. He said it would be unfair for Seymour to be tarnished in the eyes of the children by being the only one tested. He added that all of her tests so far have come up clean.
nypost.com