By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:02 EST, 30 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:47 EST, 30 December 2012 . The family of a Manhattan gallery owner described their pain after receiving a suicide note following her death. Marijana Bego, 54, was found lying in . the middle of Madison Avenue after falling from the top of the . five-story building on the Upper East Side, home to her Bego-Ezair . gallery. Ms Bego had been facing mounting debt and personal problems in the months before her fatal fall, it has been revealed. 'Heartbroken': Relatives of Marijana Bego, 54, said the gallery owner had struggled to come to terms with the end of her relationship with her boyfriend and business partner Khedouri Ezair (pictured left) The letter, which was mailed to her niece, described Ms Bego's heartbreak at the end of her relationship with Khedouri Ezair several years ago. He had been her boyfriend and business partner for two decades, according to the New York Post. The medical examiner declared her December 22 death a suicide. Several days after her death, Ms Bego's niece Ivana Ristic received a letter from her aunt in Serbia. The gallery . owner wrote to her niece that she had 'no husband, no kids, no savings, . no health insurance, no any support'. Ms Ristic told the Post: 'She was my support, my sun, my doll, my role model. Tragic: Marijana Bego and artist Eric Haze pictured at an exhibition in 2010. Ms Bego plunged to her death from the top of the building which housed her own gallery . 'When I was little I wrote in my diary that I’d love to have her for mom.' Artist Amy Cohen Banker, who had an exhibition at the gallery earlier this month, said Ms Bego had been left frustrated after a fall in art sales. She said: 'But I never ever saw this coming. She had plans to keep the galleries going. 'It’s hard for me to believe she committed suicide, I feel really shocked that she did that.' Ms Bego owned two other New York galleries, which were frequently visited by members of high society such as the Hearst family and descendants of Winston Churchill. Renowned for featuring up-and-coming talent in her galleries, Ms Bego was in business with real estate executive Mr Ezair. News of her death, which the NYPD first believed was caused by a hit-and-run accident because if severe injuries to her legs, sent shockwaves through the New York art scene. Artist Wanda Murphy said Ms Bego sold one of her paintings for $30,000. 'Her focus in life was art,' she said. 'That’s all she ever lived for.' R. Couri Hay, whose PR firm represented Ms Bego’s gallery had known her for ten years, and added she was always 'extremely high-strung and eccentric, and kind of kooky'. Popular: Ms Bego's Ezair gallery in New York was frequented by members of high society . Earlier this year, Ms Bego celebrated her 300th art opening, with a collection of oil works by Lash called Imagined Memories - A Family Album. Ms Bego was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital, having suffered multiple injuries. Calls to Mr Ezair's Manhattan offices were not returned to MailOnline. If you know anyone who is at risk of suicide, call the  U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or in the UK, the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 .
Marijana Bego plunged five floors from gallery on December 22 .
Her niece said she was heartbroken at the end of her relationship with Khedouri Ezair, her boyfriend and business partner of 20 years .
Friends say she was 'kooky', 'highly-strung', and 'lived for art'
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 09:02 EST, 30 December 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 09:47 EST, 30 December 2012 . The family of a Manhattan gallery owner described their pain after receiving a suicide note following her death. Marijana Bego, 54, was found lying in . the middle of Madison Avenue after falling from the top of the . five-story building on the Upper East Side, home to her Bego-Ezair . gallery. Ms Bego had been facing mounting debt and personal problems in the months before her fatal fall, it has been revealed. 'Heartbroken': Relatives of Marijana Bego, 54, said the gallery owner had struggled to come to terms with the end of her relationship with her boyfriend and business partner Khedouri Ezair (pictured left) The letter, which was mailed to her niece, described Ms Bego's heartbreak at the end of her relationship with Khedouri Ezair several years ago. He had been her boyfriend and business partner for two decades, according to the New York Post. The medical examiner declared her December 22 death a suicide. Several days after her death, Ms Bego's niece Ivana Ristic received a letter from her aunt in Serbia. The gallery . owner wrote to her niece that she had 'no husband, no kids, no savings, . no health insurance, no any support'. Ms Ristic told the Post: 'She was my support, my sun, my doll, my role model. Tragic: Marijana Bego and artist Eric Haze pictured at an exhibition in 2010. Ms Bego plunged to her death from the top of the building which housed her own gallery . 'When I was little I wrote in my diary that I’d love to have her for mom.' Artist Amy Cohen Banker, who had an exhibition at the gallery earlier this month, said Ms Bego had been left frustrated after a fall in art sales. She said: 'But I never ever saw this coming. She had plans to keep the galleries going. 'It’s hard for me to believe she committed suicide, I feel really shocked that she did that.' Ms Bego owned two other New York galleries, which were frequently visited by members of high society such as the Hearst family and descendants of Winston Churchill. Renowned for featuring up-and-coming talent in her galleries, Ms Bego was in business with real estate executive Mr Ezair. News of her death, which the NYPD first believed was caused by a hit-and-run accident because if severe injuries to her legs, sent shockwaves through the New York art scene. Artist Wanda Murphy said Ms Bego sold one of her paintings for $30,000. 'Her focus in life was art,' she said. 'That’s all she ever lived for.' R. Couri Hay, whose PR firm represented Ms Bego’s gallery had known her for ten years, and added she was always 'extremely high-strung and eccentric, and kind of kooky'. Popular: Ms Bego's Ezair gallery in New York was frequented by members of high society . Earlier this year, Ms Bego celebrated her 300th art opening, with a collection of oil works by Lash called Imagined Memories - A Family Album. Ms Bego was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill Hospital, having suffered multiple injuries. Calls to Mr Ezair's Manhattan offices were not returned to MailOnline. If you know anyone who is at risk of suicide, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or in the UK, the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 .
suicide note following her death. Marijana Bego, with her boyfriend and business partner Khedouri heartbreak at the end of her relationship with examiner declared her December 22 death a art,' she said. 'That’s all she ever lived for.'