Art
Billionaire Divorce Battle Hobbled By Art Collection

The story throws light on how big art collections can be caught up in the emotional and legal battles around divorce.
Real estate developer Harry Macklowe and his estranged wife’s art
collection, worth almost $1.0 billion, has been a major debating
point in their split, throwing a light on how such possessions
are affected by divorce law.
A report by the New York Times and other outlets noted
how Macklowe, 81, and his ex-wife, Linda, finalized their divorce
late in 2018 after 59 years of marriage. One issue to surmount
was how they split their collection of more than 150 pieces by
artists including Mark Rothko, Pablo Picasso and Jeff Koons.
David Redden, former vice chairman of Sotheby’s, the auctioneers,
was quoted saying: "The art world will be fighting over it.” He
called the collection "fairly staggering" and "one of the great
prizes”.
Macklowe is reportedly worth almost $2.5 billion. His former
wife is an avid art collector and an honorary trustee at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The business of handling and investing in fine art is one that
has drawn attention from wealth managers and private banks such
as Deutsche Bank, UBS and Citigroup who realize that this area is
an important, and not-so-small “niche”. Art raises various issues
around ownership, transfer, provenance and storage. In recent
years jurisdictions such as the European Union have also
tightened anti-money laundering rules to prevent abuses in the
art market. As an example of the firms involved, in May this year
Citi Private
Bank said it was
partnering with Sotheby’s, focusing more attention on how the
bank works with art investors and collectors as part of its value
offering.
Art advisory activity can deepen client loyalty and help wealth
advisors learn more about how clients think. The recent
Art Basel and UBS report on the total art market gives a
global figure of $67 billion.