When a marriage ends, dividing the houses, investments and bank accounts can be rather complicated but what about those high-value assets hanging on the walls? Art occupies a curious place in the matrimonial balance sheet. A painting might have been bought as an investment or inherited from a grandparent, or perhaps it was discovered on a trip together decades ago and has sat smugly above the fireplace ever since. Its financial value may be considerable but its sentimental value can be harder still to untangle.
When a marriage involving a multimillion-pound art collection comes apart, the consequences can be spectacular. The most famous recent example is perhaps the Macklowe Collection, which was ordered to be sold after New York property billionaire Harry Macklowe and his wife Linda could not agree on its value during their acrimonious divorce. Two Sotheby’s auctions in 2021 and 2022 ultimately realised $922.2 million. While most divorcing collectors will likely avoid quite such a public denouement, deciding who gets what can still require careful valuation and negotiation. Here, the Tatler Address Book experts weigh in.
Whose art is it anyway?
The first question comes down to who the piece actually belongs to.
‘The first step in dividing an art collection upon divorce is establishing ownership,’ explains Jessica Reid, Partner at Dawson Cornwell. ‘This will depend on whether the art was jointly acquired during the marriage or previously owned by one of the parties (including if it was inherited). Even if the art previously belonged to one party, it can become marital property if it is interwoven into the shared lives of the couple, for example through display and enjoyment in the family home.’
Art acquired during the marriage using matrimonial funds is likely to find its way into the matrimonial pot. ‘Inherited art is generally treated as non-matrimonial. However, it can become "matrimonialised" if it is mixed with family assets or used heavily for family purposes,’ says Suzanne Todd, Partner at Withers.
Once ownership has been established, the collection itself has to be considered alongside the rest of the couple’s wealth. Keeping it intact may be desirable, but not always practical. One spouse might retain the collection and compensate the other with cash, property or other assets. Alternatively, individual works can be divided between them or sold and the proceeds shared.
Hetty Gleave, Partner at Wedlake Bell, explains: ‘A sale and divide approach is less risky in terms of valuation as the parties will receive the actual market value so avoiding the need for expert evidence and any debate about notional value. However, a forced sale can result in a less than optimal value if it is the wrong time to sell, wrong market place and/or wrong marketing campaign and the parties may be happier taking their chances by dividing the art and getting the best price they can on their own terms.’
Putting a price on Picasso
Then comes the thorny business of valuation. Unlike the balance of a bank account, an artwork does not arrive with a convenient figure attached and what somebody believes their collection is worth can be markedly different from what the market is actually prepared to pay.
‘To avoid dispute and reduce costs, parties usually instruct an independent, professional art valuer as a single joint expert,’ says Reid. ‘They will consider the market value for comparable pieces, as well as the condition of the artwork and overarching market trends.’
Timing matters too. A valuation made at the beginning of a protracted divorce may bear little resemblance to the market by the time a settlement is reached.
The difficulties were laid bare in the 2024 case GO v YA, involving a collection of thousands of pieces. Rather than attempting the eye-wateringly expensive exercise of valuing every object individually, an expert valued a sample of the collection before extrapolating the results. The judge ultimately arrived at a £13 million figure.
As Gleave puts it: ‘Any valuation is only indicative of the actual figure as it is likely to be out of date anyway by the time the issue comes to court and only an actual sale of the pieces will reveal their true value.’
For couples with extensive collections, therefore, a forensic inventory can be as important as the valuation itself. Spouses are required to disclose their assets and that can mean establishing what was bought, when it was acquired and where it is now stored.
But I want the Warhol
Money, of course, is only half the story. Art is overwhelmingly personal. A couple may agree perfectly happily on the division of several valuable works only to find themselves deadlocked over the one painting neither can bear to lose.
‘This is more common than you might expect and the reasons behind attachment to a particular work of art can be complex,’ says Todd. ‘There is no strict formula.’
One solution has a pleasingly playground quality to it: take turns. ‘A popular selection method involves the parties listing the items tossing a coin to decide who goes first with each then picking an item in turn, so they each get to keep something they like,’ says Gleave.
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Todd has seen the process unfold at close quarters. ‘The key is to be the first person to pick – that way your client always gets the piece they definitely want! I once had a case where we sat side by side with the husband's team with big blue bound books containing photos of each piece from the valuer and we went through them one by one as to who was keeping what.’
There are practical considerations, too. A monumental sculpture or enormous canvas that looked perfectly at home in the marital pile may be rather harder to accommodate after one spouse decamps to a smaller property. ‘There is also the issue of where the art is housed after a split – sometimes someone really wants a piece but has literally nowhere to put it,’ Todd adds.
When neither side will budge, the decision may eventually be taken out of their hands.
Reid explains that disputed works can be dealt with through mediation or arbitration, rather than fought over in open court. ‘The parties usually prepare statements in advance as to why the piece should remain with them, and this is decided after the other assets are divided first.’
And if agreement remains impossible, a sale may be the cleanest, if not the happiest, answer.
Family treasures and foreign walls
Things can become even more complicated when the collection spans generations and multiple trusts all over the world. A painting inherited from a parent or grandparent may have a strong claim to remain with the spouse whose family it came from. Yet how that artwork has been treated during the marriage can be significant.
‘Disputes can arise where, for example, an inherited piece was gifted between spouses,’ says Reid. ‘The court will consider how the art was treated between the parties during the marriage, as well as having regard to the source of the asset.’
There can also be elegant solutions that preserve family treasures for the next generation. ‘Parties can undertake to preserve inherited items for the next generation in their Will, often providing an elegant way of keeping them within the family,’ says Gleave.
Trusts add another layer. Who are the trustees and beneficiaries? When was the trust established? Who actually enjoys the artworks? If a trust amounts to a nuptial settlement, the court may have considerable powers over it.
And a collection stored between a London townhouse, a Swiss freeport and a villa on the Continent presents obvious additional headaches. Overseas art must still be disclosed, but questions of tax, transportation, local law and enforcement can make dividing it considerably more complicated.
The art of letting go
Ultimately, the great irony of fighting over art is that the legal battle itself can begin to consume the value of the prize. However emotionally charged the provenance of a painting, there comes a point when another round of solicitors’ letters over who gets it makes little financial sense.
Which is why early advice, meticulous records and a little pragmatism can prove invaluable. As Todd explains: ‘Dividing art on divorce can be painful but positive outcomes are achievable. My advice is to think about art pieces early, to sort out the division discreetly and with the right experts around the table, but not to let emotional attachment cloud your vision to the extent that arguing who gets the Renoir ends up costing you too much of the family silver in legal fees.’
For more gold-standard guidance on family law, tax and trust and more visit the Tatler Advisory.