A multi-year odyssey ended Monday night at Sotheby’s New York, when the final tranche of artworks by divorced octogenarians Harry and Linda Macklowe fetched $246.1 million.
The former spouses’ 65 artworks totaled $922.2 million after the $676 million sale of the first tranche of their collection in November. This made it one of the most valuable art collections in the world retrospectively, and according to Sotheby’s, the most valuable collection to ever sell at auction.
The transaction resulted from Harry, a rich real estate developer, and his wife at the time, Linda, divorcing in 2018.
They fought in court over assets—she possessed silver worth $409,500, books worth $85,500, and jewelry worth $100,000.
$3.84 million, though he had cars worth $385,000 and their yacht, Unfurled, worth $23.5 million. It eventually transpired that the largest chunk of their wealth was in art.
“The art collection is the parties’ most valuable marital property,” wrote New York State Supreme Court Justice Laura Drager in her 2018 ruling. “The parties hold significantly less in stocks or other investments compared to the value of the art collection. The husband credibly testified that the art enabled diversification and was an alternative investment form.”
Drager ruled that Linda could keep more than half of the artworks, with a total value of just under $40 million, given that both sides’ valuations of the pieces were relatively in-line.
The rest represented the bulk of the collection’s worth, but the pair disputed its value — Linda argued it was worth $625 million, Harry claimed it was worth $788 million.
As such, Drager ordered it to be sold. Only the market, she wrote, could determine its true worth. “In addition,” Drager added, “the sale will provide each party with needed cash to enable them each to enjoy their lifestyles.”
