Sometimes, if you have money and collect art, the best you can hope for is an acrimonious divorce. The split between real-estate billionaire Harry Macklowe, a Westchester-born builder of every kind of Manhattan office tower and residential eyesore, and businesswoman Linda Burg-Macklowe, who were married during the Eisenhower administration—January 4, 1959—was just that. It was also good news for wealthy collectors of contemporary art.
In the months that followed the 2016 divorce, the couple battled in court over the spoils of more than a half-century of marriage. Their assets were divided—each reportedly walked away with around $500 million—with the exception of their art collection, which Charles Stewart, the chief executive officer of Sotheby’s, told Bloomberg News is “one of the most significant collections of modern and contemporary art in the world.”
