Sotheby’s Will Host “The Art of Divorce” Panel Discussion in Geneva

It’s divorce season. Princess Diana’s Christina Stambolian dress, otherwise dubbed “the revenge dress” is coming to auction at Sotheby’s London on December 9 for an estimate of $150,000 to $300,000; Sienna Miller and Dominic West’s divorce drama “War” premiered this week, and on Tuesday in Geneva, Sotheby’s is hosting a panel discussion titled “The Art of Divorce.”

Julian Washington, head of tax, heritage and U.K. museums and fiduciary client groups at Sotheby’s will moderate the panel discussion between Judith Chatoo, head of private clients at Saffery Trust; Sirin Yüce, a partner at the law firm Charles Russell Speechlys and Johan Nauckhoff, head of fine art at Sotheby’s Switzerland. The event has been described as an examination of “the art and cultural property questions that arise in the context of divorce” in an invite for the panel discussion.

When it comes to value, a famous divorce can triple the price of any item. The identity of the consignor of Princess Diana’s dress has not been revealed, but it’s understood to be a Scottish businessman. “My late husband and I knew that this dress was something special. Princess Diana was walking into the worst night of her life and you would never know it to look at her. It went from a cocktail dress to a statement in the time it took to photograph her,” said the wife of the consignor in a statement. “Thirty years on, you can say the words anywhere in the world and everyone knows exactly which dress you mean. Bidding at auction and winning it was one of the great days of our life together. With him gone, that chapter has closed, and so should this one. I hope it goes to someone who will enjoy owning it as much as we did.”

In the 2018 divorce trial of real estate developer and investor Harry Macklowe and his former wife Linda, the pair couldn’t part from their 35-piece art collection that included artwork by Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko—the court told them to sell their collection and to split its proceeds. In November 2021, the collection raised $676 million at Sotheby’s New York, where Mark Rothko’s No. 7 sold for $82.5 million; Albert Giacometti’s Le Nez for $78.4 million and Jackson Pollock’s Number 17, 1951 (1951) for $61.2 million, more than double its low estimate of $25 million.