The Art of Legacy: How Collectors Can Preserve and Protect Their Collections

From gifting to trusts to building a private own museum, art collectors can keep the collection—and the peace—intact with strategic estate planning. Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Picture this: A dedicated collector, after decades of building a distinguished art collection, passes away, leaving behind an extraordinary group of artworks with no clear instructions. The family is left navigating a complex set of decisions: which works to keep, whether to sell (and if so, where and how) or to donate (and if so, to whom)? ⁠
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Without a plan or an idea of the collector’s intentions and hopes, the art collection—carefully curated over a lifetime—risks being fragmented, undervalued or even sold under financial duress.⁠
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Effective planning ensures that a collection remains an enduring part of a collector’s vision—whether through family inheritance, philanthropic gifting or strategic sales. ⁠

Read the full piece in Observer here.