I recently had a conversation with a lady who I have known for years through our contacts in the field of art, etc. She had been in a coma for 2 years and when she woke up at the end of 2021, her husband turned out to be seriously ill. They spent the last few months together in the room of Mrs.’s nursing home, where he unfortunately died in June 2022.

The lady was left behind as a widow and continued to improve, but not enough to live completely independently, because she needed 24-hour care during the day. She found a new place to live in a care apartment, but this is only a 2-room apartment where she could not store her gigantic art collection. She and her husband had built this together over 40 years and always enjoyed collecting and researching the collection. The couple also always managed to find museums to lend pieces from their collection for exhibitions in which they were happy to participate.

Now she was suddenly faced with the question of what should I do with our art collection. She is alone and has no children and can hardly take anything with her to her new home. While talking, I pointed out to her that I often get questions like this about what should be done with the art collection. I explained to her how we would work in her situation. We first start with an inventory of the collection and appraise its value for which our office uses external certified appraisers.

We then consult with the lady to determine which pieces from her collection she would like to have in her apartment. After this round there will be a moment to decide what to do with the remaining art collection. I advised the lady to think about whether I want to donate pieces from the collection to museums during my lifetime. Or else it would be better to take everything to an auction, which will give every collector another opportunity to buy objects from the art collection for his/her collection. And they enjoy it just as much as the couple themselves did when they built up their collection.

Following our conversation, she thought about this and indicated that she trusted me in this difficult and emotional task of ending her life’s work that she had built together with her husband. She has therefore hired us to help/advise her in dismantling her art collection. Unfortunately, you often cannot take your belongings with you, even to a smaller space.

We have now started the inventory/appraisal and selecting the works of art that Mrs. would like to have in her new living environment. We will also advise her in the follow-up process regarding whether remaining parts of the art collection will go to museums or be sold/auctioned. Our contacts with museums and antique dealers/auction houses are interesting. At a later stage we will assist her in clearing the remainder of the home and selling it.