Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s Divorce Could Tear Their $25 Million Art Collection Apart

A high-profile Hollywood divorce has potential art world consequences.

Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt in November 2015. Courtesy of Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images.

One of Hollywood’s most high-profile couples is breaking up, and the fallout affects more than just their six kids. With the announcement that Angelina Jolie has filed for divorce from Brad Pitt, the question in the art world is what will become of their art collection.

In 2015, Pitt ranked seventh on research firm Wealth-X’s list of Hollywood’s top art collectors, which gave his holdings an estimated value of $25 million.

There have been numerous reports of Pitt and Jolie’s art acquisitions over the years, including the Banksy they snapped up at London’s Lazarides Gallery in 2007 for £1 million (about $2 million at the time).

Dom Pattinson, "Hope" series, which Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie received as a wedding present. Courtesy of Dom Pattinson.

Dom Pattinson, “Hope” series, which Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie received as a wedding present. Courtesy of Dom Pattinson.

Other big ticket art purchases include a $1 million Neo Rauch at Art Basel in 2009, and numerous works by Tristan “Schoony” Schoonraad, while their wedding gifts reportedly included a group of paintings by British street artist Dom Pattinson.

But the couple are also interested in not just collecting, but interacting with artists. Last year, they invited indigenous Australian artist Bibi Barba to their home to give an art lesson to their kids, according to the Daily Mail.

In addition to his interest in fine art, Pitt is also an avid Art Deco furniture collector, and has collaborated with Pollaro Custom Furniture on his own line, Pitt Pollaro, since 2008. (While personally delivering a custom desk to the actor, Frank Pollaro discovered Pitt had been sketching his own designs for a decade, and offered to put them into production.)

Neo Rauch, <em> Etappe</em>. The painting was purchased by Brad Pitt at Art Basel in 2009. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York and Galerie Eigen + Art, Berlin/Leipzig.

Neo Rauch, Etappe. The painting was purchased by Brad Pitt at Art Basel in 2009. Courtesy of David Zwirner, New York and Galerie Eigen + Art, Berlin/Leipzig.

The end of the Brangelina era comes just two years after the pair, who famously were said to have become involved on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith in 2004, when Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston, finally tied the knot. During the August 2014 ceremony, held at the couple’s French chateau, Jolie wore a wedding dress decorated with her children’s drawings.

Of the two, Pitt seems far more dedicated to collecting, so our money is on him keeping many of the works.

His art buying habits may have even contributed to the “irreconcilable differences” that ultimately drove the couple apart: In 2008, the tabloid Celebitchy noted that “Angelina is appalled at the amount of coin Brad regularly spends on art and has issued an ultimatum that he needs to donate most of it and stop buying more.” (The post surfaced after he allegedly gifted Jolie with a $300,000 table purchased at Art Basel.)

As the world reels from new revelations regarding the divorce, even Madame Tussads museum in London is weighing in. “The couple’s wax figures, which were launched in 2013,” the museum tells Reuters, “have been split up and are now featured at a respectful distance from each other.”


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