The recent divorce announcement of billionaire collectors Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales has sent shockwaves through the art world, raising critical questions about the future of their renowned Glenstone Museum and its extraordinary $2 billion art collection. The private museum, established on 360 acres outside Washington, D.C., houses 1,900 works by 290 artists and represents one of the most significant contemporary art collections in the world.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding high-profile divorces involving major art collections, those familiar with the situation insist that Glenstone will continue operating as usual. The museum's programming is already planned through 2029, and both Mitchell and Emily remain actively involved in running the Glenstone Foundation, where Emily serves as president and Mitchell as chairman and director.
Glenstone presents a picture of serene beauty on any given day, with tall grass swaying in August meadows, the scent of wildflowers filling the air, and minimalist stone pavilions rising from the lush landscape. The museum's crown jewel, Jeff Koons' 36-foot-tall Split-Rocker sculpture incorporating more than 20,000 annual blooms, overlooks the grounds from a hilltop position. Visitors carrying white parasols stroll gravel paths and rest on wooden benches near a water lily pond, where Simone Leigh's bronze figure of a Black woman bends over the water.
The museum operates with strict protocols, opening only four days a week with free admission available by reservation only. Inside the pavilions, docents in gray uniforms guide small groups of three visitors, warning them to stay away from dangerous installations like Michael Heizer's Collapse, a 16-foot-deep pit filled with massive steel beams. The facility includes a cafeteria serving items like chickpea wraps and hibiscus lemonade.
The Rales collection represents an unparalleled assembly of blue-chip modern and contemporary art, featuring heroic paintings by postwar giants Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, and Brice Marden, alongside immersive light installations by contemporary stars Alex Da Corte and Jenny Holzer. The collection even includes a replica of Marcel Duchamp's revolutionary urinal from 1917. The museum's premises, where natural beauty meets high-end design, reportedly cost $200 million to build and took years to carefully cultivate.
Glenn Lowry, who recently stepped down as director of the Museum of Modern Art and has known the couple for many years, praised their achievement. "Mitch and Emily Rales have built an extraordinary collection and program in a remarkably short time," Lowry said. "Glenstone is a testament to their belief in the art of the second half of the 20th century and their commitment to the art of the 21st century. It is among the finest museums built in the last 50 years."
A private art dealer who has known Mitchell Rales for decades emphasized their collecting philosophy: "They believe in longevity. They don't want fashionable art. They want things that are relevant long-term art-historically. That's the principle of their collection." This approach has guided their acquisitions and helped establish Glenstone's reputation for serious, museum-quality works.
Divorce has historically been devastating for major art collections, with numerous high-profile cases serving as cautionary tales. The Pop and Minimalist works collected by Ethel and Robert Scull led to an 11-year divorce battle that culminated in Sotheby's auctions in 1986. More recently, Libbie and David Mugrabi reportedly wrestled over a Keith Haring sculpture during their 2018 breakup, which dominated tabloid headlines for months.
The most dramatic recent example occurred when Sotheby's sold $922.2 million worth of art as part of the epic divorce between New York real estate developer Harry Macklowe and his wife Linda. Under ordinary circumstances, auction houses would be competing aggressively for the privilege of selling Glenstone's treasures, especially given the recent shortage of masterpieces at auction.
However, those close to the Rales situation believe this divorce will follow a different path entirely. With assets totaling $2.7 billion, Glenstone's financial foundation approaches that of major institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds $5.4 billion in assets. This substantial endowment far exceeds smaller private museums like the Broad in Los Angeles, which reported $401 million in assets according to recent tax documents.
Darren Walker, president of the National Gallery of Art and a friend of the couple for over a decade, expressed confidence in Glenstone's future. "The Raleses have every intention of keeping the museum in perpetuity," Walker said. "They want their divorce to reflect their values. They treat each other respectfully, put their children first, and think about the things they built together and how to continue them. It's going to be the same Glenstone we've known and loved. This is the anti-Macklowe divorce."
The divorce has been remarkably discreet compared to other high-profile splits. After the announcement, the Raleses issued no public statements and avoided becoming fodder for gossip columns. Emily quietly moved from the couple's modernist house in Potomac, Maryland, designed by Charles Gwathmey and located across from the museum, to Washington, D.C., while Mitchell remains in Potomac.
People who know the couple describe the divorce's most shocking aspect as how little has visibly changed in their professional collaboration. The pair recently vacationed together with their two adolescent daughters and were spotted purchasing expensive artwork at a prominent New York gallery. Last spring, after their inner circle learned about the breakup, Mitchell invited friends to a Museum of Modern Art P.S. 1 event honoring Emily, texting: "I am taking a table. Emily is being honored. Please join us!"
The split surprised many in New York and Washington social circles, where the Raleses are well-known despite rarely appearing in public. "I was shocked," said an auction executive in Manhattan. "They seemed like such a good match." A member of their tight-knit D.C. circle recalled initial skepticism about their relationship: "Early on, I was like, 'Who is this quirky old guy with this beautiful young woman?' But it did work. Her temperament seemed to really balance him out."
Mitchell Rales met Emily Wei, a tall, willowy beauty born in Vancouver, British Columbia, in the early 2000s. Emily, a Wellesley College graduate with majors in art history and Chinese studies, brought intellectual depth and articulate perspectives to their partnership. Mitchell, whose first marriage ended in divorce in 1999, was already established as a captain of industry and one of his generation's top art collectors. Despite their two-decade age difference, they appeared remarkably compatible.
The couple settled across from the museum's original gallery, which opened in 2006 with 9,000 square feet of exhibition space. In 2018, Glenstone unveiled a dramatic expansion featuring minimalist pavilions designed by architect Thomas Phifer, adding 50,000 square feet of exhibition space built around a central water court. Despite the publicity surrounding this expansion, the couple maintained their social privacy, having "almost zero visibility on the social scene in Washington, because that just wasn't important to them."
Mitchell maintained a higher public profile than Emily, co-owning the Washington Commanders NFL team and serving as president of the National Gallery of Art from 2019 to 2024. He could occasionally be spotted smoking cigars and mingling at Fight Night, an annual black-tie gala and boxing match raising money for underserved children. However, the couple's relatively low social footprint allowed their breakup to go unnoticed for months.
Allan Schwartzman, a prominent art advisor familiar with the couple, emphasized their dedication: "Basically, they are very private people. They are serious about what they do. Whatever may be going on in their personal lives has not had any impact on what they do at the museum." The Glenstone Foundation operates as a nonprofit corporation with a mission to support public and educational art exhibitions, functioning like "one of their children" according to several close associates.
Mitchell's wealth stems from Danaher, a global science and technology conglomerate with $81.6 billion in total assets as of 2025. Mitchell and his brother Steve Rales co-founded the company in 1984, with Mitchell earning recognition as someone who could "take old-line companies and turn them into cash-generating machines," according to Forbes. With an estimated net worth of $3.8 billion, financial pressures are unlikely to force art sales.
Mitchell began collecting art in 1990, initially guided by Robert Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner who became a blue-chip art dealer in New York. "Mnuchin introduced him to his taste with those great Abstract Expressionist artworks," explained a private art dealer. "He bought the greatest de Kooning, literally. He bought a great Rothko. He bought an incredible Twombly. He bought an amazing Brice Marden."
In the early 2000s, Mitchell made headlines with major acquisitions, including François Pinault's de Kooning painting "January 1st" (1956) for a price rivaling de Kooning's auction record. In 2003, he paid $16.4 million for Mark Rothko's 1958 canvas "No. 9 (White and Black on Wine)" at Christie's, setting the highest auction price for the postwar master at that time. Mnuchin praised his client's approach: "He had great courage. He learned very fast. He started with much more of a museum mentality, interested in important examples by important artists."
Emily significantly influenced the collection's evolution, expanding beyond Abstract Expressionism to include more living artists. The couple established a rule requiring artists to have worked for at least 15 years before consideration, helping gauge their art-historical significance. "Emily fundamentally changed the direction of Mitch's collecting and what interested him to collect for the museum," Schwartzman observed. "He was originally a collector of Abstract Expressionist masterworks. She broadened his thinking, and the museum's collection benefited from it in every way."
The museum's collection now spans from established masters to contemporary voices, including works by Glenn Ligon, Barbara Kruger, Kara Walker, Ellsworth Kelly, Cecily Brown, and Simone Leigh. This careful curation reflects both Mitchell's initial focus on art-historical importance and Emily's broader contemporary vision, creating a collection that major auction houses would eagerly pursue under different circumstances.
Art world insiders remain optimistic that the couple's shared passion for art will help them navigate post-divorce challenges that have destroyed other relationships. "I know the commitment they made to put Glenstone together. It took love, time, money, and passion," said a Washington friend. "I don't think it will shut down. It would be a great tragedy. They've got to find a way for it to persist." The art is owned by the foundation rather than being part of the marital estate, potentially protecting it from forced sales, and the amicable nature of their divorce suggests no immediate need for asset liquidation.
