Billionaire investor Thomas S. Kaplan, owner of the Leiden Collection—the largest private holding of Rembrandt paintings and other Dutch/Flemish Old Masters—has announced plans to fractionalize his art holdings, potentially offering shares on a public stock exchange. In an interview with the Art Newspaper, Kaplan cited his children's lack of interest in the collection and a desire to democratize art ownership, inspired by the NFT craze of the early 2020s. The collection includes Vermeer's *Young Woman Seated at a Virginal* (ca. 1670–75) and works by Frans Hals, Gerard ter Borch, and others, and is regularly loaned to major museum exhibitions.
This move matters because it represents a radical shift in how ultra-high-value art collections are owned and accessed, potentially opening the Old Masters market to millions of ordinary investors. If successful, fractionalization could set a precedent for other private collectors, altering the traditional dynamics of art ownership, museum lending, and the market for historical works. It also underscores the growing intersection of traditional art collecting with financial innovation and digital trends.