The global art market returned to growth in 2025, led by renewed confidence at the high end, with dealer sales up 2% year‑on‑year and public auction sales rising 9% by value.
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 March 2026 – The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, authored by Dr. Clare McAndrew, Founder of Arts Economics, provides a comprehensive benchmark analysis of the global art market in 2025. Co‑published by Art Basel and UBS, the tenth edition of the report examines the performance of key market segments, including galleries and dealers, auction houses, and art fairs, against the backdrop of shifting economic conditions, evolving buyer behavior, and changes in global wealth. The publication is the most comprehensive data-driven overview of the forces shaping today’s art market.
Clare McAndrew, Founder, Arts Economics, said: “The market welcomed a shift in direction in 2025, from the contraction of previous years to modest growth. However, it continued to operate in a volatile geopolitical environment, particularly regarding cross-border trade, the full implications of which are still unfolding in 2026. While some categories of art were relatively insulated from the direct effects of tariffs, broader policy uncertainty and trade fragmentation created challenges for businesses, affecting pricing and supply. A wider shift toward protectionism and more domestically focused sales also poses longer-term risks, as the art trade relies heavily on international circulation and access to global audiences. Early indicators suggest cross-border trade in art remained broadly stable in 2025, but how these flows evolve will be critical to the market’s future growth.“
Adrian Zuercher, Co‑Head Global Asset Allocation and Co‑Head Global Investment Management APAC, UBS Global Wealth Management CIO, said: “The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026 highlights a nuanced picture across Asia Pacific. China maintained its position as one of the world’s leading art markets while Hong Kong continues to play a central role in the Asia art ecosystem with several high‑value sales and early signs of macroeconomic stabilization this year. Singapore sustained its trajectory as a growing regional hub. Against a backdrop of moderating inflation and improving regional fundamentals, these dynamics reinforce Asia Pacific’s growing importance on the global art market stage.”
Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel, said: “2025 marked a return to growth for the art business and a strategic inflection point in its continued evolution. Over the year, dealers refined their programs and client engagement strategies with clear intentionality, while art fair-related sales strengthened. Although elevated costs, geopolitical uncertainty, and tariff concerns are still affecting business, buyer confidence improved as the year progressed and the year closed with a succession of dynamic sales moments. As the market recalibrates within a more disciplined range, sustained growth will depend on bringing exceptional works to market, deepening client relationships, and broadening participation across the global ecosystem – priorities that are guiding our focus in 2026.”
The key findings include:
- Global sales: The global art market returned to growth in 2025, with sales increasing by 4% year-on-year to an estimated USD 59.6 billion. Aggregate sales in the dealer sector rose to USD 34.8 billion (up 2%) and public auction sales increased to USD 20.7 billion (up 9%), while reported auction house private sales declined to just under USD 4.2 billion (down 4%). The volume of transactions reached an estimated 41.5 million in 2025 (up 2%).
- Leading art markets: The United States, the United Kingdom, and China accounted for 76% of global art sales by value, in line with last year. The US remained the largest market with a 44% share, followed by the UK at 18% and China at 14%. France increased its global share by one percentage point to 8%, consolidating its position as the fourth‑largest market and the largest within the EU.
- Mixed regional market performance:
- Sales in the United States reached USD 26 billion (up 5% year-on-year), with a strong rebound at the high-end of the auction market and despite trade unpredictability.
- UK sales increased to USD 10.5 billion (up 2% year-on-year), driven by growth in public auctions.
- In China, sales increased to USD 8.5 billion (up just over 1% year-on-year). The market stabilized despite the real estate downturn and other economic concerns that weighed on consumer confidence.
- France saw sales rising to USD 4.5 billion (up 9% year-on-year), driven by strong performance in both the auction and dealer sectors. That performance lifted the market above its 2019 level.
- Across Europe and Asia, performance year-on-year was mixed, with growth in markets such as Switzerland (up 13%), Austria (up 13%), Spain (up 6%), and South Korea (up 6%), and slower conditions in Germany (down 10%), Italy (down 2%), and Japan (down 1%).
- Dealer market recovery: Global dealer sales reached USD 34.8 billion (up 2% year-on-year). While 42% of dealers reported higher sales, rising operating costs (up an average5%) continued to weigh on profitability. Lower‑end dealers (turning over less than USD 500,000) recorded the strongest growth, while sales among mid‑market dealers (turnover between USD 1 million and USD 10 million) softened slightly. At the top end, dealers with turnover above USD 10 million returned to growth.
- Dealer resilience and business longevity: A review of published gallery activity based on media announcements showed despite high‑profile gallery closures in 2025, there was no evidence that closures outpaced openings overall. Gallery launches represented 42% of reported activity, compared with 25% closures, underscoring continued adaptation and resilience within the dealer sector.
- Gender representation: Female artist representation strengthened further in 2025, reaching 50% of total artists among primary market galleries and 45% across all dealers. Works by female artists accounted for 37% of sales by value (up from 28% in 2018), although disparities persist at the highest revenue levels.
- Growing importance of art fairs: Art fair sales increased to 35% of dealer turnover (up 4% year-on-year), their highest level since 2022. Overseas fairs accounted for the majority of sales, though growth was recorded at both international and local events, particularly among mid‑sized dealers.
- Auction market dynamics: Combined public and private auction sales reached USD 24.8 billion. Public auction sales increased to USD 20.7 billion (up 9% year-on-year), driven by the ultra-high‑end sales above USD 10 million (up 30%) and record prices in the second half of the year, while private sales declined to just under USD 4.2 billion (down 5%).
- Online sales moderation: Online art sales declined to USD 9.2 billion (down 11% year-on-year), their lowest level since 2019, as high‑value transactions shifted back to in‑person channels. Online‑only sales accounted for 15% of total market value, down 3% in share year-on-year, remaining an important channel for engaging new buyers.
- Improving outlook: Confidence strengthened heading into 2026, with 43% of dealers expecting sales to improve and 38% anticipating stable performance. Sentiment also improved among mid-tier auction houses, reflecting greater optimism despite ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
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About Arts Economics & Clare McAndrew
Arts Economics is a research and consulting firm focused exclusively on research and analysis of the fine and decorative art market for private and institutional clients. The company was founded by Clare McAndrew in 2005. Dr McAndrew is a cultural economist who specializes in the arts, antiques, and collectibles markets. She completed her PhD in economics at Trinity College Dublin in 2001, where she also lectured and taught economics for four years. In 2002, Clare joined US firm Kusin & Company, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in art investment, as chief economist. After three years in the United States, Clare returned to Europe in 2005, and continued her work in the art market in a private research and consulting capacity for a global client base. She set up Arts Economics in 2005 to focus her efforts on art market research and analysis and works with a network of private consultants and academic scholars in different regions around the world providing research and consulting services to the global art trade and financial sector.
About UBS and Contemporary Art
Global Lead Partner of Art Basel, UBS has a long history of supporting contemporary art and artists. The firm has one of the world’s most important corporate art collections of contemporary art. UBS seeks to advance the international conversation about the art market through its global lead partnership with Art Basel, and as co-publisher of the ‘Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report’ and the ‘Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting’. UBS also supports some of the world’s most important arts institutions, events, and fairs. Through UBS Art Advisory, UBS provides UHNW clients and their family offices impartial advice and execution services across the whole lifecycle of a collection, from strategic development and governance to making an impact through philanthropy and the transition of collections into the next generation.
About UBS
UBS is a leading and truly global wealth manager and the leading universal bank in Switzerland. It also provides diversified asset management solutions and focused investment banking capabilities. UBS manages 7 trillion dollars of invested assets as per the fourth quarter 2025. UBS helps clients achieve their financial goals through personalized advice, solutions and products. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the firm is operating in more than 50 markets around the globe. UBS Group shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
About Art Basel
Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for Modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, Paris, and Qatar. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded through new digital platforms including Zero 10 and the Art Basel App, and initiatives such as the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report and Survey of Global Collecting, Art Basel Awards, and Art Basel Shop. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.
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