The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026

Global art market sales rise 4% to $59.6 billion in 2025, amid ongoing market recalibration

The global art market returned to growth in 2025, led by renewed confidence at the high end and a rebound in public auction sales.
Both dealer and public auction markets grew, with the dealer sector up by 2% year-on-year and public sales at auction rising 9% in value
The 10th edition of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, authored by Dr. Clare McAndrew of Arts Economics, analyzes the global art market in 2025, placing its performance within the broader economic and wealth landscape.
Reviewing key sectors including dealers, auction houses, and art fairs this is a benchmark report for the industry and provides the most comprehensive data-driven overview of the forces shaping today's market.

Dr. 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.”

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."

Paul Donovan, Chief Economist, UBS Global Wealth Management, said: “The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026 points to a global art market that is adjusting in a measured and constructive way. While growth in 2025 was modest and uneven across regions, the art market has demonstrated a notable degree of resilience relative to many other industries. This adjustment is taking place alongside a profound structural shift - the Great Wealth Transfer, with more than USD 83 trillion set to pass between generations in the coming decades. As wealth increasingly moves into the hands of women and younger collectors, family dynamics, collecting motivations, and philanthropic priorities are evolving, reshaping collecting patterns and long-term engagement with the art market.”

THE GLOBAL ART MARKET

The global art market returned to growth in 2025, with sales increasing by 4% year-on-year in value to an estimated $59.6 billion. Aggregate sales in both dealer and auction markets improved, with the dealer sector rising 2% year-on-year to $34.8 billion and public auction sales up by 9% to $20.7 billion. Reported private sales declined by 5% to just under $4.2 billion.

While this marked a turning point in the art market’s direction following two consecutive years of declining values, the recovery remained uneven and sales remained below their 2022 peak, as a backdrop of inflation in operating costs, tariffs and trade barriers placed additional pressure on margins. Business activity continued as the volume of transactions reached an estimated 41.5 million in 2025, a 2% year-on-year increase.

Leading Global Art Markets

The three leading art markets, the US, the UK and China accounted for 76% of global sales by value, stable year-on-year. The US remained the largest market with 44% of sales by value, up 1% in share year-on-year, followed by the UK with a stable share of 18% and China at 14%, down 1%. France, the fourth-largest market and the EU’s largest, increased its market share by 1% to 8%.

The US: Despite trade policy unpredictability in 2025 and two years of market decline, sales in the US reached $26.0 billion, increasing by 5% year-on-year. High-end sales returned to growth in some sectors as the combined value of fine art works sold at auction in the US for more than $10 million rose by nearly 40%.
The UK: Sales in the UK reached $10.5 billion in 2025, up 2% from 2024. While public auction sales grew in 2025, dealer sales were more subdued.
China: Against a backdrop of the real estate downturn and other economic concerns that weighed on consumer confidence, sales in China were stable, increasing by just over 1% to $8.5 billion. Auction activity strengthened in Mainland China, while Hong Kong’s more internationally oriented market faced greater exposure to global challenges in 2025.
France: Marking a decisive turnaround following two years of decline, sales in France reached $4.5 billion in 2025, increasing by 9% year-on-year, driven by strong performance in both the auction and dealer sectors and lifting the market above its 2019 level.
The picture in broader European markets was mixed, with growth in Switzerland (up 13%), Austria (up 13%), and Spain (up 6%), while the German and Italian markets slowed by 10% and 2% respectively. Supported by strong performance by the French art market, sales in the EU as a whole rose 3% year-on-year to an estimated $8.4 billion. In Asia, growth was also mixed. Japan – which had bucked the declining trend in 2024 – had a slower year of sales, with values down by 1% in 2025, while South Korea posted gains of 6%.

DEALERS

Dealer sales reached $34.8 billion in 2025, marking a welcome 2% rise and a return to stability after two years of decline, with performance varying across regions and segments.

Sales and profitability: Nearly half of dealers (42%) reported an increase in sales in 2025, up 7% year-on-year, while 33% reported a decline and 25% had stable sales. In parallel, dealers' total operating costs rose by an estimated 5% on average in 2025, higher than the rate of inflation in most major art markets and higher than aggregate sales growth, indicating persistent financial challenges. Despite rising costs, the return to positive sales growth helped stabilize margins for some dealers. The share reporting lower profitability declined to 38% (down 5% year-on-year), while 33% reported improved profitability and 29% maintained similar levels to 2024.
Sales by segment: The lower-end of the art market remained strong, with double-digit increases in average sales for dealers turning over less than $500,000. Sales for dealers with turnover between $1 million and $10 million fell slightly (by 1%), while at the very top of the market—dealers with turnover greater than $10 million— returned to growth of 3% after two years of decline.
Female artists: Female artist representation strengthened in 2025, reaching parity (50% of represented artists) among primary market galleries and 45% across all dealers (up from 41% in 2024 and 35% in 2018). Works by female artists accounted for 37% of sales by value (up from 28% in 2018), and 44% for primary market galleries. Despite recent progress, gender disparities persist across career progression, with women accounting for 55% of artists and 43% of sales among dealers with turnover below $250,000, compared to 35% of artists and 27% of sales at galleries with revenues above $10 million.
Business longevity: The dealer sector continued to maintain considerable business longevity. Despite headlines during 2025 highlighting high-profile gallery closures, there was no evidence of closures outweighing openings. A review of published gallery openings, closures, and relocation announcements in 2025 showed that the share of openings (42%) was considerably higher than reported closures (25%), with the remaining 33% of gallery activity focused on relocation or other structural changes, showing considerable market adaptation within the sector.

Buyer profile

Local vs. international buyers: More than half of dealers cited greater indirect costs on tax and duties and increased administrative burden in 2025, discouraging some international transactions. As a result, more sales shifted toward local collectors for many dealers, particularly among the smallest dealers with turnover below $250,000, where local sales rose 9% to 71% of private collector sales. Even dealers with turnover above $10 million, where international private collectors remain dominant, saw the share of local buyers increase to 29%, up 6% year-on-year.
Number of buyers: The average number of unique buyers per dealer decreased to 57 in 2025, the lowest level since 2021. The sharpest decline was among the smallest dealers, with those turning over less than $250,000 reporting a 40% drop to an average of 29 buyers, their lowest level since 2021, although still slightly above 2019.
New buyers: Although strategies varied between diversification and increased concentration, finding new buyers remained a priority for dealers. Across all segments, just under half (49%) of the buyers that dealers sold to in 2025 were new to their business, up from 44% in 2024. The share of new buyers was highest for the smallest dealers at 60% (up from 50% in 2024) and declined as turnover expanded to 39% for dealers with a turnover greater than $10 million, stable on the previous year.

ART FAIRS

Art fair sales increased to 35% of dealer turnover, up 4% year-on-year and their highest share since 2022.

Local vs. overseas events: In contrast to 2024 where growth was largely driven by overseas fairs, total fair sales at both overseas and local events grew in 2025, with the majority (63%) of total fair sales made at overseas fairs against 37% made at local fairs.
Share per dealer segment: Mid-size dealers with a turnover between $1 and $10 million saw the biggest rise in their share of sales at art fairs, from 29% in 2024 to 36% in 2025. Dealers with turnover above $10 million averaged 32% in 2025, down 2% year-on-year, driven by a 3% drop in overseas fair sales (to 22%), while local fair sales edged up 1% to 10%.

AUCTION

Public auction sales increased 9% to $20.7 billion, driven by stronger activity in the second half of the year and several record prices at the high end of the market. Private sales declined 5% to just under $4.2 billion.

Public auction sales by price segment: Driven by the sale of major collections - such as the collection of Leonard A. Lauder and The Cindy and Jay Pritzker Collection in November - and high-value individual works, particularly in the second half of the year, growth in 2025 was concentrated at the top of the market. The value of fine art lots sold for over $1 million increased 21% year-on-year, with transactions at this level rising 15%. At the ultra-high end, sales above $10 million grew 30%, alongside a 9% increase in the number of lots sold. In contrast, sales below $50,000 declined, with both value and volume falling 2%. High-end concentration in the US increased, with all the top 10 highest-priced lots in 2025 sold in New York, along with 39 of the top 50.
Public auction sales by sector: Postwar art remained the largest fine art auction sector in 2025, with a 31% share by value, followed by Modern art (24%), Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art (19%), Contemporary art (14%), and the wider Old Masters (11%). In 2025, Postwar sales declined slightly, falling 3% year-on-year to $3.1 billion. Modern art rebounded after three years of decline, rising 9% to $2.4 billion, and Contemporary art sales held steady at $1.4 billion. The strongest growth came from the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist sector, where sales surged by 47% year-on-year. The wider Old Masters market also expanded, rising 30% to just under $1.2 billion, supported by an increase in high-value transactions.

ONLINE SALES

High-end sales shifted back to in-person channels in 2025, while online sales declined to $9.2 billion, their lowest level since 2019. Dealers reported a notable decline in the share of their sales conducted exclusively online, as transactions migrated back to in-person channels. Auction house online-only sales remained concentrated in the mid- to lower-price segments, while the highest-priced lots were sold in live sales. Despite online-only sales remaining a key channel for new buyers, their share declined by 3% year-on-year to 15% of the total market.

OUTLOOK

Optimism in the art market strengthened heading into 2026, with more businesses anticipating a stronger year ahead than when surveyed 12 months earlier. Overall, 43% of dealers expected sales to improve (up 10% year-on-year), 38% expected sales to remain stable (down 10%), and a steady 19% anticipated a decline. The outlook also improved in the auction sector in 2025, where nearly half of the mid-tier auction houses expected sales to improve, up 33% year-on-year. While 21% anticipated weaker performance - still higher than in some recent years - this was significantly down from 40% a year earlier.

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