ART MARKET REFERENCE
Art market statistics for 2026.
Current numbers for writers, collectors, and curious people who want a clearer picture of how art is bought, sold, and lived with.
Last updated September 21, 2026. Every figure below names its source and the period it covers.
A QUICK READ
The market grew, but it did not grow in one direction.
Global sales recovered in 2025, public auctions moved faster than dealer sales, and the United States remained the largest market by value. The figures below put those shifts in one readable place, without pretending that a headline number tells the whole story.
$59.6B
Estimated global art-market sales in 2025
That was a 4% increase from 2024, after two consecutive annual declines.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 202541.5M
Estimated art-market transactions in 2025
Transaction volume rose 2% year over year, a reminder that the market is larger than its headline auction results.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 2025$34.8B
Dealer-sector sales in 2025
Dealer sales rose 2% year over year, showing modest growth alongside the larger auction rebound.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 2025$20.7B
Public auction sales in 2025
Public auction sales increased 9% year over year, the strongest major segment gain in the report.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 2025$26B
U.S. art-market sales in 2025
U.S. sales grew 5% from 2024, returning to growth after two years of decline.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 202535%
Share of dealer turnover made at art fairs
Art-fair sales rose 4% year over year and reached their highest share of dealer turnover since 2022.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 202543%
Dealers expecting sales to improve in 2026
Another 38% expected stable sales, reflecting a more constructive outlook than the previous year.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026, 2026 report, covering 202578%
High-net-worth respondents who bought fine art in 2024
Paintings were the most-purchased medium and the largest by value in this survey of high-net-worth collectors.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025, 2025 survey, covering 2024 and the first half of 2025$438,990
Average 2024 spending by surveyed high-net-worth collectors
That average covered 14 works. It describes this affluent survey group, not the typical art buyer.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025, 2025 survey, covering 2024 and the first half of 202546%
Women collectors who outspent men on average in 2024
The finding comes from the same high-net-worth collector survey, which included respondents across 10 key markets.
Source: Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025, 2025 survey, covering 2024 and the first half of 2025$1.17T
U.S. arts and culture economic activity in 2023
The sector represented 4.2% of U.S. GDP and grew 6.6% after inflation, according to federal data.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Culture, 2023 data, released April 2025HOW TO READ THESE FIGURES
Useful context matters.
The art-market figures come from a global annual report on dealers, auctions, and art fairs. The collector figures come from a survey of 3,100 high-net-worth respondents across 10 markets, so they are best read as a view of affluent collecting behavior, not a portrait of every person buying art for their home.
The U.S. arts-and-culture figure has a broader scope. It includes the economic contribution of arts and cultural activity, not only original-painting sales. We include it because it gives the market its wider cultural and economic setting.
SOURCES AND CITATION
Made to be checked, quoted, and revisited.
Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026
2026 report, covering 2025
Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025
2025 survey, covering 2024 and the first half of 2025
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and Culture
2023 data, released April 2025
SUGGESTED CITATION
Grammo Studio. “Art Market Statistics: 12 Numbers Shaping Collecting in 2026.” Updated September 21, 2026. https://grammostudio.com/art-market-statistics/
ART IS MORE THAN A NUMBER