Art Basel in Basel. Courtesy of Art Basel
The global art market returned to modest growth in 2025, with total sales rising 4% year-on-year to an estimated $59.6 billion, according to the latest Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026.
Authored by cultural economist Clare McAndrew and published by Art Basel and UBS, the tenth edition of the annual report offers one of the most comprehensive snapshots of the global art trade, analysing dealer activity, auction performance, art fairs and shifting collector behaviour.
After several years of contraction, the market saw a gradual recovery driven largely by renewed confidence at the top end. Dealer sales increased by 2% to $34.8 billion, while public auction sales rose 9% to $20.7 billion, helped by stronger activity in high-value works.
“The market welcomed a shift in direction in 2025, from the contraction of previous years to modest growth,”
said McAndrew.
“However, it continued to operate in a volatile geopolitical environment, particularly regarding cross-border trade.”
Despite wider economic uncertainty, the United States remained the dominant art market, accounting for 44% of global sales with total transactions reaching $26 billion. The United Kingdom followed with an 18% share, while China held third place at 14%. France strengthened its position as the fourth-largest market, rising to an 8% share globally.
Across Europe and Asia, the picture was more mixed. Markets such as Switzerland, Austria and Spain recorded solid growth, while Germany, Italy and Japan experienced softer conditions.
The report also highlighted the growing role of art fairs, which accounted for 35% of dealer sales, their highest share since 2022. At the same time, online art sales declined to $9.2 billion, suggesting that higher-value transactions are increasingly returning to in-person channels.
Gender representation continued to improve across the primary market, with women artists representing 50% of artists at primary-market galleries and 37% of sales by value, up significantly from levels recorded earlier in the decade.
Looking ahead, sentiment across the trade appears cautiously optimistic. Around 43% of dealers expect sales to improve in 2026, while a further 38% anticipate stable performance, reflecting a market adjusting to new economic realities while continuing to rely on international circulation and global collectors.
For Noah Horowitz, the report signals a moment of recalibration for the sector.
“2025 marked a return to growth for the art business and a strategic inflection point in its continued evolution,”
The full report is free to download at ubs.com/artmarket
About
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.
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. To meet growing client demand in the US, UBS has expanded its specialty lending capabilities to include dedicated art lending services for select Ultra High Net Worth clients, complementing its Art Advisory offering.
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).
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
