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In 2024, despite a challenging economic environment and a 12% decrease in values year-on-year, the number of transactions rose by 3%. This growth indicates continued activity, especially in lower-priced segments.
The ninth edition of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2025 by Arts Economics provides a comprehensive, macroeconomic, benchmark analysis of the state of the global art market in 2024. It examines its various segments, including galleries and dealers, auction houses, and art fairs, assessing their performance against the backdrop of changes in the global economic and wealth context. Written by cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, and co-published by Art Basel and UBS.
Clare McAndrew, Founder, Arts Economics, said: “While the market has declined in value for two years, one of the most positive developments has been the growth of sales at the lower and more affordable prices. The number of artworks sold for prices in the sub-$50,000 range has expanded and there has been evidence of success by both dealers and auction houses in reaching new buyers, giving the market a broader and more diversified base for sales. Continuing to expand the market to wider audiences, including through the relatively unencumbered exchange of art across borders, will remain essential to its long-run growth.”
Paul Donovan, Chief Economist, UBS Global Wealth Management said: “Most developed economies achieved a soft landing in 2024, and from an economic perspective, the outlook should be one of continuity. However, politics introduce uncertainty, with the shift toward economic nationalism bringing trade protectionism, restrictions on labor movement and limits on capital flows. Amid the great wealth transfer and shifts in the global economic landscape, we are witnessing a turning point in the art market. Despite the adjustment in global sales values, transactions remain high, with positive signs from the presence of new buyers. The market's ability to adapt and attract new buyers underscores its enduring appeal. While economic change can be daunting, it also creates new opportunities.”
Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel, said: “While one of the key themes in 2024 was the continued easing of the high-end of the market amid economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and shifting collector behaviors, new buyers nevertheless made their presence felt, sales volumes accelerated and transactions at art fairs ticked up. These trends reflect the urgency of expanding networks and dedicated audience engagement strategies across the spectrum in order to adapt and thrive within today’s business environment. Our most recent edition of Art Basel Hong Kong reaffirmed this to start 2025 with strong sales and engagement from both existing and new audiences across Asia and worldwide – dynamics that we will monitor closely as the year gathers pace."
The key findings include:
Global art market sales were an estimated USD 57.5 billion in 2024, amid a backdrop of economic uncertainty.
Global sales declined 12% year-on-year as the high-end market thinned following a strong post-pandemic recovery up to 2022. This marked the second year of slowing sales at the high end.
Transactions rose by 3% to 40.5 million in 2024, demonstrating continued dynamism particularly in lower-priced segments. Increased engagement in accessible price tiers drove momentum for both dealers and auction houses.
Placement of leading markets and key region performance:
The US maintained its position as the leading art market worldwide with sales of USD 24.8 billion, down 9% year-on-year, but accounting for 43% of global sales by value.
The UK regained its position as the second-largest market with an 18% share as sales reached USD 10.4 billion, down just 5% on 2023.
China fell from second to third place with a 15% global share as sales dropped 31% to USD 8.4 billion.
Most major European markets saw a slowdown in sales, with France reaching USD 4.2 billion maintaining a 7% share of global sales and securing its position as the fourth-largest market worldwide. Overall, EU sales totaled USD 8.3 billion.
In Asia, market performance varied, with Japan going against trend with sales growth of 2% year-on-year.
Importance of art fairs prevails: Art fairs remained a key source of new buyers in 2024, with 31% of dealers citing them as their primary source, followed by in-person gallery walk-ins (23%) and client referrals (16%).
New buyers on the rise: Dealers reported that 44% of their buyers were new to their business in 2024. The share of sales to new buyers also increased to 38%, up by 5 percentage points from 2023. The share of new buyers was highest for the smallest dealers (50%), highlighting the importance of smaller galleries in expanding the market to a wider audience. After expanding their buyer base in 2023, top-end dealers with the highest turnovers in excess of USD 10 million adopted a more focused sales strategy in 2024, selling high value works to fewer collectors. However, even in this segment, 40% of their annual buyers were new.
Preference for dealer-owned online platforms: Overall, online sales in the global art market declined by 11% to USD 10.5 billion in 2024, lower than the last four years but still 76% above prepandemic 2019. The main growth in online sales came from dealers' own websites and online channels, which have more than doubled their share since 2019.
Female artists achieve greater representation and market presence: The representation of female artists among dealers continued to slowly increase to 41%, up by 6% on 2018.
Stable outlook with middle-market dealer optimism: Looking ahead to 2025, 80% of dealers expected stable (47%) or improved (33%) sales. Optimism was highest in the middle market, with those hoping for increasing sales in the USD 500,000 to USD 1 million segment up from around a third at the end of 2023 to 51% at the end of 2024. Most of the largest dealers (with turnover of USD 10 million-plus) felt sales would stabilize in 2025, with 19% predicting an increase. The effects of political and economic volatility on the market remained the greatest challenge for dealers, followed by maintaining relationships with existing collectors.