Global art sales reached an estimated $59.6 billion in 2025, up 4 percent, according to the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report compiled by Arts Economics. It ends two consecutive years of contraction. It does not undo them.
Growth, from a reduced base
| Segment | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Total market | $59.6 billion | Up 4 percent |
| Dealers | $34.8 billion | Up 2 percent |
| Public auction | $20.7 billion | Up 9 percent |
| Reported private sales | Just under $4.2 billion | Down 5 percent |
The 2024 market was an estimated $57.5 billion after a 12 percent fall. A 4 percent recovery on that base leaves the market below its 2022 peak. Anyone reading the headline as a rebound should hold both numbers at once.
Auction rose, private sales fell
The most informative line is the split. Public auction grew 9 percent while reported private sales fell 5 percent. Auction is the transparent, price-discovering half of the market and the half sellers use when they want certainty of sale rather than certainty of price. Activity moving toward the public room usually means sellers are more motivated than buyers.
Activity moving toward the auction room usually means sellers are more motivated than buyers.
Rich & Richer
What the aggregate cannot tell you
A market-wide total is close to useless for valuing a specific work. Art is concentrated, with a small number of artists and lots accounting for a large share of value, and it is illiquid in a way equities are not. Selling costs, insurance, storage and authentication all sit outside the sales figure, and none of them are small.
Collections assembled for pleasure and later treated as balance-sheet assets are where families most often find the paperwork does not support the assumption. That is a structuring question as much as a curatorial one, and it belongs with the wider family balance sheet rather than in a separate file.
The cultural infrastructure keeps expanding
Market values and cultural activity have moved in different directions for three years. Institutions and galleries have continued to open and program through the downturn, something we have tracked from Singapore’s gallery scene to the way individual makers have built durable practices. Attention and price are related, but they are not the same series.
Frequently asked questions
How large was the global art market in 2025?
An estimated $59.6 billion, up 4 percent year on year, according to the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report produced by Arts Economics.
What happened in the preceding years?
Sales fell 12 percent in 2024 to an estimated $57.5 billion, following a decline in 2023. The 2025 figure represents a return to growth after two down years, though the market remains below its 2022 peak.
Which segments grew?
Public auction sales rose 9 percent to $20.7 billion and the dealer sector rose 2 percent to $34.8 billion. Reported private sales fell 5 percent to just under $4.2 billion.
Is art a reliable store of value?
Aggregate market size says nothing about an individual work. The market is highly concentrated, illiquid, and carries transaction costs, insurance and storage that do not appear in headline sales figures.