{"id":61277,"date":"2025-04-08T19:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T15:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/?p=61277"},"modified":"2025-04-08T19:23:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T15:23:32","slug":"by-the-numbers-its-art-market-report-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/by-the-numbers-its-art-market-report-season\/","title":{"rendered":"By the numbers: it&#8217;s art market report season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Springtime sees the arrival of the art market numbers, just in time for Art Dubai, with three data-based reports \u2013 Artprice.com\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.artprice.com\/artprice-reports\/the-art-market-in-2024\">The Art Market in 2024<\/a>; the <a href=\"https:\/\/theartmarket.artbasel.com\/\">Art Basel \/ UBS Art Market Report 2025<\/a>; and <a href=\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/market\/introducing-the-intelligence-report-the-year-ahead-2025-2620334\">The Intelligence Report: The Year Ahead 2025<\/a> by Artnet. They don\u2019t all cover the same areas, they don\u2019t all have the same numbers, but they do share much the same conclusion \u2013 the art market generally is contracting, but we needn\u2019t panic just yet.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-advanced-heading has-custom-font-size\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-advanced-heading__content has-background\" style=\"padding-left:10px;background-color:#f9e7ec\"><strong>The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theartmarket.artbasel.com\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/The-Art-Basel-and-UBS-Art-Market-Report-2025_Page_001.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61283\" style=\"width:235px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The biggest, deepest and best is the Art Basel\/UBS report, compiled as ever by the doyens of art market analysis at Clare McAndrew\u2019s consultancy Arts Economics. As usual this is a meaty piece of work, based on data gathered from dealers (who between them are estimated to account for between 70% and 80% of all dealer sales), auction houses, collectors, art fairs, art and financial databases, industry experts, and \u201cothers involved in the art trade\u201d. There\u2019s granular analysis by size, type and location, and for anyone in the business it\u2019s an essential read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is quite dense \u2013 266 pages, only a handful of which are fillers \u2013 so we\u2019ve summarised out what we see as the key points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-iconlist kt-svg-icon-list-items kt-svg-icon-list-items61277_2fa2df-71 kt-svg-icon-list-columns-1 alignnone kt-list-icon-aligntop\"><ul class=\"kt-svg-icon-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_004a81-bc\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Global art market sales are calculated as $57.5 billion for 2024. That&#8217;s down 12% on the year before.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_4d31d9-ab\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Dealers and auction houses both suffered, but it was the auctioneers that took the bigger hit \u2013 sales were 25% lower (at a total of $19bn) while dealer sales were 6% lower. The big falls were at the top end, for instance with 39% fewer auction sales priced over $10 million.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_6f508b-72\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Some 43% of dealers were less profitable than in 2023 and 25% were about the same; on average, their operating costs were nearly 10% higher on the year.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_c422c8-bf\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">There wasn\u2019t much change in the number of exhibit5ons dealer held (about eight in 2024) or the number of art fairs they attended<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_486a47-d6\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">NFTs are looking increasingly irrelevant \u2013 all segments of the NFT market declined in value, with art down by 65% in value year-on-year and collectibles down by 43%. The average number of unique buyers of NFT art also dropped from about 16,835 per month in 2023 to 5,620 in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_92054e-f4\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Good news comes from the increased number of transactions \u2013 up by an admittedly modest 3 percent, but still suggesting an appetite for lower\u00ad priced art. That\u2019s reflected in sales by dealer size, on the basis that smaller dealers tend to sell less expensive art: those with an annual turnover below $250,000 saw annual sales increase by 17%, dealers with turnover over $10 million reported a drop in sales of 9%.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_5458e7-66\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">There are new buyers too \u2013 the share of sales by dealers to new buyers was up by 5% at 38% of all sales. That said, buyers seem more conservative, with dealers voicing concerns about \u201ca lack of curiosity by collectors in discovering new artists and works \u2026 Galleries showing newer and emerging artists noted that it was increasingly difficult to get people in to see shows for new artists, while those for more established artists would sell out easily&#8221;.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_fcbb19-52\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Art fair organisers will be quite happy: sales made by galleries there increased slightly to 31% of total dealer sales \u2013 up by 2% from 2023, though still well below 2022 (35%) and pre-pandemic levels (42% in 2019).<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_80a158-eb\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">More important, perhaps, art fairs remain a key source of new buyers, with 31% of dealers citing them as their primary source (followed by in-person gallery walk-ins at 23% and client referrals at 16%). On average dealers exhibited at around three fairs in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_0355dc-6a\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">The report counts 336 art fairs in 2024 \u2013 down from the pre-pandemic high of 407 in 2019, and slightly lower than in 2023 (when there were 336).<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_554e24-5d\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">As for expectations, dealers seem happy enough: 80% expected stable (47%) or improved (33%) sales in 2025. Among auctioneers the mood was more pessimistic, with only 15% expecting sales to improve and fully 40% of respondents forecasting a decline.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps predictably, the majority of dealers said their greatest challenge would be the effects of political and economic volatility on the market \u2013 and that was before thre arrival of Trump\u2019s tariff trade wars. UBS\u2019s Chief Economist Paul Donovan contributed something of a hostage to fortune in his assessment that \u201cfrom an economic perspective, the outlook should be one of continuity\u201d \u2013 though he did hedge his bets with \u201cpolitics introduce uncertainty, with the shift toward economic nationalism bringing trade protectionism, restrictions on labour movement and limits on capital flows\u201d. The Art Market Report does include some detailed analysis of the effect of pre-2025 tariffs, but there are no hard and fast predictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read the report online <a href=\"https:\/\/theartmarket.artbasel.com\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a>, or download a free copy <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theartmarket.artbasel.com\/download\/The-Art-Basel-and-UBS-Art-Market-Report-2025.pdf\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-advanced-heading has-custom-font-size\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-advanced-heading__content has-background\" style=\"padding-left:10px;background-color:#f9e7ec\">The Art Market in 2024<\/span><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artprice.com\/artprice-reports\/the-art-market-in-2024\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/the-art-market-in-2024-1_Page_01.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61284\" style=\"width:235px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Artprice&#8217;s report is based on data from auction sales \u2013 it doesn\u2019t include dealer sales at all \u2013 and it uses much the same sources as Art Basel\/UBS. As a result, the headline conclusions are very similar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-iconlist kt-svg-icon-list-items kt-svg-icon-list-items61277_b1e03c-8e kt-svg-icon-list-columns-1 alignnone kt-list-icon-aligntop\"><ul class=\"kt-svg-icon-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_bfc075-a3\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Global art auction sales were $9.9bn, down 33.5% because of fewer high-end sales.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_2e2c10-12\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">But growth of in other price segments contributed to a record in total transaction volumes, with 804,000 lots sold \u2013 a 4% increase on 2023.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_e5ad50-6c\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Half of the works sold went for less than $607; 90% went for less than $9.225.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_b026fd-4a\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">More artists are being represented at auction \u2013 more than 187,000 in 2024, an increase of 6% on the year before.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-kadence-listitem kt-svg-icon-list-item-wrap kt-svg-icon-list-item-61277_cd5576-47\"><span data-name=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_ICON\" data-stroke=\"USE_PARENT_DEFAULT_WIDTH\" data-class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-single\" class=\"kadence-dynamic-icon\"><\/span><span class=\"kt-svg-icon-list-text\">Boom areas include prints, surrealism, and female artists (which Art Base\/UBS also noted).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read the report online <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artprice.com\/artprice-reports\/the-art-market-in-2024\">here<\/a><\/strong>, or register to download a free copy<\/mark>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-getwid-advanced-heading has-custom-font-size\" style=\"font-size:25px\"><span class=\"wp-block-getwid-advanced-heading__content has-background\" style=\"padding-left:10px;background-color:#f9e7ec\"><strong>The Intelligence Report: The Year Ahead, 2025<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.artnet.com\/market\/introducing-the-intelligence-report-the-year-ahead-2025-2620334\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Artnet_IR_2025_MAR17_Page_01.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-61282\" style=\"width:235px;height:auto\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Artnet\u2019s Intelligence Report also bases its numbers on auction sales, but this one is less of a data-driven assessment and more a collection of thinkpieces, essays and interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The editor-in-chief\u2019s main conclusion is more dramatic than we get from the other reports: \u201cthe market is shifting gears \u2026 This is more than a market correction. It\u2019s a transformation. We are moving away from an era driven by financial speculation into one guided by personal taste. The resilience of the $100,000-to-$1 million price bracket in 2024 suggests that mid-tier collectors are again ascendant. They are neither billionaires chasing status nor flippers seeking short-term gains, and they are buying with conviction \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The basis for that conclusion? Top-end \u2018trophy\u2019 lots at auction \u2013 sales at $10m plus \u2013 saw the steepest decline last year, down over 44%. Online art sales are surging, says the report (to be fair, Art Basel\/UBS diagrees with that); and there is a lot of interest in luxury collectables (undenaibly true).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are also some nuggets from the accompanying interviews, especially as they relate to the Middle East. <strong>Anthea Peers<\/strong>, President of Christie\u2019s Europe and MEA, was naturally bullish about prospects in the region \u2013 observing inter alia that \u201ca third of our global client base is under 44, but the proportion is even higher in the Middle East, where 58 percent of new buyers and bidders are millennials or younger\u201d. (She neatly sidestepped a question about human rights issues in Saudi Arabia, talking about \u201can ongoing process of change\u201d and \u201cthe power of arts and the free market place as a positive force of change in society\u201d.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Leila Heller<\/strong> is also interviewed, and she\u2019s enthusiastic about Dubai \u2013 \u201cI have yet to face obstacles in Dubai \u2013 in fact, I am constantly given opportunities to thrive\u201d. The Sharjah and Jeddah Biennials are both \u201con a par with the Venice Biennale in terms of scope, curation, and vision\u201d. And \u201cworking in the Middle East is deeply personal, often<br>involving friendships and family ties. That\u2019s what makes being an art dealer here so much more rewarding \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The best of the interviews is with <strong>Vivienne Chow<\/strong>, recently installed in a newly created Art Dubai position of Executive Director, Curatorial. She is particularly acute about the ecosystem: \u201cCountries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have prioritised culture in national development strategies \u2026 The scale of these initiatives is significant, but the key is building frameworks that allow them to thrive. It\u2019s not just about attracting talent or expanding exhibitions but about creating conditions where institutions and cultural organisations develop substantive, reciprocal relationships \u2026 This isn\u2019t just about building spaces but about fostering frameworks that ensure long-term impact\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-red-color\">Read the report online <a href=\"https:\/\/theartmarket.artbasel.com\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a>, or download a free copy <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/media.artnet.com\/image\/upload\/IR%20Spring%202025\/Artnet_IR_2025_MAR17.pdf\">here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">Springtime sees the arrival of the art market numbers, just in time for Art Dubai, with three data-based reports \u2013 Artprice.com\u2019s The Art Market in 2024; the Art Basel \/ UBS Art Market Report 2025; and The Intelligence Report: The <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/by-the-numbers-its-art-market-report-season\/\" title=\"By the numbers: it&#8217;s art market report season\"> [&#8230; more]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-art-market"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magpie.ae\/staging4\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}