The big picture, once a year
The Market Pulse.
The annual figures everyone quotes, each with the report it came from and the scope it applies to. Small and slow on purpose: an annual report is not a feed, and this page does not pretend to be one.
The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026 (tenth edition), Dr Clare McAndrew, Arts Economics, covering calendar year 2025; published 2026-03-12. Read 2026-09-20. The report.
| Figure | Value | Year on year | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global art sales | $59.6bnUSD bn | +4%up 4% year on year, the first rise after two years of decline | the whole market: dealer sales, public auction sales and reported private auction sales togetherUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Dealer sector | $34.8bnUSD bn | +2%up 2% | aggregate sales by galleries and dealers, primary and secondaryUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Public auction sales | $20.7bnUSD bn | +9%up 9% | public auctions only. This is NOT the whole auction sector - add the reported private sales below and the two make 24.9 (see the resolution)UBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Private auction sales | $4.2bnUSD bn · just under | −4%down 4% | private sales reported by auction houses - a subset of the sector, not of public auction salesUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| United States | $26bnUSD bn | —growth, driven by auctions | sales in the United States; about 44% of global sales by value (26.0 / 59.6)UBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| United Kingdom | $10.5bnUSD bn | —growth | sales in the United KingdomUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| China | $8.5bnUSD bn | —growth, stabilising the market | sales in China; with the US and the UK the three are 76% of global sales by valueUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Transactions | 41.5mmillion | — | estimated volume of transactions in 2025, all sectorsUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Works by female artists | 37%% of sales by value | —up from 28% in 2018 | share of sales by value across the market; 50% of artists represented by primary-market galleries and 45% across all dealersUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Art fairs | 35%% of dealer turnover | +4%up 4% year on year, the highest since 2022 | share of dealer turnover made at fairs; online sales declined over the same periodUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
| Dealers expecting improvement | 43%% | —a further 38% expect stable sales | dealers' own expectation for 2026, from the same report - a sentiment reading, not a measurementUBS summary of the report, retrieved 20 Sep 2026 |
What this page refuses
- No figure is printed without its scope. 'Auction sales' alone is two figures stacked, and this table prints the parts and says which is which.
- The annual figures are copied from the report's own summary. Nothing is re-based, converted, combined into an index or projected forward, because an index this site cannot show is a figure a reader cannot check.
- The report is quoted with attribution and never reproduced. The report itself is the source; the summary is where the wording was read.
- Sentiment is labelled sentiment. '43% of dealers expect improvement' is what dealers said, not what happened.
as of 2026-09-20 · How we measure · The Tape · Download the report