The global art market returned to growth in 2025 for the first time in three years, and the industry is gaining in optimism, an annual report by Swiss bank UBS and Art Basel showed on Thursday.
After the market’s sales grew 4% in 2025 to an estimated $59.6 billion, 43% of dealers expect turnover to rise in 2026, compared with 33% during the previous year, the study showed.
Still, art dealers face significant operational pressures due to growing complexities in cross-border transactions amid U.S. tariffs, it said.
The report’s author Clare McAndrew, founder of research and consultancy firm Arts Economics, said 2025 was a welcome turnaround for the art market.
“However, it continued to operate in a volatile geopolitical environment, particularly regarding cross-border trade, the full implications of which are still unfolding in 2026,” she said.
Driving growth in 2025 was an increase in public auction sales and activity in the United States, the top market. Growth was more subdued in the two next biggest, China and Britain.
And while sales in both Switzerland and Austria jumped 13% year-on-year, they fell 10% in Germany.
McAndrew said a shift toward protectionism and more focus on domestic sales could pose longer-term risks to the art market, which relies heavily on international circulation and access to global audiences.
(Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier)
