A survey of wealthy individuals conducted by UBS and Art Basel found millennials were buying art more actively.
Last year, the global art market grew by 6 percent, reaching an estimated $67.4 billion, with the United States extending its position as the largest market and the United Kingdom regaining its place as the second largest market ahead of China.
People between 22 and 37 years of age made up nearly half of the wealthy art buyers who regularly spent $1 million or more on an artwork over the past two years, the survey found, despite representing just over a third of the high-net-worth individuals surveyed.
Sales in the dealer sector increased, driven by gains at top end and marked by further consolidation overall. Equally driven by the top end of the market, sales at public auction also increased with the United States showing the strongest growth.
Sales in the three largest markets of the United States, the United Kingdom and China accounted for 84 percent of the global market’s total value in 2018: the U.S. was the largest market worldwide, accounting for 44 percent of sales by value. The United Kingdom regained its position as the second largest art market (21 percent) and China was the third largest with 19 percent.
Online sales of art and antiques reached an estimated $6 billion, up 11 percent year-on-year and accounting for 9 percent of the value of the global market.
Art Basel and UBS published the third edition of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report. Written by renowned cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew, founder of arts economics, the report presents the results of a comprehensive and macro-level analysis of the global art market in 2018.
To download the report, click here.
