Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2022

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Discover the latest art market insights

Download the Art Market Report 2022

5 Insights from the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2022

Key findings from our annual analysis of the global art market

The art market proved its resilience in 2021, but did it fully regain the ground lost during the pandemic? Did the shift online continue unabated, and what was the impact of the rise of NFTs? Authored by renowned cultural economist Dr Clare McAndrew, Arts Economics, the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report offers the definitive guide to the rapidly changing art market landscape. The report also features results from a survey of over 2,000 HNW art collectors across 10 key markets by UBS Investor Watch and Arts Economics – providing insights into buyer behavior.

Here, we share five findings from the 2022 report, which can be downloaded in full below.

Global art sales rebounded above pre-pandemic levels

The art market bounced back strongly in 2021, with aggregate sales of art and antiques by dealers and auction houses reaching an estimated $65.1 billion. Representing a 29% increase on the previous year, this figure outstrips the market’s 2019 value by $0.7 billion. The US remained dominant with a share of 43% of global sales by value, while the UK slipped back behind Greater China to third place. Meanwhile the French art market saw its strongest year in a decade produce an impressive 50% uplift in sales year-on-year.

HNW collectors engaged

The UBS Investor Watch and Arts Economics survey indicated an increased dedication from HNW collectors, who on average purchased more art and antiques in 2021 than they did in 2020. The value of their purchases also rose, with median spend more than doubling and the proportion spending over $1 million also rising dramatically.

HNW collectors still prefer to buy from dealers

Dealers remained the preferred channel for buying art amongst the HNW collectors surveyed, with 76% having purchased through this channel at some point in the year. While online sales retained a greatly increased share of total art sales by value compared to 2019, if given a choice between offline and online experiences, most HNW collectors (69%) still preferred to view art for sale in person at a gallery or fair. 19% preferred to view art online, and 12% were indifferent.

Interest in NFTs

Outside the art market, the total sales value of art-related NFTs on the Ethereum, Flow and Ronin blockchains increased over a hundredfold to $2.6 billion. NFTs appear to hold growing appeal to HNW art collectors, with 74% of those surveyed having purchased art-related NFTs in 2021. Following landmark sales at auction, interest shows no sign of abating, with only 4% of HNW collectors surveyed stating they were not at all interested in purchasing NFTs in future. Discover more analysis

Collecting with purpose

The pandemic reconfigured societies and forced us to rethink how we collect and engage with art. For some HNW collectors this has led to a growing emphasis on philanthropic giving, with a substantial increase in those intending to donate works to a museum within the next 12 months – up from 29% in 2020 to 43% across the 10 markets surveyed. This share was highest in France (56%) and the US (50%).

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