The Art Market 2021

16 March 2021

The fifth edition of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market report, The Art Market 2021, written by Dr Clare McAndrew was published today.

From the team at UBS and Art Basel

The fifth edition of The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report is now available. Written by renowned cultural economist Dr Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, The Art Market 2021 presents the results of a comprehensive and macro-level analysis of the global art market in 2020, including a survey examining the behaviours of high net worth collectors. The report looks at the effects of the global pandemic on various sectors of the art market last year, and how its dynamics have evolved during this difficult and transformative time. It also reviews some of the biggest trends that will shape the market in 2021 and beyond.

The Art Market 2021 is available to download for free here.

Key findings are as follows:

• Global sales of art and antiques reached an estimated $50.1 billion, down 22% from 2019.

• The three major art hubs – the US, the UK, and Greater China – continued to account for a majority of the value of global sales in 2020.

• The fallout from the COVID-19 crisis led to a 20% decline in aggregate dealer sales to an estimated $29.3 billion in 2020, with 58% of dealers surveyed expecting an improvement in sales in 2021.

• Public auction sales reached $17.6 billion in 2020, a 30% decline from 2019, while private auction sales were estimated to have reached over $3.2 billion in 2020, up 36% from 2019.

• The significant reduction of live events in 2020 led the share of sales from live art fairs to decline to just 13% of dealers’ total sales, with an additional 9% made through art fair online viewing rooms.

• Despite the contraction of sales overall, aggregate online sales reached a record high of $12.4 billion, doubling in value from 2019. The share accounted for by online sales also expanded from 9% of total sales by value in 2019 to 25% in 2020, the first time the share of e-commerce in the art market has exceeded that of general retail.