Your Two-Minute Takeaway from the 2025 Art Basel x UBS Survey of Global Collecting

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Art Basel and UBS published its hotly anticipated annual global collecting survey as Art Basel Paris was underway last week. So what are the top-line takeaways?

Written by cultural economist Dr Clare McAndrew, of research and consulting firm Arts Economics, the 2025 Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting analyses responses from 3,100 high-net-worth individuals across the United States, Asia, Europe, and South America. Approximately half of respondents were women, and nearly three quarters identified as millennial or Gen Z. 

‘Encouragingly, the appetite to collect remains strong,’ writes Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz in the foreword. He highlights an increase in wealth allocation for art from 2024 to 2025, rising from 15 to 20 percent, and a marked decrease in intentions to sell, at 25 percent down from 55 percent last year.

Gallerists and art dealers also have reason to feel hopeful as they remain the preferred vehicles for acquiring art. Additionally, 58 percent of collectors made art fair purchases in 2024 to 2025, up from 38 percent in 2023. 

Buying directly from artists also proved popular, whether that be via studios, commissions, or Instagram, with direct-from-artist sales accounting for 20 percent of total spending by value, more than double that reported last year.

Auctions, on the other hand, saw a decline in participation. The number of respondents who had purchased at auction decreased by 25 percentage points from 2023, with auctions 11 points down in total spending. Of all those surveyed, only boomers identified auctions as their preferred sales channel.

The report also suggests a rising interest in a greater variety of media, especially among younger collectors. While paintings remain the most-purchased artwork medium, digital art in particular saw a surge in activity, with just over half of respondents buying a digital artwork in 2024/2025.

Readers will ultimately find a positive outlook for the art market, especially regarding a growing share of female collectors looking to a greater diversity of artists.

‘Contrary to the common stereotype of women as more risk-averse than men, the findings reveal that in the context of collecting women are equally aware of potential risks,’ McAndrew observes in a statement, ‘yet often more willing to embrace them in practice—purchasing across a broader range of non-traditional mediums and actively supporting emerging and unknown artists.’ —[O]

Main image: Art Basel Paris (24–26 October 2025). Courtesy Art Basel.