Customers are back in the fine art market

Last summer, as younger buyers' demand increased, affluent bidders returned to the fine art market

For 2026, what does this mean?

The fine-art market saw an exceptionally long winter in 2024 - 2025, and it really didn't come out of hibernation until summer arrived. Alberto Giacometti's sculpture Grande tte mince (1955), which had been valued at £70 million, sent shivers through the auction market in May while the flowers were in full bloom when Sotheby's discovered that affluent buyers were still asleep. The fine-art market then became active.

A new high-price record for the artist was set in July when Canalettos Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day (1730s), sold for 31.9 million with Christies in London. The fact that the stock market surged during the summer and that affluent collectors didn't look back as the year went on may not be a coincidence. Last autumn, nine of the ten most costly pieces of art that were sold at auction in 2025 were sold.

November saw Mark Rothkos No. With Christies, 31 (Yellow Stripe) (1958) sold for £62.2 million, helping the auction house reach its most lucrative sales series in New York in three years, totaling £964.5 million. The most expensive piece of art of the year, Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1916, pictured), was also acquired by rival Sothebys in November. It sold for an astounding £236.4 million, setting a new high-price auction record for a piece of modern art and the second-highest price ever for any piece of art sold at auction. For the Austrian painter's creations, it was a remarkable year. Additionally, Klimt's paintings sold for the second and third-highest prices of any artwork in 2025. It was the ideal way to raise a glass on the first night of Sotheby's new New York headquarters.

Gustav Klimt Elisabeth Lederer.

Bidders in the fine art market are getting younger.

Ultimately, this year proved to be anything but what it had initially appeared to be. Sotheby's projected global fine art sales increased by 15% to £4.3 billion from the previous year, and auction sales increased by 26% to £5.7 billion across all departments. Christies is expected to earn £4.7 billion, an 8% increase from 2024. Additionally, Phillips, the third of the "big three" auction houses, reported £725 million in auction sales and a tenth increase in global sales (including private sales) to £927 million from the prior year.

Additionally, all three noted an increase in younger buyers' demand. Last year, 40% of purchases at the auction house Dropshop online marketplace were made by "Millennials and Gen Z" (those under 45), while a third of customers at Phillips were making their first purchases. In a similar vein, Christies' female clientele increased by 10%, and 46% of new bidders were "Millennials or younger"a 5% increase year over year. The majority of new buyers were drawn to luxury goods sales, such as jewelry, handbags, and wine, which accounted for 38% of purchases. Sothebys confirmed this trend, showing that 29% of bidders were under 40. However, this group also made up 17% of buyers of fine art, which may come as a surprise considering prices. The auction houses would like to see this trend continue in 2026.