Insights
The art market as we see it: our latest observations, the figures that shape it, why collectors increasingly choose private channels, and what art can offer as an asset.
Market Snapshot
AUTUMN 2026 · PARIS
In Paris, Monet’s Iris, unseen in public since it was painted, sold for €50 million, the highest price ever paid for a Monet in France. At Art Basel Paris, our meetings confirmed what the sale suggested: buyers are selective, and ready to move quickly for exceptional works with a long private history.
SUMMER 2026 · NEW YORK
In May, New York’s major auctions sold around $2.5 billion of art in a single week, roughly double the previous year, with new artist records for Pollock and Rothko. The highest prices went to works held privately for decades: when a work of that quality returns to the market for the first time in a generation, collectors know the next opportunity may be decades away.
Our market letter is shared twice a year with our clients and those who request it.
The Art Market Today
In 2025, global art sales reached an estimated $59.6 billion. Dealers and auction-house private sales accounted for close to two thirds of that total, and public auctions for about a third. Growth was concentrated at the top: at public auction, fine art sales above $10 million rose by 30%, and Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works made up 19% of fine art auction sales by value, up 47%.
Source: The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2026.
Understanding the Channels
At auction, a work is offered publicly, and the outcome is uncertain until the hammer falls. If the work fails to sell, the result is public and remains on record permanently: in the trade, the work is said to be « burned ». Auction houses reserve guarantees for the works they most want to secure: a minimum price promised to the seller, often backed by a third party, usually in exchange for a share of any upside. For other works, the seller carries the full risk. All of this comes on top of the costs already in place: a commission paid by the seller, and a premium paid by the buyer, charged on a sliding scale: in 2026, up to 27% to 29% at the major auction houses, decreasing to 15% on the portion of the price above $8 million.
In a private sale, the seller sets the price and the terms. The price, any room for negotiation and the costs are agreed in advance, and the work is offered only to selected buyers whose identity, intentions and funds have been properly established. Both parties remain confidential, and the sale can be withdrawn at any time without any public record.
For an important work, where it goes matters as much as the price. A private sale lets the seller choose the next owner, and the buyer acquire with full knowledge of the work’s history.
Source: auction house fee schedules, 2026.