Global Art Sales Grew 4% In 2025 But Remain Below Pre-Pandemic Levels, Art Basel And UBS Report Finds The Art Newspaper International Art News And Events

A new market report suggests that one of the art world's most persistent imbalances is beginning to shift, at least in one crucial corner of the trade. According to the findings, galleries that operate exclusively in the primary market have now reached gender parity in the artists they represent.

That milestone matters because primary-market galleries are often where careers are built: they introduce artists to collectors, place work with institutions, and shape the early narrative around an artist's practice. Parity at this level signals a change not only in who is shown, but in who is positioned to benefit from the long arc of market visibility.

The report also tracks representation across a broader slice of the dealer ecosystem, including businesses active in both the primary and secondary markets. There, the numbers are closer to balance than in previous years but have not yet reached it. In 2025, the share of women artists represented by these dealers increased by four percentage points to 45% - the highest level recorded to date.

While the report's headline is about representation, it also situates these shifts within a market still attentive to scale and geography. The text notes that the UK accounts for 18% of the market, a figure that remains unchanged. It also references a $236 million sale, underscoring how a small number of blockbuster transactions can continue to dominate market conversation even as slower, structural changes unfold within gallery programs.

The findings arrive amid a period of heightened scrutiny of the art market's underlying mechanics - from who gets represented and promoted to how value is established and sustained. Recent Art Basel/UBS reporting has pointed to a cooling environment, including a 12% drop in global art sales in 2024 and a 4% decline in 2023, as inflation and geopolitical instability weighed on confidence.

Against that backdrop, the report's data on women artists reads less like a victory lap than a marker of momentum: parity in the primary market, and a record-high 45% share across dealers spanning primary and secondary activity. The next question is whether these gains translate into the areas where inequality has historically been most entrenched - pricing, museum acquisition, and the top end of the auction market - or whether representation will outpace the deeper redistribution of opportunity.

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