Survey reveals continued spending on art and antiques by high-net-worth individuals

Authored by cultural economist Dr. Clare McAndrew of Arts Economics and conducted in collaboration with UBS, the survey examines HNWIs’ spending, event attendance, motivations for collecting, and their interactions with artists, galleries, and institutions. Echoing insights from the UBS Global Wealth Report 2024, which projects a USD 83.5 trillion wealth transfer over the next 20–25 years, the survey also investigates the transfer of wealth between generations of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and how collectors are preparing to inherit and gift works of art.

This 2024 survey, the largest to date, gathered responses from over 3,660 HNWIs in 14 markets including Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mainland China, Mexico, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Clare McAndrew, Author and Founder, Arts Economics, said: “HNWIs continue to play a vital role in the art market in 2024. Findings from this survey align with our broader market research, revealing consistent and robust activity levels, but with a noticeable decline in average spending levels by value.

“The HNWIs we surveyed were transacting through a more diverse range of channels and price points in 2023 and 2024, engaging with more galleries than in previous years, including more new galleries. These changes are likely to contribute to the ongoing shift in focus away from the narrow high-end of sales that has dominated in previous years, potentially expanding the market’s base and encouraging growth in more affordable art segments which could provide greater stability in future.”

The key findings include:

• Signs of stable spending: The median expenditure on art and antiques by HNWIs surveyed for the first half of 2024 (at USD 25,555), if indicative of the level for the second half of the year, could reflect a stable annual level of spending.
• Strong return in spending post-lockdown in Mainland China continues: The 300 HNWIs surveyed from Mainland China reported the highest median expenditure of all respondents on art and antiques in 2023, as well as the first half of 2024 at USD 97,000. This figure was more than double that of any other region surveyed in the first half of the year, and followed by France (USD 38,000), Italy (USD 32,000), the UK (USD 31,000) and Hong Kong (USD 28,000).
• Evidence of the global wealth transfer: 91% of HNWIs had works in their collections that were inherited or gifted through a will or other bequest, and 72% had kept at least some of them. Despite the much-discussed issue of changing tastes across generations, less than one-third of millennial and Gen Z respondents cited a lack of fit with their collections as a reason for selling or donating inherited works.
• Collecting from new galleries: HNWIs demonstrated a strong willingness to buy from new galleries in 2023 and 2024, with 88% of those purchasing from dealers buying from at least one new gallery.
• Support for new and emerging artists: HNWIs allocated 52% of their expenditure to works by new and emerging artists, with 21% on mid-career, and 26% on those by established artists (the majority of which were living artists).
• Gen X demonstrates the highest average spending: Gen X respondents had the highest average spending in 2023 (USD 578,000), and their lead continued in the first half of 2024, with levels over a third higher than millennials and double that of Gen Z and older generations.
• Reduction in impulse buying and rise in collecting female artists: Impulse buying decreased from 10% in 2023 to 1% with respondents favouring background research ahead of buying. The share of works by female artists in the HNWI collections surveyed reached a seven-year high with a ratio of 44% versus male artists’ works.
• HNWIs stay optimistic in a complex market: Spending in the first half of 2024 showed signs of stabilizing, and 91% of HNWIs surveyed were optimistic about the global art market’s performance in the next six months, up from 77% at the end of 2023

Paul Donovan (pictured), Chief Economist, UBS Global Wealth Management said: “After a downturn, global wealth has rebounded in 2023. This is reassuring for the global art market, which has shown continued resilience in the face of uncertainty. UBS Global Wealth Report 2024, reveals over USD 84 trillion, is expected to change hands during the next two decades. As the great wealth transfer gains momentum, we will see partners, spouses and children take on collections and become collectors themselves. These new collectors will bring fresh perspectives, often adopting new strategies that are more purpose-led.”

Noah Horowitz, CEO, Art Basel, said: “This year’s Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting shows that the drop in average spending among millennial HNWIs was driven by reduced activity from high-end buyers, reflecting a broader market shift. Despite this, median spending in 2023 and the first half of 2024 remained solid, with a growing focus on new and emerging artists, and art-related event attendance surpassing pre-pandemic levels. As a global business, we recognize the challenging market context and remain committed to fostering new and innovative ways for the next generation of collectors to connect with our galleries and their artists—both at our shows and beyond.”

Picture credit: UBS