Despite mounting economic uncertainty, wealthy collectors, including Gen Z individuals, are spending more of their assets on art than in previous years, according to a new report released by UBS and Art Basel. Women are among the biggest spenders on fine and decorative art and antiques, the report found — and they’re also among the most likely to purchase works by artists they’re not familiar with.
Led annually by art economist Clare McAndrew, the 2025 Survey of Global Collecting drew responses from 3,100 wealthy collectors across 10 global art markets. Notably, the report states that 75% of this year’s respondents belonged to the Gen Z and millennial generations, marking “a demographic transformation that is reshaping the very nature of collecting.”
“Their choices and motivations differ markedly from those of previous cohorts, signaling not only a generational transition but also a diversification in taste, practice, and engagement,” Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz wrote in a foreword to the report.
Conducted mid-year, the survey found that high-net-worth individuals (maintaining over $1 million in disposable financial assets) allocated 20% of their wealth to collecting, as compared to 15% in 2024. Per the report, high-net-worth women spent 46% more on art and antiques than their male peers overall. However, while Gen Z and millennial women outspent men, Gen X and boomers spent more on art than women.
“The visibility and influence of women in the market have never been greater,” Horowitz emphasized, adding that women “were championing works by female artists at unprecedented levels.”
Growth in investible assets in early 2025 has led to record increases in global wealth, incentivizing individuals to spend rather than save money, the report said. Rising wealth among women, including an increase in the number of women billionaires, as well as the “Great Wealth Transfer” — an expected mass transfer of wealth from baby boomers to heirs by 2048 — make the art market “a vital arena for exploration.”
Two-thirds of respondents reported buying work by artists they had only discovered in the last year, a higher figure than in previous surveys. Women were more likely to purchase from unknown artists than men, the report said, “despite being pegged as generally more risk-averse.”
UBS and Art Basel published an earlier report on the state of the art market this year, which found that global art sales had fallen 12% since 2023 and public auction sales had plummeted 25%.
The more recent report, however, concludes that “while high-end sales may have softened amid macroeconomic uncertainty, overall transaction volumes increased in 2024, indicating sustained engagement from collectors.”
Paintings dominated as collectors’ medium of choice, representing 27% of fine art spending in 2024. Sculptures and digital artworks each accounted for 14% of fine arts acquisitions, and photography and works on paper each accounted for 9%. Over half of the collectors said they had purchased a digital artwork in the past year. Boomers preferred paintings, while Gen Z collectors were the most active in the digital, film, and video art categories.
Galleries were the preferred venue for transactions for the vast majority of collectors, as 83% reported that they had purchased works directly through galleries either in person, online, or at art fairs. Only 40% of high-net-worth respondents said they wanted to collect more art in the next 12 months, down from 54%, though selling intentions also decreased to 25% from 55% in 2024, “suggesting market stability.”
