US art market rebounds with 23pc jump in auction sales: report

March 9, 2026

'America' the toilet cast from 101.2kg of solid 18-karat gold by Maurizio Cattelan on display at Sotheby's new global headquarters in the Marcel Breuer building in New York on Nov. 12, 2025. Image credit: Shutterstock, Lev Radin

By Luxury Marketer Intelligence

The United States last year accounted for 69 percent of global auction sales, the highest share in more than a decade and signifying a rebound of the country’s art market.

The U.S. art market in 2025 posted a 23 percent year-over-year increase to $3.17 billion in auction sales, according to Bank of America’s 2026 U.S. Art Market Report in partnership with ArtTactic. This increase marks the market’s first annual growth since 2022, signaling stabilization after more than two years of contraction.

“What we saw in 2025 was not a return to speculation, but a return to discipline,” said Drew Watson, head of art services at Bank of America, serving Bank of America Private Bank and Merrill art collecting clients, in the report.

“Major collections and estates came to market in 2025, which enabled collectors to focus on quality, provenance and long-term significance,” he said. “That shift helped stabilize the market and sets a healthier foundation for future growth.”

Selectivity and quality define the recovery, per the report:

Fewer works, stronger outcomes: The number of lots sold declined nearly 20 percent, reflecting tighter supply and heightened selectivity from both buyers and sellers. At the same time, sell‑through rates reached a three‑year high, signaling improved alignment on pricing and expectations.

Guarantees played a central role: The share of guaranteed value in New York Evening Sales climbed to 78 percent in 2025, the highest level of the past decade, suggesting risk aversion among consignors. Guaranteed lots outperformed their low estimates by more than 10 percent, a three-year high.

Historical categories lead performance: Impressionist and Modern segments drove the rebound, while Contemporary and Young Contemporary categories continued to reprice.

Women artists extend long‑term gains: Sales of works by women artists rebounded after a dip in 2024 and are up 105 percent over the past decade. Women artists also outperformed men in resale returns.

The West leads overall U.S. art spend: Anchored by California but spanning Washington, Arizona, and more — the West accounted for 35 percent of art purchases in the U.S.

“The art market has recalibrated,” Mr. Watson said.

“That recalibration favors long-term stewardship over short-term trading, which is key given the long-term view has historically been the most durable driver of value in art,” he said.

The inaugural U.S.-focused report draws on Bank of America’s proprietary art spend data, ArtTactic’s market analytics and economic insights from Bank of America’s Chief Investment Office. Together, these sources provide a data-driven view of how U.S. consumers buy, sell and value art across auction categories, regions, and price segments.

Q&A: Understanding the U.S. art market

What drove the 23 percent increase in U.S. auction sales in 2025?
The increase was driven primarily by a strong second half of the year, led by major single-owner sales, renewed demand for historical artists, improved sell-through rates and supportive macroeconomic conditions.

Does this mean the art market has fully recovered?
Not yet. While sales rose in 2025, totals remain below 2021–2023 levels. The recovery is uneven, with strength concentrated in historical and blue-chip segments.

Which categories performed best?
Impressionist and Modern works led the recovery. Contemporary and Young Contemporary segments continued to experience price corrections.

How did guarantees affect the market?
Guarantees played a significant role in 2025, providing downside protection for sellers and helping bring high-quality works to market. The market is more reliant on guaranteed lots than ever, with share of guaranteed value in New York Evening Sales climbing to the highest level of the past decade at 78 percent in 2025.

What is the outlook for 2026?
Bank of America’s Art Services Group anticipates a stable environment with potential for continued growth, supported by resilient high-income consumer spending, a lower interest rate environment and wealth creation and transfer — though risks remain from market volatility and economic uncertainty, with particular vulnerabilities apparent in the market for Young Contemporary artists and the small- to mid-tier galleries that support them.

Bank of America 2026 U.S. Art Market Report with ArtTactic

Excerpts from Bank of America’s 2026 U.S. Art Market Report powered by ArtTactic

Foreword

Last year, the United States accounted for 69 percent of global auction sales, its highest share in over a decade. And yet, despite its scale and global influence, the U.S. art market has lacked a data driven analysis focused solely on its own unique dynamics.

Bank of America and ArtTactic are proud to introduce the inaugural U.S. Art Market Report, the first and only study designed exclusively to illuminate the structure, behavior, and performance of the American art market. This new report reflects our conviction that the U.S. market warrants a dedicated lens — not as a subset of global activity, but as a cultural and economic ecosystem with distinctive cycles and regional nuances.

A leading financial institution serving collectors, families, and cultural organizations, Bank of America occupies a unique vantage point. Every day, we see how art functions as both an emotional and financial asset. Our proprietary U.S. art spend data, combined with ArtTactic’s rigorous analytics and our Chief Investment Office’s economic perspective, allows us to offer insights that we believe no other market participant can. This differentiated view helps us tell a clearer, more complete story of how Americans buy, sell, value, and experience art today.

The findings in this first edition reflect a market that recalibrated meaningfully in 2025. Auction sales increased for the first time since 2022. Selectivity rose, quality prevailed and historical art reasserted its influence. Regional collecting patterns shifted, with activity becoming more geographically dispersed and less tethered to traditional hubs. Long-term stewardship, rather than short-term speculation, continued to prove its strength, reinforcing a more disciplined and sustainable marketplace.

With this report, our aim is to provide more than data; we aim to provide clarity. We hope it empowers collectors, advisors, and institutions to navigate an evolving landscape with confidence, and that it sparks new conversations about the future of art in the United States. We look forward to continuing to shape this dialogue as a trusted voice in the market.

Drew Watson, managing director and head of art services/ Co-editor

Louis Toberisky, assistant vice president and associate art services specialist/Co-editor

Key findings

Art market macro trends

U.S. economic strength sets a foundation for resilient art sales
2025 saw major economic tailwinds, including stock market gains, resumed Federal Reserve rate cuts, increasing wealth and robust high-income spending. With additional monetary easing and fiscal stimulus expected in 2026, the economic environment remains encouraging for the art market.

U.S. auction market rebounds in the second half but remains below recent highs
U.S. sales fell 5.6 percent year-on-year in the first half of the year (H1), but increased 54.1 percent year-on-year in the second half (H2), lifting full-year totals by 23.1 percent from 2024. While this upturn indicates positive momentum, overall sale totals remain below 2021 to 2023 levels.

Number of artists sold dips, yet longer-term trend is positive
The number of artists represented at U.S. auctions dropped from 4,112 in 2024 to 3,315 in 2025, reflecting a shift towards established names rather than new talent. However, artist representation has expanded over the decade, pointing to a broader long-term talent pool.

Resale performance declines for fourth straight year
Resold auction evening sale lots returned 4.4 percent annually in 2025, down from 5.3 percent in 2024 and 8.1 percent in 2021, challenging art’s role as a reliable source of asset appreciation over the short term. Unique holding costs like insurance and logistics further reduce those returns.

U.S. solidifies its dominance in the global auction market
New York accounted for 69.0 percent of global auction sales value in 2025 — a new peak, up from a 10-year average of 62.1 percent. The U.S. remained the world’s most active market, representing 47.4 percent of all lots sold.

Sale activity cools while sell-through rate surges
The number of lots sold in the U.S. fell 19.9 percent year-on-year in 2025. Despite the dip, this number remains well above pre-2022 levels. Sell-through rates reached a three-year high, pointing to a healthy rebalancing of buyer and seller expectations.

Guarantees become a foundational force in the market
The share of guaranteed value in New York Evening Sales climbed to 78.3 percent in 2025, the highest level since 2015, suggesting risk aversion among consignors. Guaranteed lots outperformed their low estimates by 10.6 percent, a three-year high.

Holding period remains a decisive factor in returns
Works held for fewer than five years returned -5.7 percent, while returns turned positive after 10+ years. Long-term stewardship — as well as steeper price growth in the 2000s and early 2010s — continues to be the most reliable driver of financial outcomes.

Collecting category trends

Historical names drive the market recovery, while contemporary artists see price corrections
Total sales for Impressionist and Modern art surged in 2025, while Post-War, Contemporary and Young Contemporary sales contracted. Despite falling below their low estimates on average, Contemporary and Young Contemporary works dominated supply, accounting for 42.6 percent of lots offered.

Women artists show strong decade-long sales growth
Following a dip in 2024, sales for women artists rebounded in 2025. Over the past decade, women artists sale totals have risen by 105 percent, while their male counterparts remain 37 percent below 2015 levels. Women also outperformed men in annual resale returns (average annual returns of 15 percent vs 4.7 percent).

The return of the trophy market restores top-end momentum
The $10 million-plus segment, which contracted 46.9 percent in 2024, shot back up in 2025 with the return of major estate consignments. Strength also emerged at lower price points: the $1 million to $5 million segment grew 40.8 percent in value and 31.4 percent in volume.

The dominance of single-owner collections reshapes annual outcomes
The total value of U.S. single-owner sales reached a three-year high in 2025. Globally, single-owner sales have expanded from 5.1 percent of total auction value in 2015 to 27.3 percent in 2025. New York has emerged as the premier venue for these sales.

Regional trends

The West leads overall U.S. art spend
Buyers in the West — anchored by California but spanning Washington, Arizona and more — accounted for 35 percent of art purchases in the U.S., followed by the Southeast (28 percent) and Northeast (23 percent). The West made up 31 percent of $1 million-plus transactions, up from 15 percent in 2020.

Four states dominate the U.S. art market
Buyers from California, Florida, New York and Texas made up 46 percent of overall U.S. art spend volume in 2025. As prices got higher, so did the concentration. These four states accounted for 71 percent of purchases between $50,000–$1 million, and 81 percent of sales above $1 million.

The Northeast loses market share
In 2015, buyers from the Northeast accounted for 53 percent of all purchases above $1 million. By 2025, that share declined to 32 percent. Meanwhile, the Southeast and Central South have grown rapidly, fueled by Florida and Texas.

Economic outlook

From Bank of America’s Chief Investment Office

Many market-moving events shaped 2025 in the United States: trade and geopolitical policies culminating in President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, the resumption of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) alongside the subsequent digital infrastructure buildout. Despite volatility in April, U.S. Equity indices continued to power ahead, with the S&P 500 Index rallying by 16 percent year-on-year, its third consecutive year of double-digit gains. The U.S. economy seems positioned for another strong year ahead, a positive signal for the art market.

The resilient consumer, supported by wage growth and rising incomes, drove strength in 2025 — both in the stock market and in the overall economy. Wealth creation accelerated, particularly among higher-income households. Twenty percent of U.S. households now control 71 percent of total wealth, up from 60 percent in 1990, reinforcing a K-shaped economy dynamic where different income cohorts grow at uneven rates. In addition to generating wealth, the higher-income cohort maintained robust spending in 2025, despite some pressure from high prices of specific goods and services. Many of these consumers benefited from the continued appreciation of equities and home prices last year. On a generational level, baby boomers in particular fueled consumer resiliency.

The consumer remains a cornerstone of economic strength heading into 2026. High-income households, buoyed by liquidity on-hand, may continue to support spending in discretionary categories like luxury goods and art. There is already solid momentum here: the S&P Global Luxury Index rose to its highest level in December 2025 since early 2022, a period defined by low interest rates. Given the continuation of easier monetary policy at the end of 2025 and further interest rate cuts expected in 2026, we may again be approaching this sweet spot for consumers. Another tailwind heading into 2026 is the potential for further fiscal stimulus: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is expected to increase tax refunds by 18 percent, or $65 billion, for the year.

Although the backdrop for the consumer, the economy and the stock market looks healthy going into 2026, potential crosscurrents remain. For instance, the unemployment rate has slowly ticked up since mid-2025 and reached 4.6 percent in November, its highest level since 2021. Layoffs have been rising amid corporate belt-tightening and the impact of AI-driven shifts amongst more entry-level positions. A potential “white-collar recession” could temper enthusiasm for higher-income consumers. Lastly, midterm election years typically feature a higher risk of market volatility. All these factors could weigh on spending for art and collectibles.

Nonetheless, we anticipate the environment to remain robust in 2026. When economic indicators line up and recessions have low probabilities of occurring, markets tend to move higher. The year ahead offers several of these indicators, including rate cuts, fiscal stimulus, and healthy liquidity, setting the stage for another year of economic growth and capital market gains. If these factors increase wealthy individuals’ appetite for luxury spending, the art market could be positioned for another positive year in 2026.

Please click or tap here to access Bank of America’s 2026 U.S. Art Market Report in collaboration with ArtTactic

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US art market rebounds with 23pc jump in auction sales: report

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