Global Art Market Report 2025: Auction Turnover Up 12%, US Remains Top

In 2025, the global art market demonstrated a strong recovery, with total annual auction turnover increasing by 12%, reaching a new historical high. A total of 1.28 million artworks were auctioned throughout the year, with 867,000 successfully sold. The transaction volume reached the highest level ever, marking an unprecedented level of market liquidity. According to the 32nd annual report released by Artprice, a subsidiary of Artmarket.com, the explosive expansion of online auction platforms is the core driver of growth. Compared to the pre-pandemic era, the volume of online auction information released surged by 540%, and live auctions also achieved a global increase of 244%. These digital leaps, originally expected to be realized between 2027 and 2030, have now been completed five years ahead of schedule, completely reshaping the art transaction ecosystem.

The United States continues to lead the world with a market share of 42.3%, consolidating its position as the largest art consumer. China ranks second with a share of 15.8%. Although its growth has slowed in recent years, its history of topping the world in 2005 suggests that the possibility of returning to the peak remains. The United Kingdom ranks third with a share of 13.4%, continuing to be the core of European art transactions. It is worth noting that the market performance of female artists' works continues to be outstanding, with a significant increase in their share of annual auction turnover, reflecting a profound shift in collection preferences and art valuation systems.

With the deep penetration of internet technology, art transactions have fully moved towards digitalization. Physical auction halls are no longer the dominant scene, and transaction behaviors across the five continents are accelerating their migration online. The traditional offline model is gradually becoming a historical memory. Artprice and its Chinese partner Artron Group have jointly released global art market data for 17 consecutive years, and its coverage and data integrity have remained unparalleled in the industry for 18 years. In addition to a detailed analysis of 867,000 transaction records, this report also released the 2025 global ranking of the top 500 artists by auction turnover and the annual Top 100 list of transaction works, covering diverse categories such as traditional painting, NFTs, and AI-generated art, providing an authoritative reference for market participants. The full text of the report is available for free download in Chinese, English, and French in PDF format for public access.