Global Art Market Soars 29% In 2021

The global art market rebounded strongly in 2021 despite the challenges of the pandemic, according to a global art market report released Tuesday.

Aggregate sales, including sales by dealers and auction houses, jumped 29% from 2020 to an estimated US$65.1 billion last year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the annual report jointly published by Art Basel and UBS and authored by Clare McAndrew, founder of Dublin-based Arts Economics.

“The art market has demonstrated incredible resilience in 2021, with a strong uplift in aggregate sales, despite still operating under some very challenging conditions,” McAndrew said in the report. “Dealers and auction houses successfully adjusted to a new two-tier system of online and offline sales and events, and the rising wealth of the high-net-worth collectors helped to support demand at the higher end of the market.”

The median expenditure by high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), those who have a net worth of more than US$1 million, excluding real estate and private business assets, reached US$274,000 in 2021, more than double the level in 2020, according to the report.

Further, 74% of HNWIs surveyed bought art-based non-fungible tokens, or NFTs in 2021, with a median price of US$9,000 each, the report said.

The findings are based on a survey of 2,339 wealthy individuals across 10 major markets, and represent one element of the wide-ranging report on the state of the global art market.

Sales by dealers amounted to approximately US$34.7 billion in 2021, increasing 18% year-on-year. Public sales by auction houses, excluding private sales, reached an estimated US$26.3 billion in 2021, an increase of 47% from a year ago, according to the report.

Geographically, the U.S. still dominates, accounting for US$28 billion, or 43% of the total global sales of art and antiques in 2021. Greater China was the second largest with a market share of 20%, or US$13.4 billion in sales.

A new investment fund targeting celebrity-founded consumer brands has secured US$40 million in commitments and is rapidly approaching its US$50 million fundraising target, signalling growing investor appetite for alternative opportunities beyond traditional asset classes.

The Global Talent Fund, which has a maximum raise of US$100 million, focuses on building and investing in consumer businesses alongside celebrities, athletes, and influential personalities who play an active role as co-founders rather than simply endorsing products.

The strategy is based on the belief that changes in consumer behaviour, particularly the rise of social media and digital engagement, have fundamentally altered how brands are built and scaled.

GTF founding partner Jeremy Hunt, who is helping lead the fund’s strategy, said consumers increasingly feel connected to personalities they follow online and are more willing to support products developed by those individuals.

“Consumers are searching for content to engage with, and when a celebrity they like or follow takes them on the journey of creating a product or brand, they genuinely feel part of that process,” he said.

The fund is targeting high-growth consumer sectors including wellness, hydration, beauty and recovery, areas Hunt believes continue to benefit from strong global demand and ongoing innovation.

Rather than backing celebrity endorsement deals, the fund is seeking businesses where talent is deeply involved in product development, brand creation and long-term growth.

According to Hunt, authenticity remains one of the biggest differentiators between successful celebrity-backed brands and those that fail.

“The consumer can see clearly if someone is simply being paid to promote a product,” he said. “The winners are typically the brands where the celebrity has genuinely helped build the business from the ground up.”

The model has attracted support from several prominent Australian investors and business families, reflecting broader interest in alternative investments with global growth potential.

Hunt said consumer brands offered a level of tangibility that many investors found appealing.

“Consumer brands are what we touch, feel, smell and taste every day,” he said. “Our investors understand the growth potential in the model, but they also want to be part of the journey.”

The fund’s rapid progress towards its fundraising target comes amid growing recognition that celebrity influence, when combined with strong commercial execution and scalable business models, can create significant enterprise value.

With several high-profile celebrity-founded businesses generating billion-dollar exits in recent years, supporters of the strategy believe the opportunity remains in its early stages.

Global Art Market Soars By 29%

Reaching $65 billion in sales.

With US$40 million already committed, the Global Talent Fund is attracting investor attention with a strategy focused on building globally scalable consumer brands alongside high-profile talent.