Collectors are buying directly from artists in numbers that looked unlikely three years ago. The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, published this month by Arts Economics, found that 69% of high net worth collectors bought work directly from an artist in 2025 and the first half of 2026, more than double the share in 2024.
For artists who want to sell art directly to collectors, that is an opening. The same survey shows collectors researching more before they buy, buying fewer artists who are new to them, and putting transparency at the top of their concerns. Direct sales go to the artists a collector can check quickly.
About the survey
The survey questioned 3,100 collectors across ten markets, 310 of them in the UK, in mid 2026. Each held over $1 million in financial assets and had spent over $10,000 on art in each of 2024 and 2025. These are wealthy, active buyers, and their habits show where the top of the market is moving. Figures are in US dollars.
How collectors buy directly from artists
Of all the collectors surveyed:
- 48% bought from an artist's studio
- 40% commissioned a work
- 38% found a work on Instagram and bought it from the artist
Buying from artists took 19% of everything these collectors spent on art, ahead of art fairs at 15% and auctions at 10%. Dealers still hold the largest share, 27% directly and 42% including art fairs, so galleries remain central. Artists are now a sales channel in their own right beside them.
Instagram matters at the moment of sale as well as discovery. Among collectors who bought directly from a dealer, 53% did so through Instagram without seeing the work in person.
Collectors check before they buy
72% of collectors did moderate or significant research before buying, up from 62% a year earlier. Only 1% said they buy on impulse. When they take advice in person, 29% turn to artists themselves, close to the 27% who ask dealers. Online, the art press is the most used source at 27%, and 22% now take recommendations from apps or AI tools, against 4% in 2024.
A collector who finds your work on Instagram will look you up. What they find on your website, in your CV and in the press decides what happens next.
UK collectors are the most open to new artists
Across the ten markets, 45% of collectors bought work by an artist new to them, the lowest share in five years. Works by established artists make up 46% of what these collectors own. Caution is the global mood.
The UK runs against it. 68% of UK collectors bought work by an artist new to them, the highest of any market. They also attend more art events than collectors anywhere else: 77 a year on average, including around ten studio visits and ten gallery exhibitions. For an emerging artist, the UK is the market most willing to look.
Where the buying happens on price
Most buying sits far below the headlines. In the first half of 2026, 77% of these collectors spent under $50,000 in total on fine art, and 59% bought at least one work priced under $10,000, up from 48% across 2025. We looked at the growth of art under $10,000 in an earlier article.
Paintings were bought by 76% of fine art buyers, and they are the top planned purchase among collectors who intend to buy in the next twelve months.
Transparency is the top concern
Asked to name their main worries about the art market, collectors put transparency first: opaque pricing, undisclosed fees and conflicts of interest. It ranked first in five of the ten markets. Second came the security of personal and financial information online.
For an artist selling directly, this is the part you control. A price list that matches across your website, your Instagram and any gallery that shows you. Clear terms for commissions, deposits and delivery. A record a buyer can verify: exhibitions, collections, press.
Most collectors want discretion
64% of collectors keep their ownership private within their household or close circle, and only 10% want to be widely known as collectors. Ask before you post a collector's name, home or photograph, however well the sale went.
Selling art directly to collectors: five checks (Kei London's view)
- One price list, the same on every channel.
- A statement that describes the work in plain words.
- A CV and exhibition record a collector can verify.
- A clear route to buy: enquiry form, studio visit, commission terms.
- Discretion by default with every buyer.
Where Kei London comes in
Kei London is an artist agent and art agency in London, working with contemporary artists across the UK. Our Practice Review is a written assessment of the points collectors check: your statement, your pricing, your positioning and your public record, with dated next steps. It costs £350 and is returned within ten working days.
If you are building toward direct sales, our earlier article Five steps to a professional art career sets out the groundwork.
Frequently asked questions
Do collectors buy directly from artists?
Yes. In the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, 69% of high net worth collectors bought directly from an artist in 2025 and the first half of 2026, and those purchases made up 19% of their spending on art.
How do collectors find artists to buy from?
Through studio visits, commissions and Instagram. For advice they use the art press, apps and AI tools, auction specialists, art advisors, dealers and artists themselves.
How much do most collectors spend on art?
Most buying is at modest prices. In the first half of 2026, 77% of the collectors surveyed spent under $50,000 in total on fine art, and 59% bought a work under $10,000.
Is the UK a good market for emerging artists?
On this evidence, yes. UK collectors were the most willing of the ten markets to buy work by an artist new to them, at 68%, and they attend the most art events, 77 a year on average.
Source: The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, by Dr Clare McAndrew, Arts Economics, published by Art Basel and UBS in October 2026. 3,100 high net worth collectors in ten markets, surveyed in mid 2026. Available through UBS art market research.
Works shown: Dangerosa, Soul Desire, 2022. Andrew Gow, Prayer of the Meek, 2021. Fara Thomas, Kite Festival, 2022.