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How to invest in art · lesson 1 of 20
Why art is a different kind of investment
A painting pays no dividends and has no daily price. It is worth what someone will pay for it on the day you sell. The rest of the time, all you have are estimates.
The market is big, though. According to the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026, global art sales reached about $59.6 billion in 2025, up 4% and growing for the first time since 2022. Almost all of that growth came from the most expensive works.
If you buy art as an investment, you own a unique object that has to be looked after, insured and, sooner or later, sold again. That is why things that don't exist on a stock exchange suddenly matter: the condition of the work, its history, who keeps it and what every change of hands costs.
Questions
1. What were global art sales worth in 2025 according to the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026?
About $59.6 billion
The report puts the figure at $59.6 billion, up 4% on 2024.
2. What sets a painting apart from a listed share?
It has no daily price and pays no dividends
You only find out what a work is worth when it changes hands; until then there are only estimates.
3. Where did almost all of the market's growth come from in 2025?
The most expensive works
The Art Basel and UBS report places the growth mainly in the highest price brackets.
Next lesson: Primary and secondary market
Continue from lesson 4
How to invest in art: an online course in 20 short lessons with quizzes and a final certificate, on Unicorn Academy.
This page in other languages
- Perché l'arte è un investimento diverso (Italiano)
- Pourquoi l'art est un placement à part (Français)
- Warum Kunst eine besondere Anlage ist (Deutsch)
- Por qué el arte es una inversión distinta (Español)
- Por que a arte é um investimento diferente (Português)
- Почему искусство не похоже на другие инвестиции (Русский)
- 艺术品为什么是一种不一样的投资 (中文)
- アートはほかの投資と何が違うのか (日本語)
- कला दूसरे निवेशों से अलग क्यों है (हिन्दी)
- 미술품은 왜 다른 투자인가 (한국어)
- Sanat neden farklı bir yatırımdır (Türkçe)
- Mengapa seni adalah investasi yang berbeda (Bahasa Indonesia)
- لماذا يختلف الفن عن غيره من الاستثمارات (العربية)
- Vì sao nghệ thuật là một khoản đầu tư khác biệt (Tiếng Việt)
- Dlaczego sztuka to inna inwestycja (Polski)