About The Authors

January 2024 - Culture and Heritage

Survey of high net worth collectors reveals women spent more on art than men this year: A survey of high net worth (HNW) individuals has found that in the first half of 2023, women spent more on art than men, spending a median of $72,500 compared with $59,400 spent by male collectors. This follows a trend of the past two years. 

The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2023 also found that women spent even more than they did in 2022, although it also found that HNW men reported higher average spending than women, which the report attributes to a smaller number of extravagant male spenders. 

The survey is a collaboration between research and consulting company, Arts Economics, and UBS and this year gathered responses from 2,828 High Net Worth collectors, making it the largest survey to date. Respondents were polled around the globe in 11 key regions.

The research found that while women collectors spent more money on art, when it comes to the popularity of works created by male artists compared to works created by women artists, works by men continued to dominate individual collections (61% versus 39%). In fact, the share of works by women owned by HNW individuals has fallen by 3%, found the study. That said, amongst those collectors who purchased art amounting to over $10 million each year, more works by women were recorded, with 54% reporting a higher share of works by women. Their proportion of spending also increased to 55% up from 46% in 2021.  

Dr. Clare McAndrew, a cultural economist who founded Arts Economics in 2005 said:

“Wider studies have shown that female artists are still underrepresented in exhibitions and sales, both in the dealer and auction sectors. Despite being over-(represented) or equally represented at many art schools, there is still well-documented evidence of inequality in terms of career longevity and commercial success. However, some research has found that due to the seemingly more rigorous quality filters and other issues faced by women in their careers as artists, while the number of their works reaching the market is less, the minority that sell do so at a premium rather than a discount for artists at similar levels.”

Other Culture and Heritage Research Findings

Other Latest Market Research Insights