Global auction sales at Christie's, Sotheby's and Phillips were up 70% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, at $6.8bn (including fees), according to a report released this week by the analysts ArtTactic. After two weaker years, it is the best first-half performance since 2022.
The strongest growth was seen in London, where total sales rose 131% to $1.42bn according to the report, only slightly short of the $1.47bn recorded in the first half of the post-Covid bounce back year of 2022. Overall sell-through rates are healthier too—at 91% so far this year, bolstered by 131 white-glove auctions.
ArtTactic’s total auction sales calculations—which do not include car sales—for 2026 thus far stand at $3.4bn for Christie’s (up 71% from $2bn in the first half of 2025), $2.8bn for Sotheby’s (up 71% from $1.6bn in 2025) and $505.4m for Phillips (up 59% from $318m in 2025).
A broad recovery
Of course, major estate auctions in New York and single owner sales such as that of the Lewis collection last month in London have boosted these statistics, but notably market recovery is “proving to be far broader than the headline-grabbing results at the very top end,” says Anders Petterson, the founder and chief executive of ArtTactic. “While marquee evening sales have been driven by $5m-plus artworks from major single-owner collections, the strength of day sales demonstrates that confidence has also returned to the market's middle core,” Petterson says. “Combined with rising volumes, record online participation, stronger sell-through rates and improving average prices, the recovery is being driven by both quality and quantity.” So, rather than simply being a rickety structure teetering on trophy lots, the market appears to be recovering with broader foundations across art and collectibles.
Petterson points to the strength of collectibles in particular. Although not included in this report, Heritage Auctions, which specialises in collectibles and memorabilia, posted record half-year sales of $1.4bn on Wednesday, nearly 47% up on the $962m in 2025. According to ArtTactic’s report, at Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Phillips sales of “luxury collectibles”—a broad definition encompassing watches, design and memorabilia among other items—increased by 25% in the first half of 2026, with memorabilia coming out on top, rising 308% year-on-year to $96.1m and increasing its share of the overall market to 1.4% (0.6% in 2025).
Online-only auctions have also recovered, increasing by 22% so far in 2026 from a five year low in 2025, further evidence that the lower and mid-market are strengthening. Some if this is down to sheer volume—a record 33,474 lots have been sold online so far this year.
Defying geopolitics
The results appear baffling in the context of seemingly ever increasing geopolitical instability and inflation. But, as Petterson says, buyers at the top are relatively insulated. “Although headlines have focused on inflation, wars and conflicts and slowing economic growth, many art buyers (UHNWIs) have actually seen their wealth increase,” he explains, citing the strength of stock markets, with the S&P500 up about 10% this year. “Luxury consumption tends to follow asset prices rather than GDP or consumer confidence,” Petterson continues. “Someone whose investment portfolio has risen 10% is far less likely to postpone a $5m painting acquisition due to weaker economic data.”
That explains some of the top-end demand, but 2026 has also benefitted from some pent-up supply, with collectors reluctant to sell during the bearish market from 2023 until the first half of 2025, Petterson says. But then in the second half of 2025, the success of single-owner collections such as that of Pauline Karpidas, Cindy and Jay Pritzker, and Leonard Lauder inspired confidence and people started to consign again.
Confidence is also starting to trickle down, Petterson says: “Initially, the recovery looked confined to the very top of the market—large single-owner collections and $5m+ works—but now we are seeing record sell-through rates in day sales, strong growth in the $50,000 to $500,000 segment, record online auction volumes, higher numbers of lots sold.”
A case in point is the London market, which benefitted from its March Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and contemporary art auctions being the first main sales season of 2026, buoyed by the tailwind of strong results in the November New York sales of 2025. This, Petterson says, “flipped what looked like to be a terrible year into a positive one.” The evening sales in London in March were up 64% year-on-year, he says, “which then gave the confidence needed to announce the Lewis Collection sale at Sotheby’s in June which pulled $390m (about 28% of London’s H1 2026 total).”
Sales of non-fine art collectibles in London have grown by 29% too, but these only account for around 8% of the city’s 2026 results thus far.
Meanwhile, with the growth of London, New York and Paris’s auction markets, Hong Kong’s relative market share has fallen even though its sales volume has grown by almost 30% to $764m.
