The fifth edition of the annual Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting, authored by arts economist Clare McAndrew and out today, delved into some new areas. For the first time this year, the author asked high-net-worth collectors how they got started on the road to collecting and how they think about granting access (whether physical or digital) to their holdings versus keeping them private. It also found that these well-to-do collectors are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence, considerably more than just last year.

To write the 235-page report, McAndrew surveyed 3,100 wealthy collectors over 10 key markets worldwide. While this is, on a global scale, a microscopic sample, it’s generally thought that the wealthiest collectors have outsize influence and can drive markets, so their attitudes are closely studied, not least of all by those who would like to sell to them.

As for what led new collectors into art buying, the influence of family was the most common entry point, says the report, which notes that was the route for 28 percent of respondents overall and for 40 percent of Gen Z respondents, whether through a family collection or a family member’s encouragement.

When it came to what they collected at first, painting was the most prevalent entry point for these collectors. Some 43 percet said a painting was among their first three purchases, tailed by sculpture at 25 percent, photography at 17 percent, or works on paper or digital art, both at 15 percent. Collecting segments like antiques, jewelry, and gems trailed behind, so the commonplace observation that buying other luxury collectibles might lead to art collecting did not seem to hold for this particular slice of the collectorate.

As for how well-heeled collectors are thinking about keeping their holdings private versus sharing them with the public, inconspicuous consumption appears to be the order of the day. Nearly two-thirds of the collectors surveyed preferred to keep their treasures mostly under wraps, sharing them only within family or a closed circle, while, at the other end of the scale, just 10 percent are seeking wide recognition. This plays out when they make loans to museums: 30 percent preferred to keep their loans private; 47 percent requested “discreet acknowledgement”; and only 17 percent required full public credit.

Perhaps surprisingly, the young Gen Z group were the most private when it came to sharing access to their collections. Some 39 percent restrict in-person access to close family, friends, and their household, nearly twice the share of any other generation. Even when sharing online, 36 percent of this generation restricts online access to their collections to private circles.

“Many purchases are driven less by the conspicuous consumption traditionally linked to the market than by a desire to build connections within close networks, where status comes less from price than from rarity, provenance, originality, and discovery,” said McAndrew in press materials. “Restricting access does not remove a collection’s signaling power; exclusivity can be part of the signal. Perhaps surprisingly, the youngest collectors were the most private, both in person and online. Gen Z collectors were the least likely to share details of their collections publicly online, preferring invitation-only spaces, with privacy central to their personal and cultural identity.”

Use of Artificial Intelligence On the Rise, Part of Increasing Tendency to Research

Use of artificial intelligence as a collecting resource has skyrocketed. In 2024, just 4 percent of collectors were using digital resources, such as apps or AI tools, for collecting advice and recommendations. This time around, some 22 percent are using apps or AI tools. And respondents are remarkably positive about AI, with two-thirds seeing the technology as improving artist and artwork discoverability and for personal advice and recommendations. Almost as many, meanwhile, found it good for provenance and authenticity verification and pricing and valuation analysis. And don’t rush to think that younger collectors are leaning more on AI tools: the differences between generations were minimal, with 23 percent of Gen Z using them compared to 21 percent of both Gen X and Boomers. And few are using them exclusively: only 12 percent used digital sources alone, with only 9 percent relying on a single source. Most commonly, that was the online press, followed by apps and AI tools.

More collectors this year are reporting that they’re undertaking moderate or significant research, be it market research or engaging with experts and other collectors, before buying—nearly three-quarters, up 10 percent from 2025. That number was a few points higher for Gen Z, at 80 percent.

Collectors are bullish on the art market overall: just over half expected growth over the remainder of 2026; about the same portion anticipate growth over the next 12 moths; and, taking a longer view, some 60 percent forecast growth over the coming decade.

Gen Z reported the highest average expenditure on fine art in 2025 and 2026, shelling out more than twice the amount of any older generation surveyed. Average spending across all age groups rose to $124,265 in 2025, a 13 percent increase from 2024. But Gen Z averaged $347,460, up some 19 percent. And that average continued to rise in the first half of 2026. And this age group were the highest spenders in almost every segment, spending more than twice as much as their peers not only on fine art but also on most collectibles.

A very small slice of even these wealthiest collectors were buying artworks priced above $1 million in 2025 and the first half of 2026—just 1 percent. (Even among these well-to-do buyers, about three-quarters spend under $50,000 in total on fine art.) But Gen Z was also most likely to spend at the highest levels; they accounted for some 13 percent of the collectors who did purchase $1 million artworks.

There has been a great deal of talk of the Great Wealth Transfer and its potential effect on the art market, including some very skeptical ones; McAndrew’s report says it’s happening.

“As a leading global wealth manager, UBS has been tracking the Great Wealth Transfer for several years, and the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026 confirms that it is well underway,” said Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, in press materials. “Gen Z reported the highest average spending, 40 percent entered collecting through family influence, and almost 90 percent retained inherited works. At the same time, younger collectors continue to favor traditional media such as painting and sculpture, suggesting that while collecting habits are evolving, aesthetic preferences remain more consistent across generations than is often assumed.”