Art market in the United States - statistics & facts
The United States is the biggest art market worldwide. The country has been firmly holding its leading role since the 1960s, with New York acting as the most important hub for domestic and international transactions. When looking at the regional breakdown of the art market worldwide, the U.S. ranked ahead of China and the United Kingdom in 2023, alone generating over 40 percent of the global sales value of art and antiques. That said, total sales in the U.S. art market experienced a 10 percent annual decline that year, after peaking at just above 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, the highest figure reported by the country to date.
Meanwhile, works of art, collectors’ pieces, and antiques exported from the U.S. reported a higher trade value than imports in 2023, amounting to roughly 11 billion U.S. dollars. In this instance, the United Kingdom and Switzerland represented the leading art export destinations for the United States.
U.S. artwork trade: France leads the imports, the UK tops the exports
While the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit the U.S. art and antiques trade hard, both imports and exports in this market rebounded in 2022, then rose further in 2023, though not yet catching up with pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the value of works of art imported into the United States exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, with France being the leading art importer in the U.S., followed by the United Kingdom and Italy.Meanwhile, works of art, collectors’ pieces, and antiques exported from the U.S. reported a higher trade value than imports in 2023, amounting to roughly 11 billion U.S. dollars. In this instance, the United Kingdom and Switzerland represented the leading art export destinations for the United States.
