The Impressionist and Modern art category became the most lucrative market segment in 2025, generating $4.7 billion in sales—a 29.5% increase from 2024—as collectors favored established names amid a cautious market. The $10-million-plus bracket surged 68.6% to $1.5 billion, while the number of lots sold hit a decade high of 122,213. Postwar and contemporary art ranked second with $4.1 billion, but its average price per lot dropped to a decade low of $23,027. Old Masters saw a 41.2% rise to $708.6 million, partly driven by the Thomas A. Saunders III collection at Sotheby’s, though that sale fell short of estimates. Ultra-contemporary art continued its four-year decline, falling 26.5% to $229.9 million, with average prices tumbling 72.4% from their 2021 peak.
This data matters because it signals a fundamental market reset: collectors are retreating from speculative, high-risk contemporary works and returning to blue-chip Impressionist, Modern, and Old Master categories. The divergence between soaring high-end sales and falling average prices in postwar/contemporary suggests a generational shift in taste, with younger buyers exploring older genres. The continued slump in ultra-contemporary art indicates the end of the pandemic-era speculation bubble, forcing galleries and auction houses to recalibrate their strategies around proven, historically grounded artists.