Her Market Moment: Why Women Artists Are Set to Lead the Next Art Boom

The art market is undergoing a long-overdue recalibration, with women artists finally beginning to receive the recognition and investment they have historically been denied. In recent years, sales of works by women have increased significantly, a trend driven not only by a shift in cultural values but by the confluence of two powerful forces: the rise of women collectors and the looming great wealth transfer that will place the majority of global assets in women’s hands.

In May 2025, Miss January (1997) by South African-born, Amsterdam-based artist Marlene Dumas sold at Christie’s New York for $13.6 million, including fees — a record-breaking result for a living female artist and a signal that the market is paying serious attention. Dumas’s sale surpassed the previous benchmark set by Jenny Saville and brought renewed focus to the pricing gap between male and female artists. However, it wasn’t just a single headline-grabbing auction; it reflected a broader shift already visible across the collecting landscape.

Art Basel and UBS’s recent research reveals that women now make up a growing share of high-net-worth collectors globally, with female buyers consistently outspending their male counterparts in median annual spend. In 2023, the median amount spent by women collectors was $72,500, surpassing men for the third year in a row. More tellingly, in the highest spending bracket — those acquiring more than $10 million worth of art annually — women collectors dedicated nearly 9% more of their budgets to women artists in 2023 than in 2021. The share of women artists in collections also continues to rise. In 2018, works by women made up just 33% of collections surveyed. By 2023, that number had climbed to 44%. Among collectors spending more than $1 million a year, more than half of acquisitions in 2024 so far have been works by women.

A Wealth Transfer, A Market Shift

Perhaps the most transformative factor driving this surge is the generational transfer of wealth now underway. By 2025, it is estimated that women will control over 60% of global wealth, in part due to inheritances from baby boomer estates and longer life expectancies. This monumental shift is not just financial; it’s cultural. As women become the primary stewards of family wealth, their collecting patterns will inevitably shape the art world’s future. Where once the market was defined by a small number of male gatekeepers, a broader, more inclusive collector base is emerging, one more attuned to representation, diversity and long-term cultural value.

Women collectors, such as Lisa Perry and Komal Shah, are not only buying art, they are reshaping institutional narratives. Perry’s Onna House in East Hampton and Shah’s ‘Making Their Mark’ initiative have become platforms for promoting underrepresented artists and sparking institutional acquisition. Museums are taking note: Norway’s PoMo (Punto Museo di Arte Moderna) now dedicates 60% of its collection budget to women artists, a commitment echoed in acquisition strategies from LACMA to Tate.

This growing institutional and private focus is having a clear knock-on effect on artist performance. On Artsy, women artists born after 1975 now make up 44% of auction sales, with Gen Z women (born 1997 or later) accounting for 51% of inquiries in 2023. Ultra-contemporary artist, such as Laura Berger, Alicia Adamerovich, Camilla Engström and Zoe McGuire, are enjoying rapid rises in both collector attention and secondary market value. Berger, in particular, led all women artists in year-over-year growth on the platform. 

Beyond the ultra-contemporary sphere, mid-career and late-career women artists are also enjoying renewed demand. Tschabalala Self, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Charline von Heyl continue to show strong performance, underpinned by critical acclaim and international exhibitions. Meanwhile, modern masters, such as Louise Bourgeois, Joan Mitchell and Ruth Asawa, remain solid bets, offering long-term value and art-historical relevance at still-competitive prices compared to their male counterparts. There’s also a rediscovery trend favouring artists like Leonor Fini and Elaine de Kooning, whose contributions to 20th-century art are being re-evaluated and revalued.

While the investment logic is certainly compelling — many women artists remain significantly undervalued relative to similarly accomplished male peers — the appeal goes deeper. For many collectors, especially women, the acquisition of art by women is a personal, values-driven decision. These works speak to lived experiences and emotional as well as social relevance in ways that resonate deeply with today’s buyers. As the next generation of collectors begin to shape the market, demand for women artists is expected to grow not only in volume but in depth, touching every segment from ultra-contemporary to postwar and beyond.

The momentum behind women artists is not just a corrective gesture; it is a structural shift. With more money in the hands of women, greater institutional backing and a vibrant ecosystem of artists, advisors and platforms supporting them, the future of the art market will be more equitable, more diverse and more representative. Collectors who move early and decisively into this space stand to benefit financially while helping to shape a more inclusive cultural legacy.

References

Jhala, Kabir. ‘Marlene Dumas’s $13.6m semi-nude breaks auction record for a living female artist’. The Art Newspaper, 14 May 2025. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/05/15/marguerite-dumas-sets-new-record-for-a-female-artist-at-auction

Hanson, Sarah P. ‘Women are spending more on art than men – we look at why.’ Art Basel, 7 March 2024. https://www.artbasel.com/stories/women-collectors-patronage-lisa-perry-komal-shah-survey-global-collecting-ubs?lang=en

Brady, Anna. ‘Are women artists finally getting their due?’. Art Basel, 29 January 2025. https://www.artbasel.com/stories/women-artists-female-art-market-collectors?lang=en

Christian, Jennifer. ‘Empowering the Future: The Role of Women in the Great Wealth Transfer’. Brooks Macdonald, 28 February 2025. https://www.brooksmacdonald.com/individuals/resources/insights/empowering-future-role-women-great-wealth-transfer

Lesser, Casey. ‘The Women Artists Market Report 2024’. Artsy, 7 March 2024. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-women-artists-market-report-2024