Art Advisor Report 2025

The global art market is a well-mapped ecosystem, with reams of data on collectors, galleries, auction houses, and market trends. Yet, one vital player has flown under the radar: art advisors. These professionals act as trusted intermediaries, guiding collectors through acquisitions, sales, and strategy in a market rife with complexity, from provenance verification to tax implications.

This report changes that. Our inaugural survey—conducted July–November 2025 and yielding 128 responses from art advisors worldwide—delivers the first comprehensive, data-driven profile of the profession. With plans for an annual edition, it demystifies who art advisors actually are – their backgrounds, client dynamics, earnings, deal structures, challenges, and evolving role in a digitalizing world – and how they have been faring during what many in the art market believe to be its most challenging period since the 2008 financial crisis.

As founders of The Art Marketplace and The Art Bystander—platforms where advisors are among our most frequent collaborators—this work stems from a practical need. We engage with advisors daily, yet the industry lacks a clear snapshot of their realities. The findings paint a portrait of a resilient, predominantly independent group: highly experienced but navigating a competitive landscape through deep, concentrated client relationships rather than high-volume scaling. While not exhaustive of every advisory niche, this offers a solid average benchmark for the field.

Some key insights included in the report:

• Advisors who have more clients don't necessarily make more money!
• Almost half of advisors do less than 10 transactions a year
• Advisors who work with interior designers charge more!
• UK advisors have felt the market decline more acutely than their global counterparts

1.1About the Authors

This report is a collaboration between three leading voices in the art world:

• The Art Marketplace is the global marketplace for private sales, connecting collectors, advisors, and galleries for discreet art transactions.
• The Art Bystander is a global art media platform and advisory firm positioned at the crossroads of culture, curation, collecting, and strategy, transforming creative insight into enduring cultural and commercial value.
• The Art World Guide provides art world participants with quantitative insights into the contemporary art market.