$1 Trillion of Art Is About to Change Hands. Where Will It All Go?

Nearly $1 trillion of art and collectibles is expected to change hands over the next decade. Where is it all going to go? Deloitte Private and ArtTactic estimate that $992 billion in art and collectibles will transfer between generations over the next ten years, equivalent to almost $100 billion a year.

Not all of it will be sold. Much will remain within families, trusts and collections. But even a relatively small proportion returning to the market would represent an extraordinary amount of art looking for its next home. And that raises a bigger question: will there be enough demand to absorb it?

There is already evidence that inherited art is staying within families. The Art Basel & UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025 found that 84% of the high-net-worth collectors surveyed had inherited artworks. Of all respondents, 67% still had inherited works within their collections, while 17% had inherited works but no longer held them.

Among Gen Z collectors, retention was even higher: almost 90% of those who had inherited works had kept them. So the $992 billion figure should not be interpreted as $992 billion of art coming to market. But it does mean an enormous volume of art is likely to be reassessed by a new generation of owners.

Every generation develops its own tastes. The 2025 Art Basel & UBS survey found clear differences in collecting behaviour between generations. Boomers remained particularly focused on paintings, while younger collectors participated across a broader range of categories. Gen Z showed the highest participation in digital art and film and video, while Millennials were particularly active in prints, photography and works on paper.

That matters when collections built over several decades pass to their heirs. A work that held enormous significance for one generation may not have the same place in the collection of the next. Some works will remain within families, others may be sold, donated or loaned.

The transfer of wealth therefore also has the potential to become a transfer of demand.

Inheriting art is considerably more complicated than simply taking ownership of a valuable object. Works may need to be valued, divided between family members, insured, placed into storage, conserved, offered privately, consigned to auction or assessed for institutional donation.

Each route raises different questions around value, condition, provenance, ownership and long-term care. There are practical pressures too. Previous research from Art Basel & UBS found that among high-net-worth collectors who did not retain inherited works, 55% cited insufficient space, while 47% said proceeds were used to help settle estate taxes.

Changing taste is therefore only part of the story.

Auction houses, galleries, advisers and private-sale networks give the art market a sophisticated infrastructure through which collections can change hands. The harder question is whether demand will match supply.

For context, the global art market recorded approximately $59.6 billion in sales in 2025. If just 10% of the projected $992 billion transfer were sold evenly over the decade, that would represent roughly $9.9 billion of additional supply each year. At 20%, that rises to approximately $19.8 billion annually.

These are scenarios rather than forecasts, but they illustrate the potential scale of the shift. The market may be capable of processing an enormous volume of works. Finding sufficient demand for them is a different question.

Exceptional works with strong provenance, rarity and historical significance may continue to attract significant demand, particularly when they emerge from collections after decades out of public view.

For more readily available works, greater supply could make buyers increasingly selective. Condition, provenance, rarity, exhibition history and the importance of an individual work within an artist’s practice could become even more significant when collectors have greater choice.

Museums may provide a home for works of cultural or historical importance, but their capacity is limited. Acquiring art brings long-term responsibilities to store, conserve, insure, catalogue and care for it, alongside finite acquisition budgets and storage. Even when families want to donate works, institutions cannot accept everything offered. As more collections change hands, this could leave more art looking for permanent homes than institutions have capacity to accommodate.

Succession planning matters well before a collection is dispersed. Up-to-date inventories, valuations, condition reports, provenance and supporting documentation help heirs understand what they are taking responsibility for and whether works should be kept, sold, loaned or donated.

Art Basel & UBS found that 80% of high-net-worth collectors were concerned about preserving their collections for future generations and succession planning.

At Optima Contemporary, we work with collectors across the lifecycle of a collection, from acquisitions and market guidance to valuations, private sales and consignment. If you are reviewing a collection or considering the future of individual works, our team is always available for a private conversation.

The coming transfer is not simply almost $1 trillion of potential market supply. Some works will remain with families, some will be sold, and others will enter new collections or institutions. For the next generation, it could bring opportunities to encounter works that have remained in private hands for decades. But it also brings responsibility.

The market may be capable of processing an enormous volume of art. Finding the next generation of people and institutions willing and able to understand, preserve and care for it could be the greater challenge.

That, for us, is the real conversation behind the $1 trillion figure.