The UK art market directly supported 45,520 jobs and 7,800 businesses in 2023, the latest annual report from the British Art Market Federation has revealed.
Figures in the report estimate that the fiscal contribution made by the UK art market was nearly £1.6bn in 2022. It also suggests that last year, the sector spent an estimated £2.6bn on specialised services and products supporting a further 37,900 jobs in the UK.
Globally, the report indicated that the UK art market retained its position as the second largest international hub for trading art, behind the USA, with aggregate sales in 2022 of £9.7bn. However, market share has declined from 21% in 2016 to 18% in 2022, well below a high point of 34% in 2008.
The report cites the pandemic and the disruption to UK/EU trade generated by Brexit as causing the "deterioration" in the UK’s global position.
Warning that the UK risks "losing the battle to attract worldwide sales at the highest level of values" because of a decline in cross-border trade, the report determined that “London’s significance as an art market hub is not built on sourcing business locally but on the flow of works of art in and out of London", adding “there is strong empirical evidence that imports of art and antiques are highly correlated with the growth of the art market.”