Art Basel Miami is witnessing strong attendance and sales

Art Basel Miami Beach had strong sales and attendance last week, as the art market benefited from a wave of renewed confidence following strong November auctions in New York.

More than 80,000 collectors and art lovers flocked to the Miami Convention Center for the annual art fair, with many works selling for more than $1 million. Collectors from the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa visited the fair’s more than 280 galleries, along with numerous art galleries and pop-up exhibitions throughout Miami.

After nearly three years of declining auction sales and the closure of showrooms, dealers and advisers say the market has suddenly come back to life. Auction sales in New York last month topped $2 billion, including a record-breaking Gustav Klimt sculpture that sold for $236.4 million.

“There has been a decisive change in the market,” Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz told CNBC. “We are not completely out of the woods yet, but there is buying, there is activity, there is energy, there is vitality. We saw that very clearly at the opening of the exhibition.”

Just as there has been little consensus about why the art market has declined, there are vague and conflicting theories about the recovery. Some say the prospect of lower interest rates boosts demand. Others say geopolitical tensions have eased as the balance sheets of the wealthy grow rapidly.

“There is a lot of wealth in the world right now,” Horowitz said. “We’ve been in a high-interest-rate environment. There are geopolitical complexities, there are tariff complexities, but I think at some level, people are tired of that. They want to get out, be with each other, and be around art. Art brings people together, and buying art makes people happy.”

Art Basel also attracts huge amounts of wealth. Private banks, wealth management firms, luxury brands, high-end real estate brokers and various other members of the white glove brigade have descended on the beach to get closer to clients. UBS had the largest presence, as the global lead partner of Art Basel. The VIP lounge on the exhibition floor (the only one of its kind on the floor) was once again the hottest ticket in town – hosting a steady stream of dozens of billionaires, major collectors and wealthy families.

“You have a very tight concentration of wealth in this one room,” said Matthew Newton, head of technical advisory for the Americas at UBS Family Office Solutions. “Some of the world’s most important art collectors are gathered here and, in some cases, almost competing for our works. This is a really important moment.”

Along with experienced art collectors, UBS also helps wealthy clients new to art learn the basics and get more comfortable with buying and selling.

“We have a lot of successful entrepreneurs who sell businesses, build a dream home or townhouse, and they are willing to put real art into it,” Newton said. “One big piece of advice is that you have to see as much art as you can. Get out there, see as much as you can, and don’t wait too long to get into it. Like, go ahead and buy something. It helps to have a little skin in the game, and it’s okay to make mistakes early on.”

Newton also advises clients at the gallery to view art as an asset rather than an investment.

“Most high-net-worth art collectors think of art as a collectible, not necessarily as an investment,” he said. “They want to be smart about their purchase. They don’t want to overpay. But that’s really not the first concern. They really think of it as something that has deep meaning to them. Honestly, these are collectors who are more successful in the long term in a financial sense as well.”