Why Have There Been No Great (Selling) Women Artists?

Despite making up about half of the population, in 2024 work by female artists made up only 13% of the global art market[1]. While the conversation has been front and center for a long time now, and many artistic institutions have been striving to acquire more women into their collections, year after year the representation of female artists in the global marketplace continues at a snail's pace towards progress. The ninth edition of The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2024, published on April 9th, analyzed the ways in which female representation in both the public and private market sectors grew during the year, focusing specifically on gallery and dealer representation. 

Leonora Carrington, Les Distractions de Dagobert, 1945, tempera on masonite, 29 ¾ x 3 ¼in. Photo Courtesy: Sotheby’s.

As the report found, the share of female artists represented by dealers across the primary and secondary market increased only 1% from 2023, to 41% overall. This marks a similar percentage of growth from 2022. Overall, it is 6% higher than in 2018, which was 35%[2]. This slight increase in market representation then allowed for representation within private collections to inch up as well. A study conducted by Art Economics and UBS found that number rising from 33% in 2018 to 44% in 2024. These small year-on-year increases have brought the female-represented art market from just a third seven years ago, to nearing half in 2025. Slow but steady progress, and very promising.

The UBS report also indicated a slight increase in work by female artists’ sold by galleries, citing a 3% increase for primary market galleries - bringing its representation up to 42% - and 31% for galleries across both primary and secondary markets. This is a substantial increase from 2018, when those figures were 32% and 23% respectively[3].

One of the most interesting observations of the report was the claim that evidence suggests while fewer works by female artists reach the commercial market, the ones that do tend to sell at a premium, rather than a discount, more often than other artists at similar career levels[4]. As author Clare McAndrew claims, this may indicate that some of the inequality seen in the market relates more to an artist’s career trajectory and institutional engagement rather than simply a gender bias[5]. 

Art Economics, The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2024, 89.

However, this progress was not reflected in ultra high net worth galleries. The report claims that galleries turning over more than $10 million a year had a lower share of female artists represented at just 33%, down by 2% from 2023. Actual sales of female artists’ work represented 30% of turnover in this segment, which is up by 2% from 2023. Overall, this was significantly less than smaller dealers, with those turning over less than $250,000 close to equilibrium in terms of representation at 49%, and with a sales share of 38%[6]. 

As for the auction sector, according to ArtTactic’s Art Market 2024 Year In Review, auction sales by women artists generated $535.2 million, down 33.2% from 2023. As stated above, female artists accounted for 13.0% of total auction sales in the year, a bit down from the 13.8% achieved in 2023. Despite the downward trend overall, the auction market for Surrealist women artists specifically boomed in 2024, seeing a 166.8% jump in sales from last year. This was largely driven by strong demand for Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Leonor Fini[7].

According to Artsy, four of the 50 highest selling lots at auction in 2024 were by female artists as well. Leonora Carrington’s Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945) sold for $28.5million at Sotheby’s New York, out-grossing its high estimate by $15million, and becoming the most expensive work ever sold by a British female artist. Georgia O’Keefe and Joan Mitchell joined her in the top 50, with Mitchell representing two sales on that list[8].

Joan Mitchell, Noon, c.1969, oil on canvas, 102x79in. Photo Courtesy: Sotheby’s.

ArtTactic also broke down female auction representation by genre. Female Contemporary artists grossed $124million this year, compared to male artists’ $1.07billion, making up for about 11% of total Contemporary sales. As well, zero women managed to break into the top ten highest selling artists for Contemporary auctions from the top three houses. However, this is very different from the “young” contemporary sales, where female artists out-grossed their male counterparts with 78% of sales, and where eight of the top ten highest-selling artists were women. Young contemporary is a much lower-value category though, with only one of the top ten artists grossing over $1million. This gap closed a little bit for Post-War artists, where women made up for 48% of sales (and three women broke into the top 10), and widening right back up again for Modern artists, where women made up only 5% of sales and none broke the top ten.

ArtTactic, The Art Market 2024 Year In Review, 19.

Linda Nochlin claimed in her famous 1971 essay, “The fault, dear brothers, lies not in our stars, our hormones, our menstrual cycles or our empty internal spaces, but in our institutions and our education[9].” Nochlin’s essay, written at the dawn of second-wave feminism, argues that it is the institutions which have favored and fostered white men of a certain class above all else that have created such a wide gap between the genders. These institutions and systems still feel the consequences of these beliefs to this day, and it will take time and concerted effort to change these inequities. The movement towards equal representation between the two historically-accepted genders in the global art market and in art institutions is a slow one, with progress occurring incrementally and sometimes seeming barely to move at all. But when looked at year-on-year, the progress is there, and it will take effort on the parts of dealers, galleries and auction houses to find and spotlight female art and talent. As the report noted: in 2024, galleries that had 50% female artist representation were associated with positive changes in sales, an average 4% raise, while those with less than 50% tended to decline about 4%. With philosophies of diversity, equity and inclusion under attack, it is more important than ever to be aware of the disparities that exist for certain groups of people, whether for reasons of personal, institutional and unconscious bias, or just a history of under-representation that is slow to change. The art world is better when there is a wider range of perspectives and voices. With effort on the part of market professionals and collectors, progress will continue to inch onward.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s Thread was the highest selling work by a young contemporary artist and the only work to break $1million, selling for $1.9m.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Thread, 2012, acrylic, charcoal, pastel, color pencil and Xerox transfers on paper, 52x52in. Photo Courtesy: Sotheby’s.

Notes

[1] “The Art Market 2024: A Year in Review.” ArtTactic, December 2024.

 [2] McAndrew, Clare , and Arts Economics. “The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025.” Edited by Jeni Fulton and Lesley Kilmurray. Art Basel & UBS, April 9, 2025, pg 87.

 [3] McAndrew, “The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025,” 87.

 [4] McAndrew, “The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025,” 87

[5] McAndrew, “The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025,” 87
[6] McAndrew, “The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025,” 87

[7] “The Art Market 2024: A Year in Review.” ArtTactic, December 2024.

[8] Kakar, Arun. “10 New Artist Auction Records Set in May 2024.” Artsy, May 20, 2024. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-new-artist-auction-records-set-2024.

 [9] Nochlin, Linda. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Thames & Hudson, 1971, pg 12.

Sources

Basel, Art. “Are Women Artists Finally Getting Their Due? | Art Basel.” Art Basel, January 29, 2025. https://www.artbasel.com/stories/women-artists-female-art-market-collectors?lang=en#.

———. “Global Art Market Sales Reached an Estimated $57.5 Billion in 2024 | Art Basel.” Art Basel, August 4, 2025. https://www.artbasel.com/stories/the-art-basel-and-ubs-global-art-market-report-2025.

Kakar, Arun. “10 New Artist Auction Records Set in May 2024.” Artsy, May 20, 2024. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-new-artist-auction-records-set-2024.

Lesser, Casey. “The Women Artists Market Report 2024,” March 7, 2024. https://pages.artsy.net/rs/609-FDY-207/images/The%20Women%20Artists%20Market%20Report%202024.pdf?version=0.

McAndrew, Clare , and Arts Economics. “The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2025.” Edited by Jeni Fulton and Lesley Kilmurray. Art Basel & UBS, April 9, 2025.

National Museum of Women in the Arts. “Get the Facts about Women in the Arts.” National Museum of Women in The Arts, 2022. https://nmwa.org/support/advocacy/get-facts/.

Nochlin, Linda. “Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?” Thames & Hudson, 1971.

Rabb, Maxwell. “The 10 Most Expensive Works Sold at Auction in 2024.” Artsy, December 11, 2024. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-expensive-works-sold-auction-2024.

“The Art Market 2024: A Year in Review.” ArtTactic, December 2024.

Tully, Judd. “Sotheby’s Makes $198.1m in Consistently Strong Modern Evening Sale in New York.” The Art Newspaper - International art news and events, May 16, 2024. https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2024/05/16/sothebys-modern-evening-sale-carrington-record.

Voon, Claire. “What Museums Are Doing to Collect More Work by Women Artists.” Artsy, March 18, 2020. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-museums-collect-work-women-artists.

Watson, Olivia. “Leonora Carrington and Joan Mitchell Lead Exceptional Results for Women Artists.” Sothebys.com, May 17, 2024. https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/new-york-sales-may-2024-results-leonora-carrington-joan-mitchell-exceptional-results-for-women-artists.

Basha Shapiro

Art Markets Co-Editor, MADE IN BED