David Hockney, The Poet, from The Blue Guitar, 1976-77. Courtesy of Adam Baumgold Gallery

Auction results are usually the only public data available for reading the art market, even though they reflect only the secondary sphere. Art fair sales reports can hint at how the primary market is behaving and what collectors are circling, but even those numbers are unstable, shaped by discounts, negotiations and the many variables that can shift between an invoice being issued and a wire arriving. Artsy, widely regarded as the largest online marketplace for art, recently released its first Buyer Trends Report based on the searches and primary-market transactions on its platform, offering a clearer picture of what collectors were buying in 2025.

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“This report reinforces the patterns we identified in Artsy’s Art Market Trends 2025: collectors are becoming more selective, and that discipline is directing demand toward the primary market—especially mid-tier and emerging artists,” Artsy CEO Jeffrey Yin told Observer, noting that works priced under $10,000 are benefiting as buyers look for strong entry points that do not rely on speculation. “Even as the top end recalibrates, the fundamentals remain healthy. People are acquiring art they genuinely want to live with, at price points that feel responsible in today’s market.”

Trend 1: Smaller paintings at smaller prices

Small paintings have dominated recent gallery shows and fairs, particularly on the emerging side. Pocket-sized works encourage a more intimate and emotional relationship with the subject, but they are also easier to live with—lighter to ship, simpler to frame and far less punishing when it comes to storage or relocation. In cities like New York and London, where aggressive real estate markets make long-term leases a luxury, collectors are increasingly opting for art that can move with them.

Artsy’s users in 2025 were actively seeking art on a micro scale, with searches for “micro,” “mini” and “small” rising 40 percent, 47 percent and 49 percent. Forty percent of all purchases on the platform were for small works, and acquisitions tagged as “miniature and small-scale paintings” increased 66 percent year over year.

These numbers may be predictable for an online marketplace, where buyers tend to trust digital transactions for lower price tiers rather than multimillion-dollar blue-chip masterpieces that require in-person due........

© Observer