21% of the artists’ first shows were at a gallery at Art Basel this year, against 54% of the galleries they joined a mega-gallery from
The galleries that gave the artists their first solo show, and those that represented them just before a mega-gallery signed them, by what they are now
- A mega-gallery
- A gallery at Art Basel in 2026
- A gallery since closed
- Any other gallery
The numbers
| Gallery | A mega-gallery | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | A gallery since closed | Any other gallery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First solo show, 122 artists | 3 | 23 | 6 | 90 |
| The gallery just before, 121 signings | 12 | 53 | 22 | 34 |
Living artists born in 1970 or later whom the gallery signed (or first gave a solo show) in 2010 or later and still lists on its artists page: rosters read on October 4, 2026, Hauser & Wirth’s as of June 14, 2026. “At Art Basel” is a stand in any of the fair’s gallery sectors in June 2026. A gallery’s closing is known for those in our list of closings (How we counted), so more of the first galleries may have closed. 5 signings with no gallery just before, or none known, are left out. Sources: the artists’ CVs and the galleries’ announcements; Art Basel’s list of exhibitors in Basel, June 2026; press reports of closings.
From the report
From first show to mega-gallery, in charts
The 122 artists born since 1970 whom Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace and White Cube have signed since 2010, traced back to their first shows: who found them, who the mega-galleries took them from, how long the climb took, and what happened to the price of their work on the way up and since.
More from this report15
- From first show to mega-gallery, in numbers
- Their first solo shows were in 48 cities. Only 24 were in New York
- A quarter of Gagosian’s younger artists came from other mega-galleries. A third of Pace’s came from galleries that closed
- Eight galleries each saw three or four of their artists go to a mega-gallery, and seventeen more saw two
- Of the artists signed since 2024, 20 of the 27 still have their old gallery too
- From first solo show to a mega-gallery took nine years at the median, and anything from none to 27
- Half the artists given a first show by a mega-gallery since 2011 were 47 or older. Ten were under 30
- The five signed 19 of these artists in 2022, the most in any year
- Auction sales of new art peaked at $2.9 billion in 2021 and fell to $0.9 billion in 2025
- Anna Weyant’s prices rose 15-fold when she moved to Gagosian. Lauren Quin’s rose by a fifth
- A painting bought for $10,000 in 2016 sold at auction for $2.1m six years later
- Almost half the artists of the smallest galleries are emerging. More than half of the largest dealers’ are established
- The smallest galleries make 40% of their sales from a single artist
- Of artists whose first shows were at the most prestigious venues, 59% ended there. Of those who began at the least, 10% got there
- Twelve of the 37 artists in the mega-galleries’ solo shows this autumn have died