The five signed 19 of these artists in 2022, the most in any year
Artists born since 1970 on the mega-galleries’ rosters now, by the year each gallery signed them
- Gagosian
- Hauser & Wirth
- Pace
- David Zwirner
- White Cube
The numbers
| Year | Gagosian | Hauser & Wirth | Pace | David Zwirner | White Cube |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 2016 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2019 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 2022 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 |
| 2023 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2026 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
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. Only artists still on a roster are counted, so the earlier years leave out those who have since moved on. 2026 is to October 4. Sources: the galleries’ announcements and artist pages, read in October 2026.
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
- 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
- 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
- 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