# 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.

Art market · Reports · By On View, updated Oct 4, 2026 · Tags: Mega-galleries, Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, White Cube, Emerging artists, Gallery representation, Art prices, Art market, Data

Every few weeks one of the five largest galleries in the world, Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace or White Cube, announces that it now represents an artist, and the price of the artist’s work changes overnight. This report follows those artists back down the ladder. We took every living artist born in 1970 or later whom one of the five has taken on since 2010 and still lists on its roster, 122 artists in all (126 signings, since four are on two of the rosters), and traced each of them through their CVs to their first solo show at a commercial gallery, and to the gallery that represented them just before.

The answer to who finds them is nobody in particular. The 122 artists had their first solo shows at 117 different galleries in 48 cities, most of them small. The mega-galleries sign them later, mostly from a short list of larger galleries a rung below, from each other, and from galleries that were closing. On the way up, the price of their work can rise fifteenfold in a year.

The careers are counted from the galleries’ own pages and the artists’ CVs, read in the first days of October 2026. The prices are those the galleries reported at the time and those the auction houses made, through Artprice. The market as a whole is from the Art Basel and UBS survey of dealers, and what the five are showing now is from On View’s own listings. The sources are at the foot of the page, with how each chart was counted. Each chart can be linked to, downloaded or embedded, and has its numbers under it.

## The climb in numbers

### From first show to mega-gallery, in numbers

- **122** artists born since 1970 signed by the five mega-galleries since 2010 · and on their rosters in October 2026
- **117** different galleries gave them their first solo shows · in 48 cities
- **9 years** from a first solo show to a mega-gallery, at the median · at the age of 40
- **21%** of their first shows were at a gallery at Art Basel this year · 54% of the galleries just before
- **15×** Anna Weyant’s prices, from Blum & Poe to Gagosian · $40,000 to $600,000
- **74%** of those signed since 2024 still have their old gallery too · 40% of those signed by 2021

Sources: the five galleries’ artist pages and the artists’ CVs, read in October 2026; Artnet News; the Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026.

## Who finds them: nobody in particular

An artist’s market begins with their first solo show at a commercial gallery: the first prices, the first collectors, often the first review. For the 122 artists that show happened at 117 different galleries. No gallery gave a first show to more than two of them, and only five did that: Victoria Miro, Plan B in Cluj, Peres Projects in Berlin, LFL Gallery in New York, and White Cube, which gave Michael Armitage his first solo show in 2015 and still represents him.

New York had 24 of the first shows, London 16 and Los Angeles 10. The rest were spread over 45 other cities, among them Cluj, where Plan B gave Adrian Ghenie and Victor Man their first shows, São Paulo, Cape Town, Beijing, Accra and Kuwait City.

### Their first solo shows were in 48 cities. Only 24 were in New York

Where the 122 artists had their first solo show at a commercial gallery

![Bar chart of the cities of the artists’ first solo shows: New York 24, London 16, Los Angeles 10, Berlin 6, Paris 5, San Francisco 5, Milan 4, Beijing 3, and 48 in 40 other cities.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/first-show-cities.png)

| City | Group | Artists |
| --- | --- | --- |
| New York | Cities with three first shows or more | 24 |
| London | Cities with three first shows or more | 16 |
| Los Angeles | Cities with three first shows or more | 10 |
| Berlin | Cities with three first shows or more | 6 |
| Paris | Cities with three first shows or more | 5 |
| San Francisco | Cities with three first shows or more | 5 |
| Milan | Cities with three first shows or more | 4 |
| Beijing | Cities with three first shows or more | 3 |
| 40 other cities, from Accra to Zurich | Other cities | 48 |

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. Los Angeles takes in Santa Monica and Venice. One gallery’s city is not known. Source: the artists’ CVs on their galleries’ sites; On View’s count.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/first-show-cities · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/first-show-cities.csv

Most of these galleries were small. Only 23 of the 122 first shows were at a gallery that had a stand at Art Basel in Basel this June, the fair whose selection is the nearest the trade has to a ranking of established galleries. [David Kordansky](https://onview.so/la/david-kordansky-gallery) gave Lauren Halsey hers in 2020, [Jack Shainman](https://onview.so/manhattan/jack-shainman-gallery-chelsea) gave Tyler Mitchell his in 2021, and Pippy Houldsworth gave Jadé Fadojutimi hers in 2017. The others were galleries like 56 Henry on the Lower East Side, where Anna Weyant’s first show in 2019 priced paintings at $2,000 to $12,000. There were also Feuer/Mesler, which sold Loie Hollowell’s at $8,000 to $15,000 in 2016, and Friends Indeed in San Francisco, which gave Lauren Quin her first show in 2020. Rawson Projects showed Jamian Juliano-Villani, Ramiken Crucible Andra Ursuţa, and [Various Small Fires](https://onview.so/la/various-small-fires) Julie Curtiss.

### 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

![Two bars in parts. Of the 122 first shows, 3 were at a mega-gallery, 23 at a gallery with a stand at Art Basel in 2026, 6 at one since closed and 90 at others. Of the 121 galleries just before the signing, 12 are mega-galleries, 53 at Art Basel, 22 closed and 34 others.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/first-and-last-galleries.png)

| 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.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/first-and-last-galleries · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/first-and-last-galleries.csv

By the time a mega-gallery signed them, most had moved up a rung. Of the galleries that represented them just before, 44% have a stand at Art Basel this year and 10% are mega-galleries themselves. Of the galleries that gave them their first shows, 19% and 2%. Another 18% came from a gallery that has since closed or merged.

## Where the mega-galleries sign them from

Each of the five recruits differently. Gagosian took seven of its 29 younger artists from the other four. Four came from David Zwirner: Carol Bove, Cy Gavin, Harold Ancart and Jordan Wolfson, whom Zwirner still shares. Two came from White Cube, which still shares them, and Sterling Ruby came from Hauser & Wirth. Zwirner signed 12 of its 19 from galleries with a stand at Art Basel, usually in partnership with them: Canada for Katherine Bernhardt, Stevenson for Portia Zvavahera, Sadie Coles for Yu Nishimura. White Cube goes furthest afield. Ten of its 22 came from galleries that are not at Art Basel, in Tokyo, Beijing, Brescia, Brussels, Amsterdam, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Pace is the one that grew from other galleries’ endings. Ten of its 29 came from galleries that closed or merged. Metro Pictures, which shut at the end of 2021 after 41 years, sent it Trevor Paglen, Paulina Olowska and Latifa Echakhch. Kayne Griffin in Los Angeles merged into Pace in 2022, bringing Hank Willis Thomas and Mika Tajima. When Blum, the former Blum & Poe, closed in 2025, Pace took on Lauren Quin and Friedrich Kunath.

Eight galleries each saw three or four of these artists go to a mega-gallery, and seventeen more saw two. [David Kordansky](https://onview.so/la/david-kordansky-gallery) in Los Angeles is the clearest case of a gallery whose artists the mega-galleries share rather than take. Gagosian signed Jennifer Guidi, Jonas Wood and Lauren Halsey from it, and Hauser & Wirth signed Rashid Johnson, and Kordansky still represents all four. Victoria Miro in London has seen four go: Njideka Akunyili Crosby to Zwirner, Flora Yukhnovich and María Berrío to Hauser & Wirth, and Jules de Balincourt to Pace, all four of them shared. Three of the eight have closed: Metro Pictures, Blum & Poe and Gavin Brown’s enterprise, whose dealer joined Gladstone in 2020.

### A quarter of Gagosian’s younger artists came from other mega-galleries. A third of Pace’s came from galleries that closed

The gallery that represented each artist just before the mega-gallery signed them, by what it is now

![Five bars in parts, one for each mega-gallery: Gagosian, 7 from another mega-gallery, 11 from Art Basel galleries, 6 from closed galleries, 5 from others; Hauser & Wirth, 1 from another mega-gallery, 14 from Art Basel galleries, 3 from closed galleries, 8 from others; Pace, 2 from another mega-gallery, 9 from Art Basel galleries, 10 from closed galleries, 7 from others; David Zwirner, 2 from another mega-gallery, 12 from Art Basel galleries, 0 from closed galleries, 4 from others; White Cube, 0 from another mega-gallery, 7 from Art Basel galleries, 3 from closed galleries, 10 from others.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/where-the-megas-recruit.png)

| Mega-gallery | Another mega-gallery | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | A gallery since closed | Any other gallery |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gagosian, 29 artists | 7 | 11 | 6 | 5 |
| Hauser & Wirth, 26 artists | 1 | 14 | 3 | 8 |
| Pace, 28 artists | 2 | 9 | 10 | 7 |
| David Zwirner, 18 artists | 2 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| White Cube, 20 artists | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |

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. 5 signings with no gallery just before, or none known, are left out. Sources: the galleries’ announcements, the artists’ CVs and the press; Art Basel’s list of exhibitors in Basel, June 2026.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/where-the-megas-recruit · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/where-the-megas-recruit.csv

### Eight galleries each saw three or four of their artists go to a mega-gallery, and seventeen more saw two

The galleries that most often represented an artist just before one of the five signed them, 2010 to 2026: the eight that saw three or four go, and seven of the seventeen that saw two

![Bar chart: David Zwirner 4, White Cube 4, David Kordansky Gallery 4, Victoria Miro 4, Metro Pictures 4, Sikkema Jenkins & Co. 3, Blum & Poe (Blum) 3, Gavin Brown’s enterprise 3, Gladstone Gallery 2, Vitamin Creative Space 2, Matthew Brown 2, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery 2, Jack Shainman Gallery 2, Karma 2, Marian Goodman Gallery 2.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/the-galleries-they-left.png)

| Gallery | What it is now | Artists signed by a mega-gallery |
| --- | --- | --- |
| David Zwirner, Gagosian | A mega-gallery | 4 |
| White Cube, Gagosian, David Zwirner, Pace | A mega-gallery | 4 |
| David Kordansky Gallery, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 4 |
| Victoria Miro, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 4 |
| Metro Pictures, Hauser & Wirth, Pace | A gallery since closed | 4 |
| Sikkema Jenkins & Co., Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 3 |
| Blum & Poe (Blum), Gagosian, Pace | A gallery since closed | 3 |
| Gavin Brown’s enterprise, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth | A gallery since closed | 3 |
| Gladstone Gallery, David Zwirner, Pace | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 2 |
| Vitamin Creative Space, Gagosian, White Cube | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 2 |
| Matthew Brown, David Zwirner, White Cube | Any other gallery | 2 |
| Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, Gagosian, Pace | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 2 |
| Jack Shainman Gallery, Gagosian | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 2 |
| Karma, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 2 |
| Marian Goodman Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, White Cube | A gallery at Art Basel in 2026 | 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. Some are shared with the gallery they came from. Of the 17 galleries that saw two go, the seven with the most recent signings are shown; the others are Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Petzel, Mendes Wood DM, Gagosian, Andrea Rosen Gallery, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, Kayne Griffin, GRIMM. Sources: the galleries’ announcements, the artists’ CVs and the press.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/the-galleries-they-left · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/the-galleries-they-left.csv

## Sharing, not poaching

A mega-gallery’s announcement used to mean the end of an artist’s old gallery. Of the 63 artists signed up to 2021, 25 still work with the gallery they had before and 21 left it. Of the 27 signed since 2024, 20 kept it and one left. Hauser & Wirth now usually signs an artist together with the gallery they have: Company Gallery for Ambera Wellmann, Nicola Vassell for Uman, Hannah Barry for George Rouy, Marianne Boesky for Michaela Yearwood-Dan. Zwirner signed Sasha Gordon with [Matthew Brown](https://onview.so/manhattan/matthew-brown), the gallery that gave her her first solo show in 2021.

The old gallery has the most to lose. In the Art Basel and UBS survey of 2025, the smallest dealers, those selling less than $250,000 a year, made 40% of their sales from their single best-selling artist and 65% from their top three; dealers selling more than $10 million, 26% and 48%. The report calls the loss of a top artist to a larger gallery potentially catastrophic for a small one. Sharing keeps some of the artist’s sales coming through the gallery that found them. The mega-galleries, for their part, have learned that a long roster is costly: in June 2026 ARTnews reported that Pace would cut its roster from about 135 artists toward 85, and its staff from about 250 to 200.

### Of the artists signed since 2024, 20 of the 27 still have their old gallery too

Whether each artist still works with the gallery that represented them before the mega-gallery, by the years they were signed

![Five bars in parts, by the years of signing: 2010–2015, 8 of 21 kept their gallery and 6 left it; 2016–2019, 9 of 22 kept their gallery and 7 left it; 2020–2021, 8 of 20 kept their gallery and 8 left it; 2022–2023, 15 of 36 kept their gallery and 12 left it; 2024–2026, 20 of 27 kept their gallery and 1 left it.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/kept-or-left.png)

| Signed | Still with it | Left it | It closed or merged | No gallery, or not known |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2010–2015, 21 artists | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| 2016–2019, 22 artists | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| 2020–2021, 20 artists | 8 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 2022–2023, 36 artists | 15 | 12 | 5 | 4 |
| 2024–2026, 27 artists | 20 | 1 | 3 | 3 |

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. Sources: the galleries’ announcements and artist pages, read in October 2026; the press.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/kept-or-left · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/kept-or-left.csv

## Nine years from first show to the top

The median artist joined a mega-gallery nine years after their first solo show, at the age of 40. The spread is wide. Eighteen were signed within three years of their first show. Michael Armitage’s first solo show was at White Cube itself, and Loie Hollowell went from Feuer/Mesler to Pace within a year. Oscar Murillo, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Theaster Gates, Julie Curtiss, Pam Evelyn, Li Hei Di and Christina Kimeze each took two. At the other end, Friedrich Kunath had been showing for 27 years when he joined Pace, Harmony Korine 26 when he joined Hauser & Wirth, and Carol Bove 23 when she joined Gagosian.

### From first solo show to a mega-gallery took nine years at the median, and anything from none to 27

Years from each artist’s first solo show at a commercial gallery to the year a mega-gallery signed them

![A row of dots for each mega-gallery along a scale of 0 to 30 years, one dot for each artist it signed: Gagosian, median 9 years; Hauser & Wirth, median 10 years; Pace, median 11 years; David Zwirner, median 10 years; White Cube, median 6.5 years.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/years-to-the-top.png)

| Mega-gallery | Artist | Years from first solo show |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gagosian | Alex Israel | 3 |
| Gagosian | Amoako Boafo | 4 |
| Gagosian | Anna Weyant | 3 |
| Gagosian | Carol Bove | 23 |
| Gagosian | Cy Gavin | 9 |
| Gagosian | Deana Lawson | 11 |
| Gagosian | Derrick Adams | 18 |
| Gagosian | Ewa Juszkiewicz | 7 |
| Gagosian | Hao Liang | 6 |
| Gagosian | Harold Ancart | 13 |
| Gagosian | Jadé Fadojutimi | 5 |
| Gagosian | Jamian Juliano-Villani | 11 |
| Gagosian | Jennifer Guidi | 13 |
| Gagosian | Jia Aili | 10 |
| Gagosian | Jonas Wood | 9 |
| Gagosian | Jordan Wolfson | 20 |
| Gagosian | Julie Curtiss | 7 |
| Gagosian | Kathleen Ryan | 8 |
| Gagosian | Lauren Halsey | 3 |
| Gagosian | Louise Bonnet | 4 |
| Gagosian | Nathaniel Mary Quinn | 5 |
| Gagosian | Piero Golia | 11 |
| Gagosian | Rachel Feinstein | 13 |
| Gagosian | Spencer Sweeney | 19 |
| Gagosian | Sterling Ruby | 11 |
| Gagosian | Theaster Gates | 9 |
| Gagosian | Titus Kaphar | 16 |
| Gagosian | Tyler Mitchell | 3 |
| Gagosian | Urs Fischer | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Anj Smith | 6 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Rashid Johnson | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Stefan Brüggemann | 14 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Amy Sherald | 7 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Avery Singer | 6 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Mika Rottenberg | 14 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Nicolas Party | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Roberto Cuoghi | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Camille Henrot | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Christina Quarles | 4 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Thomas J Price | 10 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Allison Katz | 13 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Angel Otero | 16 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Ambera Wellmann | 7 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Daniel Turner | 17 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Firelei Báez | 11 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Flora Yukhnovich | 5 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Harmony Korine | 26 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Uman | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | George Rouy | 8 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Jeffrey Gibson | 18 |
| Hauser & Wirth | María Berrío | 12 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Michaela Yearwood-Dan | 5 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Nairy Baghramian | 20 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Christina Kimeze | 2 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Qiu Xiaofei | 19 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Conny Maier | 8 |
| Pace | Adam Pendleton | 8 |
| Pace | Adrian Ghenie | 7 |
| Pace | Alejandro Piñeiro Bello | 6 |
| Pace | Alicja Kwade | 18 |
| Pace | Anicka Yi | 15 |
| Pace | Friedrich Kunath | 27 |
| Pace | Gideon Appah | 3 |
| Pace | Hank Willis Thomas | 20 |
| Pace | Jules de Balincourt | 18 |
| Pace | Kohei Nawa | 13 |
| Pace | Kylie Manning | 11 |
| Pace | Latifa Echakhch | 14 |
| Pace | Lauren Quin | 5 |
| Pace | Li Hei Di | 2 |
| Pace | Loie Hollowell | 1 |
| Pace | Marina Perez Simão | 12 |
| Pace | Matthew Day Jackson | 17 |
| Pace | Maysha Mohamedi | 7 |
| Pace | Mika Tajima | 15 |
| Pace | Nigel Cooke | 14 |
| Pace | Pam Evelyn | 2 |
| Pace | Paulina Olowska | 19 |
| Pace | Raqib Shaw | 9 |
| Pace | Robert Nava | 5 |
| Pace | Torkwase Dyson | 14 |
| Pace | Trevor Paglen | 14 |
| Pace | Wang Guangle | 9 |
| Pace | William Monk | 10 |
| Pace | Yto Barrada | 9 |
| David Zwirner | Andra Ursuţa | 10 |
| David Zwirner | Dana Schutz | 18 |
| David Zwirner | Emma McIntyre | 7 |
| David Zwirner | Joe Bradley | 21 |
| David Zwirner | Jordan Wolfson | 11 |
| David Zwirner | Josh Smith | 14 |
| David Zwirner | Katherine Bernhardt | 21 |
| David Zwirner | Louis Fratino | 10 |
| David Zwirner | Lucas Arruda | 9 |
| David Zwirner | Michael Armitage | 7 |
| David Zwirner | Nate Lowman | 15 |
| David Zwirner | Njideka Akunyili Crosby | 2 |
| David Zwirner | Oscar Murillo | 2 |
| David Zwirner | Portia Zvavahera | 7 |
| David Zwirner | Sasha Gordon | 3 |
| David Zwirner | Shio Kusaka | 15 |
| David Zwirner | Victor Man | 19 |
| David Zwirner | Walter Price | 8 |
| David Zwirner | Yu Nishimura | 9 |
| White Cube | Alia Ahmad | 3 |
| White Cube | Christine Ay Tjoe | 15 |
| White Cube | Cinga Samson | 6 |
| White Cube | Danh Vo | 8 |
| White Cube | Danica Lundy | 4 |
| White Cube | David Altmejd | 16 |
| White Cube | Firenze Lai | 15 |
| White Cube | Ibrahim Mahama | 3 |
| White Cube | Ilana Savdie | 7 |
| White Cube | Julie Curtiss | 2 |
| White Cube | Klára Hosnedlová | 6 |
| White Cube | Liu Wei | 7 |
| White Cube | Louise Giovanelli | 3 |
| White Cube | Marguerite Humeau | 7 |
| White Cube | Marina Rheingantz | 15 |
| White Cube | Michael Armitage | 0 |
| White Cube | Suleman Aqeel Khilji | 11 |
| White Cube | TARWUK | 9 |
| White Cube | Tesfaye Urgessa | 9 |
| White Cube | Theaster Gates | 2 |
| White Cube | Tunji Adeniyi-Jones | 4 |
| White Cube | Virginia Overton | 5 |

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. Sources: the artists’ CVs, the galleries’ announcements and the press.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/years-to-the-top · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/years-to-the-top.csv

White Cube signs earliest, at a median of 6.5 years after a first show; Pace latest, at 11. Counting every living artist the five have given a first solo show since 2011, of whatever age, the median was 47 at that show. Ten were under 30, among them Anna Weyant, Tyler Mitchell, Pam Evelyn and Sasha Gordon at 27, and 31 were 70 or over: Frank Bowling was 87 at his first Hauser & Wirth show, Howardena Pindell 81 and Yoko Matsumoto 88 at theirs at White Cube.

### Half the artists given a first show by a mega-gallery since 2011 were 47 or older. Ten were under 30

The 207 living artists whose first solo show at Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace or White Cube came in 2011 or later, by their age that year

![Columns by age at a first solo show at a mega-gallery: Under 30, 10; 30s, 41; 40s, 66; 50s, 35; 60s, 24; 70 and over, 31.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/age-at-first-show.png)

| Age at the first show | Artists |
| --- | --- |
| Under 30 | 10 |
| 30s | 41 |
| 40s | 66 |
| 50s | 35 |
| 60s | 24 |
| 70 and over | 31 |

Living artists on the five’s artist pages, of any age, whose first solo show at any of them came in 2011 or later (an artist on two rosters counted at the earlier show; a duo by its first-named member): rosters read on October 4, 2026, Hauser & Wirth’s as of June 14, 2026. A show announced for this autumn counts for 2026. Sources: the galleries’ artist pages, exhibition pages and the artists’ CVs.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/age-at-first-show · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/age-at-first-show.csv

## The signing years: 2022 and 2023

The five signed 19 of these artists in 2022 and 17 in 2023, more than in any two years before. The count is of artists still on the rosters, so the earlier years are short of those who have since left. But the peak came after the market for young artists’ work had already turned. Works made in the previous twenty years sold for $2.9 billion at auction in 2021, by the count in the Art Basel and UBS report, and for $0.9 billion in 2025. Artprice’s count of the work of artists under 40 fell from $427 million in its year to June 2022 to $148 million two years later.

### 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

![Stacked columns for each year from 2010 to 2026: 19 in 2022, 17 in 2023, 15 in 2024, the busiest; 7 in 2025 and 5 in 2026.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/signings-by-year.png)

| 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.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/signings-by-year · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/signings-by-year.csv

### Auction sales of new art peaked at $2.9 billion in 2021 and fell to $0.9 billion in 2025

Postwar and contemporary works made in the previous twenty years sold at auction each year, in billions of dollars

![A line of yearly auction sales of recent works: $1.6bn in 2019, $1.4bn in 2020, $2.9bn in 2021, $2.2bn in 2022, $1.9bn in 2023, $1.1bn in 2024, $0.9bn in 2025.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/recent-works-at-auction.png)

| Year | Sales of works made in the previous 20 years |
| --- | --- |
| 2019 | $1.6bn |
| 2020 | $1.4bn |
| 2021 | $2.9bn |
| 2022 | $2.2bn |
| 2023 | $1.9bn |
| 2024 | $1.1bn |
| 2025 | $0.9bn |

Source: The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026 (Arts Economics), Fig. 3.22, from Winston Artory data.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/recent-works-at-auction · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/recent-works-at-auction.csv

The signings have slowed since: 7 in 2025 and 5 so far in 2026, Anicka Yi at Pace, Conny Maier at Hauser & Wirth, Louis Fratino at Zwirner, and Suleman Aqeel Khilji and Tesfaye Urgessa at White Cube. In September, after Hauser & Wirth’s roster was last read for this report, it announced that it would represent Lucy Bull, whom David Kordansky has shown since 2021.

## What the move does to prices

A gallery sets the price of an artist’s new work and keeps about half of it. When Anna Weyant left Blum & Poe for Gagosian in 2022, the top of her range went from $40,000 to $600,000 within a year, as sources close to the gallery told Artnet. Jadé Fadojutimi’s large paintings went from £130,000 at Pippy Houldsworth to about £500,000 at Gagosian between one Frieze London and the next. Amy Sherald’s went from $50,000 at Monique Meloche to $175,000 at Hauser & Wirth.

### Anna Weyant’s prices rose 15-fold when she moved to Gagosian. Lauren Quin’s rose by a fifth

The top price reported for a new work at the gallery an artist left, and at the larger gallery they moved to: how many times higher

![Bar chart of the rise in price at each move: Anna Weyant, 15 times, $40,000 to $600,000; Jadé Fadojutimi, 3.8 times, £130,000 to £500,000; Amy Sherald, 3.5 times, $50,000 to $175,000; Loie Hollowell, 3 times, $15,000 to $45,000; Robert Nava, 2 times, $25,000 to $50,000; Lauren Quin, 1.2 times, $70,000 to $85,000.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/price-steps.png)

| Artist | Times the price before |
| --- | --- |
| Anna Weyant, $40,000 → $600,000: Blum & Poe → Gagosian | 15.0× |
| Jadé Fadojutimi, £130,000 → £500,000: Pippy Houldsworth Gallery → Gagosian | 3.8× |
| Amy Sherald, $50,000 → $175,000: Monique Meloche Gallery → Hauser & Wirth | 3.5× |
| Loie Hollowell, $15,000 → $45,000: Feuer/Mesler → Pace | 3.0× |
| Robert Nava, $25,000 → $50,000: his earlier galleries → Pace | 2.0× |
| Lauren Quin, $70,000 → $85,000: Blum & Poe → Pace | 1.2× |

Prices are the top of the range a gallery asked or a sale it reported, and the sizes of the works differ. Fadojutimi’s are in pounds. Sources: Artnet News, Artsy and The Art Newspaper, reporting the galleries’ prices at the time (see How we counted).

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/price-steps · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/price-steps.csv

The rise is the gallery’s choice, and not every mega-gallery makes it. Lauren Quin’s paintings cost $70,000 at Blum & Poe in 2022 and $85,000 at Pace in 2025. Flora Yukhnovich’s cost up to £350,000 at Victoria Miro in 2022, and Hauser & Wirth sold one for $325,000 this year. Some of the steepest rises come before the mega-gallery arrives. Lucy Bull’s paintings went from $55,000 to $250,000 at David Kordansky between 2021 and 2024. Amoako Boafo’s went from $10,000 in January 2019 to $250,000 to $300,000 by 2022, the year before his first show with Gagosian.

The steepest step of all was from the gallery to the auction room. A Sherald bought from Monique Meloche for about $10,000 in 2016 sold at Phillips for $2.1m in 2022. A Lucy Bull bought for $4,500 in 2019 made $841,263 in Hong Kong in 2023. Boafo’s The Lemon Bathing Suit changed hands for $22,500 in 2019 and was resold at Phillips for $880,971 a few months later.

### A painting bought for $10,000 in 2016 sold at auction for $2.1m six years later

Works bought new and resold at auction: how many times the first price the resale made

![Bar chart: Amy Sherald, 210 times, $10,000 in 2016 to $2.1m in 2022; Lucy Bull, 187 times, $4,500 in 2019 to $841,263 in 2023; Amoako Boafo, 39 times, $22,500 in 2019 to $880,971 in 2020; Lucien Smith, 39 times, $10,000 in 2011 to $389,000 in 2013; Avery Singer, 37 times, $20,000 in 2013 to $735,000 in 2018; Loie Hollowell, 13 times, $15,000 in 2016 to $200,000 in 2019.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/bought-and-flipped.png)

| Artist | Times the first price |
| --- | --- |
| Amy Sherald, $10,000 in 2016 → $2.1m at Phillips, 2022 | 210× |
| Lucy Bull, $4,500 in 2019 → $841,263 at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 2023 | 187× |
| Amoako Boafo, $22,500 in 2019 → $880,971 at Phillips London, 2020 | 39× |
| Lucien Smith, $10,000 in 2011 → $389,000 at Phillips, 2013 | 39× |
| Avery Singer, $20,000 in 2013 → $735,000 at Sotheby’s, 2018 | 37× |
| Loie Hollowell, $15,000 in 2016 → $200,000 at Sotheby’s, 2019 | 13× |

Sources: Artnet News, Artsy and the Artnet Intelligence Report, Fall 2022 (see How we counted).

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/bought-and-flipped · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/bought-and-flipped.csv

## The galleries in the middle

The galleries that find artists and the galleries that sign them sell different things. In the Art Basel and UBS survey of 2020, where each dealer sorted its own artists into emerging, mid-career and established, 48% of the artists shown by the smallest dealers selling new work were emerging; among dealers selling more than $10 million a year, 18% were, and 54% were established. In 2025, 95% of the sales of dealers under $1 million were for less than $50,000, against 35% of the largest dealers’ sales. The median small dealer sold 35 works in the year and the median large one 175.

### Almost half the artists of the smallest galleries are emerging. More than half of the largest dealers’ are established

The artists shown by dealers who sell new work, by the stage of their careers, by the dealers’ sales in the year, 2020

![Five bars in parts, from the smallest dealers to the largest: Under $250k, 48% emerging and 17% established; $250k–$500k, 39% emerging and 23% established; $500k–$1m, 41% emerging and 20% established; $1m–$10m, 29% emerging and 29% established; Over $10m, 18% emerging and 54% established.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/who-galleries-show.png)

| Dealers’ sales in the year | Emerging | Mid-career | Established |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Under $250k | 48% | 35% | 17% |
| $250k–$500k | 39% | 38% | 23% |
| $500k–$1m | 41% | 39% | 20% |
| $1m–$10m | 29% | 42% | 29% |
| Over $10m | 18% | 28% | 54% |

The survey gives no definitions: each dealer placed its own artists in the three stages, and the report warns that a large dealer may call an artist emerging whom a small one would not. Source: The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2021 (Arts Economics), Fig. 2.15.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/who-galleries-show · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/who-galleries-show.csv

### The smallest galleries make 40% of their sales from a single artist

Each size of dealer’s sales in 2025: from its best-selling artist, from the next two, and from all the others

![Six bars in parts, by the dealers’ sales in the year: Under $250k, 40% from the best-selling artist and 65% from the top three; $250k–$500k, 36% from the best-selling artist and 60% from the top three; $500k–$1m, 26% from the best-selling artist and 54% from the top three; $1m–$5m, 28% from the best-selling artist and 52% from the top three; $5m–$10m, 30% from the best-selling artist and 54% from the top three; Over $10m, 26% from the best-selling artist and 48% from the top three.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/top-artist-share.png)

| Dealers’ sales in the year | The best-selling artist | The next two | All the others |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Under $250k | 40% | 25% | 35% |
| $250k–$500k | 36% | 24% | 40% |
| $500k–$1m | 26% | 28% | 46% |
| $1m–$5m | 28% | 24% | 48% |
| $5m–$10m | 30% | 24% | 46% |
| Over $10m | 26% | 22% | 52% |

Source: The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026 (Arts Economics), p. 79.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/top-artist-share · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/top-artist-share.csv

## Where a career starts

The largest study of artists’ careers, published in Science in 2018, followed 496,354 artists through their shows at 16,002 galleries and 7,568 museums from 1980 to 2016. It ranked galleries and museums by where their artists went on to show: a venue ranks high when its artists go on to show at other high-ranking venues. Gagosian and Pace came third and fourth, after MoMA and the Guggenheim. The study calls the top fifth of venues the top, and the bottom two-fifths the bottom. Among 31,794 artists born between 1950 and 1990, those whose first five shows were, on average, at venues in the top fifth were still showing ten years on in 39% of cases, and 58.6% ended their careers near the top. Of those who began at the bottom, 14% were still showing and 10.2% reached the top: 240 artists in all. Those who rose did so within their first ten years, after showing at a wider range of venues than those who did not.

### Of artists whose first shows were at the most prestigious venues, 59% ended there. Of those who began at the least, 10% got there

Artists born 1950 to 1990 with ten shows or more, by where their first five shows were

![Bar chart: still exhibiting ten years on, 39% of those who started at the top and 14% of those who started at the bottom; ending their careers at the top, 58.6% and 10.2%.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/where-careers-start.png)

| Measure | Started | Share of artists |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Still exhibiting ten years on, started at the top | First shows at the top | 39.0% |
| Still exhibiting ten years on, started at the bottom | First shows at the bottom | 14.0% |
| Ended their careers at the top, started at the top | First shows at the top | 58.6% |
| Ended their careers at the top, started at the bottom | First shows at the bottom | 10.2% |

Venues (galleries and museums) are ranked by where their artists go on to show: a venue is near the top if its artists go on to show at other top venues, as MoMA’s, the Guggenheim’s, Gagosian’s and Pace’s do. Starting at the top means an artist’s first five shows were, on average, at the top fifth of venues; at the bottom, the bottom two-fifths. Source: Fraiberger, Sinatra, Resch, Riedl and Barabási, “Quantifying reputation and success in art”, Science 362 (2018).

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/where-careers-start · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/where-careers-start.csv

Prices followed the start. The highest price at a gallery averaged $193,064 for artists who began at the top, and $40,476 for those who began at the bottom.

## What the mega-galleries are showing this autumn

On View’s maps of New York, Los Angeles and Paris have 38 solo shows at the five mega-galleries on view or announced this autumn. Twelve of the 37 artists have died, among them Jackson Pollock at [Pace](https://onview.so/manhattan/pace-gallery/intimate-legacy), Lee Krasner at [Gagosian in Paris](https://onview.so/paris/gagosian-rue-de-ponthieu/works-from-the-1960s), Alexander Calder at [Hauser & Wirth in Paris](https://onview.so/paris/hauser-and-wirth/calder-francois-premier) and Roy DeCarava at [David Zwirner in Los Angeles](https://onview.so/la/david-zwirner/the-sound-i-saw). Thirteen were born in 1970 or later. The youngest are [Jem Perucchini](https://onview.so/manhattan/david-zwirner-tribeca/sospiro), born in 1995, at Zwirner in Tribeca, and [George Rouy](https://onview.so/manhattan/hauser-and-wirth-west-22nd-street/reprise), born in 1994, at Hauser & Wirth in Chelsea. [Deana Lawson](https://onview.so/manhattan/gagosian-west-24th-street/deana-lawson)’s first solo show at Gagosian is on view now, four years after it announced that it represents her, and Oscar Murillo opens [his](https://onview.so/paris/david-zwirner/unfinished-thinking-paintings-and-social-maps) at Zwirner in Paris for Art Basel Paris.

### Twelve of the 37 artists in the mega-galleries’ solo shows this autumn have died

The artists of the five’s solo shows on On View’s maps, on view or announced on October 3, 2026, by the year each was born

![A row of dots for each mega-gallery along a scale of birth years from 1880 to 2000: Gagosian, 10 shows, 4 of artists who have died; Hauser & Wirth, 8 shows, 4 of artists who have died; Pace, 6 shows, 2 of artists who have died; David Zwirner, 10 shows, 2 of artists who have died; White Cube, 4 shows, 0 of artists who have died.](https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/mega-shows-this-autumn.png)

| Mega-gallery | Artist | Living or dead | Born |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Gagosian | Lee Krasner | Died | 1908 |
| Gagosian | Richard Avedon | Died | 1923 |
| Gagosian | Brice Marden | Died | 1938 |
| Gagosian | Georg Baselitz | Died | 1938 |
| Gagosian | Sterling Ruby | Living | 1972 |
| Gagosian | Jennifer Guidi | Living | 1972 |
| Gagosian | Bea Scaccia | Living | 1978 |
| Gagosian | Jia Aili | Living | 1979 |
| Gagosian | Deana Lawson | Living | 1979 |
| Gagosian | Jordan Wolfson | Living | 1980 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Jean Arp | Died | 1886 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Alexander Calder | Died | 1898 |
| Hauser & Wirth | David Smith | Died | 1906 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Jack Whitten | Died | 1939 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Anna Maria Maiolino | Living | 1942 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Glenn Ligon | Living | 1960 |
| Hauser & Wirth | Lee Bul | Living | 1964 |
| Hauser & Wirth | George Rouy | Living | 1994 |
| Pace | Jackson Pollock | Died | 1912 |
| Pace | Lynda Benglis | Living | 1941 |
| Pace | David Lynch | Died | 1946 |
| Pace | Arlene Shechet | Living | 1951 |
| Pace | David Byrne | Living | 1952 |
| Pace | Torkwase Dyson | Living | 1973 |
| David Zwirner | Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato | Died | 1900 |
| David Zwirner | Roy DeCarava | Died | 1919 |
| David Zwirner | Scott Kahn | Living | 1946 |
| David Zwirner | Thomas Ruff | Living | 1958 |
| David Zwirner | Yoshitomo Nara | Living | 1959 |
| David Zwirner | Nate Lowman | Living | 1979 |
| David Zwirner | Oscar Murillo | Living | 1986 |
| David Zwirner | Emma McIntyre | Living | 1990 |
| David Zwirner | Jem Perucchini | Living | 1995 |
| White Cube | Christian Marclay | Living | 1955 |
| White Cube | Doris Salcedo | Living | 1958 |
| White Cube | Tracey Emin | Living | 1963 |
| White Cube | Danh Vo | Living | 1975 |

Sources: On View’s listings for New York, Los Angeles and Paris; the galleries’ pages and Wikipedia for the years.

This chart on a page of its own: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/mega-shows-this-autumn · its numbers as a CSV file: https://onview.so/charts/artists-and-the-mega-galleries/mega-shows-this-autumn.csv

For the galleries one city at a time, see our guides to the best galleries in [New York](https://onview.so/guides/best-art-galleries-nyc), [Los Angeles](https://onview.so/guides/best-art-galleries-los-angeles), [Paris](https://onview.so/guides/best-art-galleries-paris) and [Berlin](https://onview.so/guides/best-art-galleries-berlin), where several of the galleries that found these artists are still showing new ones.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a mega-gallery?

The name the art trade gives its five largest galleries: Gagosian, founded in Los Angeles in 1980, with 15 exhibition spaces; Hauser & Wirth (Zurich, 1992), with 16; Pace (Boston, 1960), with 8; David Zwirner (New York, 1993), with 7; and White Cube (London, 1993), with 6. Each represents between 73 and 111 artists and artists’ estates. None publishes its accounts.

### How do artists get represented by Gagosian, David Zwirner or Hauser & Wirth?

Almost never straight away. Of the 122 artists born since 1970 whom the five have signed since 2010, all but a handful had first shown at other galleries, a median of 9 years before. 54% came to them from a gallery with a stand at Art Basel, or from another mega-gallery, and 18% from a gallery that has since closed. Often a mega-gallery gives an artist a show before it announces that it represents them.

### Which galleries discover the artists that mega-galleries sign?

No single gallery. The 122 artists had their first solo shows at 117 different galleries in 48 cities, 24 of them in New York, 16 in London and 10 in Los Angeles. The galleries they joined the mega-galleries from are a shorter list: David Kordansky, Victoria Miro, White Cube, David Zwirner and Metro Pictures each saw four of them go.

### Do an artist’s prices go up when they join a mega-gallery?

Often, and sometimes steeply. Anna Weyant’s top price went from $40,000 at Blum & Poe in 2021 to $600,000 at Gagosian in 2022, and Jadé Fadojutimi’s from £130,000 to about £500,000. But it is the gallery’s choice: Lauren Quin’s rose from $70,000 at Blum & Poe to $85,000 at Pace.

### Why did young artists’ auction prices fall after 2022?

The market for new art at auction peaked in 2021 and 2022 and has fallen every year since. Works made in the previous twenty years sold for $2.9 billion at auction in 2021 and $0.9 billion in 2025, by the Art Basel and UBS count.

### What happens to the gallery an artist leaves?

Increasingly, it keeps the artist. Of the artists the five have signed since 2024, 20 of 27 still work with the gallery they had before, against 25 of 63 of those signed up to 2021. Small galleries depend on their best artists: in 2025 dealers selling less than $250,000 a year made 65% of their sales from their top three.

### How much of a sale does a gallery keep?

On new work sold for the first time, usually half: galleries take 50% of the price, by the Artnet Intelligence Report’s account, and pay for the shows, the fairs and the selling out of it.

For the galleries of one city, see [the rise of the Los Angeles art scene, in charts](https://onview.so/guides/rise-of-the-los-angeles-art-scene), [five art cities, compared in charts](https://onview.so/guides/art-cities-compared) and the guides to the best galleries in each city, listed on [the guides page](https://onview.so/guides). If you can correct or add to any figure here, [write to us](https://onview.so/contact): the numbers will be revised as better ones come in.

## How we counted

The artists. Every living artist born in 1970 or later on the artists page of Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, Pace or White Cube whom the gallery began to represent, or first gave a solo show, in 2010 or later: 126 signings of 122 artists, since four (Jordan Wolfson, Julie Curtiss, Theaster Gates and Michael Armitage) are on two of the rosters. The pages were read on October 4, 2026, except Hauser & Wirth’s, which sits behind a check that stops programs reading it: its roster is the copy the Internet Archive kept on June 14, 2026. Artists who have left a roster, and artists represented for a single show, are not counted. Where an artist is counted once, it is at the first mega-gallery that signed them.

The year of signing is that of the gallery’s announcement, or failing one, of the artist’s first solo show there (30 of the 126). A first solo show is the first at a commercial gallery in the artist’s CV, leaving out shows at schools, museums, nonprofits and artists’ own spaces. The gallery just before is the one that represented the artist when the mega-gallery signed them, from the announcement, the press or the CV. For 5 signings there was none, or none could be established. Whether the artist still works with that gallery was read on the gallery’s own artist page where it could be, and otherwise from the announcement.

What a gallery is now. A gallery is “at Art Basel” if it had a stand in any of the gallery sectors of Art Basel in Basel in June 2026, from the fair’s list of exhibitors. A gallery “since closed” is one of the 13 in our list (Andrea Rosen Gallery, 2017; Blum & Poe, 2025; Clearing, 2025; Feuer/Mesler, 2017; Gavin Brown’s enterprise, 2020; Haunch of Venison, 2013; JTT, 2023; Kayne Griffin, 2022; Metro Pictures, 2021; Mitchell-Innes & Nash, 2024; Nino Mier Gallery, 2024; Peres Projects, 2025; Team Gallery, 2020), drawn from the press and the galleries’ announcements, some of them closed as galleries but still dealing. The categories are of the galleries as they are in October 2026, not as they were when the artist left.

Prices. A gallery price is the top of the range a gallery was reported to ask for a new work, or a sale it reported, at the time: most come from Artnet News, Artsy and The Art Newspaper, several of them from sources close to the gallery, and the sizes of the works are mostly not given. Auction records and each year’s best auction price are Artprice’s, whose year runs from July to June. Pounds are not converted to dollars, except for one price whose source gave both. A flip is a work whose first sale and later auction were both reported.

The market. The sales of works made in the previous twenty years are the Art Basel and UBS report’s, from Winston Artory data. The survey of dealers groups galleries by their sales in the year; its year-on-year changes by size (Fig. 2.6b of the 2026 report) are chained here into an index from 2019, which assumes each year’s estimate holds. The stages of artists’ careers are from the survey of 2020, the last to ask; dealers placed their artists in the stages themselves.

The study of careers is Fraiberger and others (2018), whose data, from Magnus, a company founded by one of its authors, ran from 1980 to 2016.

On View’s listings. The mega-galleries’ solo shows are those on our maps on view or announced on October 3, 2026, in New York, Los Angeles and Paris; our maps do not yet cover London or Hong Kong. Birth and death years are from the galleries’ pages and Wikipedia.

## Sources

- [Gagosian: artists](https://gagosian.com/artists/) and the gallery’s news of new representation; the artists pages of David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth (in the Internet Archive’s copy of June 14, 2026), Pace and White Cube, read on October 4, 2026, with each artist’s CV.
- [Art Basel: exhibitors at Art Basel’s show in Basel, 2026](https://www.artbasel.com/basel/galleries) (the galleries with a stand in June 2026).
- [The Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report 2026](https://theartmarket.artbasel.com/download/The-Art-Basel-and-UBS-Art-Market-Report-2026-by-Arts-Economics.pdf) (Arts Economics, March 2026): dealers by size, sales of recent works at auction, closings and openings.
- [The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report 2021](https://d2u3kfwd92fzu7.cloudfront.net/The-Art-Market_2021.pdf) (Arts Economics): the artists dealers show, by the stage of their careers.
- [Artprice: The Contemporary Art Market Report 2025](https://imgpublic.artprice.com/pdf/the-contemporary-art-market-report-2025.pdf) and the reports of 2021 to 2024: each artist’s auction results year by year, and the market for artists under 40.
- [Artnet Intelligence Report, Fall 2022](https://media.artnet.com/image/upload/v1666818893/Artnet%20Intelligence%20Report%20Fall%202022/artnet_news_intelligence_report-fall_2022_1_la3pav.pdf) (Artnet News): galleries’ prices against auction prices, p. 32.
- [Prices? Six figures, at least: Gagosian prepares Anna Weyant’s debut](https://news.artnet.com/market/anna-weyant-fall-solo-show-2171096) (Artnet News, September 2022), and its Wet Paint column on her Gagosian prices.
- [How Loie Hollowell’s prices rose 1,200 percent in three years](https://news.artnet.com/market/how-loie-hollowells-prices-rose-1200-percent-in-three-years-1649155) (Artnet News, 2019).
- [Young British painters at Frieze London, 2021 and 2022](https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/10/13/ultra-contemporary-art-frieze-london-economic-uncertainty) (The Art Newspaper): Jadé Fadojutimi’s prices.
- [10 artists who broke into the market’s big leagues in 2018](https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-artists-broke-art-market-big-leagues-2018) (Artsy): Amy Sherald and Avery Singer.
- [Price check: Art Basel 2025](https://news.artnet.com/market/price-check-art-basel-basel-2025-2660511) (Artnet News), with its reports from Art Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach 2024 and Artsy’s from Art Basel Hong Kong 2026: the galleries’ latest prices.
- [Pace cuts its roster and staff](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/pace-gallery-layoffs-artist-roster-cuts-1234788318/) (ARTnews, June 2026).
- [Lucy Bull joins Hauser & Wirth](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/lucy-bull-hauser-and-wirth-representation-1234798169/) (ARTnews, September 2026).
- [Metro Pictures to close](https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/metro-pictures-closing-new-york-gallery-1234585909/) (ARTnews, 2021), and the reports of the other closings named.
- [Quantifying reputation and success in art](https://barabasi.com/media/Fraiberger-Quantifying-2018_i4Qtv3z.pdf) (Science, 2018).

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Published Oct 4, 2026; last revised on Oct 4, 2026. The counts are On View's own, from the sources named under each chart; the charts and their numbers may be shared or embedded with a link back to this page: https://onview.so/guides/artists-and-the-mega-galleries. The links to galleries and shows are to On View's listings as of Tuesday, October 13, 2026. All the guides: https://onview.so/guides.md. All of On View: https://onview.so/llms.txt