Do You Have to Inherit a Painting to Start Collecting?
Last updated: 4 November 2026
In short: No. Family is the most common way into collecting, according to the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026: 28% of collectors began there, and 40% of Gen Z collectors. Almost 90% of Gen Z collectors who inherited works kept them, which shows what a painting that arrives by chance can become. A first purchase can begin the same story on purpose: choose one work, live with it, and let it become the piece someone keeps.
What does the 2026 survey say about how collecting begins?
The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, released on 8 October by UBS and Art Basel and researched by Arts Economics, found that family is the most common route into collecting. Of the collectors surveyed, 28% named family as their primary route, and the share rose to 40% among Gen Z. Almost 90% of Gen Z collectors who inherited works kept them.
John Mathews, head of private wealth management for the Americas at UBS, told Wealth Professional (9 October 2026) that 86% of US collectors have inherited artworks. The survey also reports that Gen Z spent more on fine art than any other generation in 2025 and the first half of 2026.
Why do people keep a painting they did not choose?
The survey does not say why, and I will not claim it does. What follows is my own reading. A painting in a family house has been looked at thousands of times, in every kind of light, long before anyone calls it art. By the time it is inherited it has stopped being an object and become a part of the room's memory. Keeping it is an easy decision.
A first purchase has no such history, which is the real difference. The question is how to give a painting you chose the same years of looking, and the answer is to choose one you will want to look at for that long.
What do collectors say they want from a work they choose?
Dr. Clare McAndrew, founder of Arts Economics, whose firm conducted the research, describes the buyers this way: "Many purchases are driven less by the conspicuous consumption traditionally linked to the market than by a desire to build connections within close networks, where status comes less from price than from rarity, provenance, originality, and discovery."
Noah Horowitz, CEO of Art Basel, adds that younger collectors "engage through more diverse entry points and trusted relationships." Both point toward buying that begins with a person and a work, a long way from a transaction. The sentence in each case continues beyond the fragment quoted here.
Can a first purchase become the painting that is kept?
It can, and the way to make that likely is to buy where you can ask questions. I sell original paintings direct, so the person who made the surface can tell you how it was built, what the layers are, and why the color sits where it does. The studio sends several short videos of every finished work before it ships, so you can see the painting move in daylight before it is rolled and sent.
If no existing painting fits the wall, a commission starts with a conversation. I paint two options at once, you choose, and there are two rounds of revisions. From deposit to delivery it takes about four weeks, depending on the studio schedule.
Originality and discovery are what the survey says collectors prize. A painting made for your wall by a painter you have spoken to has both, and it can be the work your family keeps.
How do you begin?
Look through the available original paintings and note the one you keep returning to. Read the studio's story to see how the work is made, and visit the commissions page if you would like a painting made for a specific wall.
A collection begins with one painting that someone decided to keep.
Frequently asked questions
How many collectors start through family?
According to the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026, 28% of collectors named family as their primary route into collecting, and 40% of Gen Z collectors did.
Do collectors keep the art they inherit?
Almost 90% of Gen Z collectors who inherited works kept them, according to the same survey.
Can I buy an original painting directly from the artist?
Yes. Angela Simeone sells original paintings direct to collectors and the trade, and the studio sends several pre-ship videos of every finished work.
How long does a commissioned painting take?
About four weeks from deposit to delivery, depending on the studio schedule. Two options are painted at once, with two rounds of revisions.