Is Buying Straight From a Painter Now a Mainstream Way to Collect?
Last updated: 28 October 2026
In short: Increasingly, yes. The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026 reports that 69% of the high-net-worth collectors surveyed had bought directly from artists, and that artist-direct sales made up 19% of total art spending by value, ahead of art fairs at 16% and auctions at 10%. The routes ran through studios, commissions and Instagram. Buying direct puts you in conversation with the person who made the work, and it rewards a careful look before you commit.
What does the 2026 collecting survey say about buying direct?
Art Basel's summary of its 2026 survey with UBS (8 October 2026), a report by Dr Clare McAndrew of Arts Economics, found that 69% of the high-net-worth collectors surveyed had bought directly from artists. Those purchases ran through artists' studios (48%), commissioned works (40%) and Instagram (38%). By share of total spending, artist-direct sales came to 19%, ahead of art fairs (16%) and auctions (10%). Dealers remained the largest channel, at 27% through direct sales and 42% once art fairs are included.
Two things follow from the numbers. Buying from the artist is no longer an outlier, and it still sits alongside the gallery, not in place of it.
Is that a mainstream habit or a niche one?
The survey summary does not break spending down by price, so it cannot say how many of those purchases were modest and how many were large. What it does show is that collectors with serious budgets reach artists by three practical routes: they visit, they commission, and they follow work online. The same report is careful about channel shares, and so is this post: 19% is a share of spending, and the dealer channel is still larger.
For a first-time buyer the useful reading is smaller than a headline. Going to a painter is a normal, well-used way to find a work.
What do collectors want from a purchase like this?
Alexander Forbes, VP at Artsy, put the motive in four words in an interview on the platform's partner site: “Art is a passion-led purchase.” He also cited the Art Basel and UBS finding that 80% of surveyed high-net-worth collectors say they prefer to buy online without first seeing the work in person, and set it against a fair's VIPs, 90% of whom preferred to view and buy in person.
Both preferences can be true of the same buyer on different days. Seeing a work in a room settles things, and a clear, honest record of the work helps when you cannot be there. This studio films every finished painting from several angles before it ships, so a buyer can watch the surface move in the light.
Does AI make buying direct more trustworthy or less?
The same survey found that 67% of collectors saw a positive impact from AI on the discoverability of artists and artworks, and 20% named fraud, forgery and market manipulation as a potential downside. Collectors are using the same tools to find a painter and to ask whether to believe what they are looking at.
A direct purchase has a plain answer to the second question. The painting is made by one person you can reach, in a studio that can show you the work at several stages and in motion.
What do artists ask of a collector who buys direct?
Painter Michael Stamm, writing in Artsy's guide to studio visits (Scott Indrisek, 21 November 2019, so older than the survey), asked visitors to “respect that the work is special to us, beyond the act of making something for someone's wall.”
I paint in oil and mixed media in layers over weeks, and I sell direct, with no gallery representation. A conversation comes first. For a commission, a deposit secures the slot, I paint two finished options at once, and there are two rounds of revisions before the work ships rolled to a framer near you, is stretched on arrival and is hand-delivered ready to hang.
Browse available originals, read how a commission works from conversation to delivery, and learn about the studio. Designers can see the Trade Program.
Frequently asked questions
Is buying art direct from the artist common now?
It is increasingly common. Art Basel and UBS's 2026 survey reports that 69% of the high-net-worth collectors surveyed had bought directly from artists, and that artist-direct sales were 19% of total spending by value, ahead of fairs (16%) and auctions (10%).
How do collectors buy directly from artists?
The survey's routes were studios (48%), commissioned works (40%) and Instagram (38%). In practice that means visiting a studio, commissioning a work, or contacting an artist after finding the work online.
Is it safe to buy a painting without seeing it in person?
Many collectors do. Artsy's Alexander Forbes cites a finding that 80% of surveyed high-net-worth collectors prefer to buy online without first viewing in person. A direct purchase can be supported by video of the finished work from several angles, which this studio makes before every painting ships.
How can I tell a painting is an original in the age of AI?
Buy from a source you can reach. A painter can show the work in progress and in motion, and say how it was made. In the survey, 20% of collectors named fraud and forgery as an AI risk, which is a reason to value a direct line to the maker.