Art Origio

The current art market reflects a period of recalibration. After a 25% contraction in 2024, art sales have seen an uptick largely due to trophy works coming from private collections. At the same time, the market for luxury items has proven to be stable and resilient, drawing in younger buyers and providing liquidity at lower and mid-price points. Rebounding from 2024, Christie’s had two significant announcements: the recent projection of $6.2 billion in global sales for 2025 and the appointment of Bonnie Brennan as CEO, together signaling a pivot towards diversification and generational renewal.  

The appointment of Bonnie Brennan as CEO marks a pivotal moment. Brennan’s accomplished background will bring a new momentum to the saleroom by placing emphasis on more diverse buyer demographics and not just legacy collectors. Under her leadership, Gen Z and Millennials will be treated as future high-net-worth clients, cultivating vital relationships through storytelling and education. With a new CEO, Christie’s will be able to balance tradition with innovation, retaining an authoritative voice in fine art while incorporating formats and categories that resonate with younger clients.  

One of the key strategic opportunities lies in leveraging luxury sales to the emerging younger generation of customers. In recent years, categories such as watches, jewelry, and classic cars have attracted Millennial and Gen Z audiences through diverse price points. The majority of younger clients purchase online, with 63% of new buyers making their first purchase online in 2025. This shift in buyer behavior underscores why investing in technology should remain a top priority going into 2026. Currently, there are plans to collaborate with Dubbl on Christie’s select app for the Apple Vision Pro, which will offer an immersive, spatial auction preview (i.e., seeing works in your own room). Integrating easy-to-use interfaces will attract younger customers accustomed to streamlined checkouts and buying processes. However, attraction is only half the challenge; retention of new buyers is crucial. Therefore, I suggest a lifetime client funnel to move younger buyers into different buying categories via education. Segmenting buyers by behavior and tailoring experiences accordingly, rather than treating buyers as homogeneous, will attract and retain the next generation of collectors. 

The main risk here is over-rotation. Leaning too hard into luxury and younger customers could dilute differentiation, which is key to their brand identity, and place a reliance on higher volume, lower margin categories. Secondly, there is also the risk that younger buyers remain transactional rather than turning into lifetime customers. Lastly, leaning into the younger generation does not entirely align with the academic, institutional, and heritage-driven brand motto of Christie’s. As such, a new narrative needs to be cultivated that adheres to new buyers while recognizing loyal older generation customers.  

Christie’s advantage has always been brand image and trust. In a current global market defined by uncertainty, the ability to combine heritage with innovation pushes Christie’s to the forefront of the auction industry, appealing to multiple sectors of clients.