Almost $1 trillion worth of artworks could change hands in the next decade. This is the estimate that accompanies the so‑called generational transfer in art, the passage of collections from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers into the hands of Gen X, Millennials, and Zoomers. A phenomenon that, according to the Deloitte Private and ArtTactic Art & Finance Report, promises to reshape the balance of the secondary market — just as David Schrader, former Head of Private Sales at Sotheby’s, launches a new gallery designed specifically to capture it.
Key points
- The Deloitte Private and ArtTactic Art & Finance Report estimates that almost $1 trillion in artworks will change hands in the next decade.
- David Schrader has co‑founded Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries together with Emmanuel Di Donna and Pace Gallery: opening planned for next spring in New York.
- New collectors still account for only 10–20% of recent transactions on the secondary market, according to Schrader.
- Pace Gallery is looking for a tenant for part of its Chelsea headquarters, after staff and artist roster cuts in 2026.
The generational transfer that is about to change the art market
The transfer of artistic wealth between generations is already the dominant theme in industry reports and, according to Schrader, its real consequences will only be seen in the coming years. In August, ARTnews had already highlighted the figure indicated by the Deloitte Private and ArtTactic Art & Finance Report: almost $1 trillion in art ready to move in the next decade, as collections accumulated by boomers and previous generations pass to children and grandchildren.
How much it is worth and when the wealth transfer will arrive
For Schrader, however, the concrete effect of this generational transfer in art has not yet materialized on the market. “I’m not sure anything has really changed,” he explained, noting that the top end of the market has remained substantially the same over the last 20 years. New entrants, when they appear, come mainly from those who have accumulated wealth in the tech sector, in what Schrader describes as a K‑shaped economy, where luxury grows unevenly and art, unlike real estate and watches, seems to be underperforming.
What is changing among younger collectors
On the concrete numbers, Schrader is cautious: in a recent sample of about twenty transactions, only 10–20% involved collectors who were not active in the market a decade ago. “I don’t think the great transfer has arrived yet,” he clarified. There is also a detail that is often overlooked: before wealth passes to the children, it generally moves horizontally to the spouse — historically, from men to wives.
Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries, David Schrader’s new secondary‑market gallery
Just as the sector is discussing inheritance and generational shifts, Schrader has left Sotheby’s to found a gallery entirely dedicated to the secondary market, betting on a lighter model than traditional galleries.
Founders and location of the gallery
Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries was born from the collaboration between Schrader, dealer Emmanuel Di Donna, and Pace Gallery, with Marc Glimcher as partner. The 7,000‑square‑foot space will open its first exhibition next spring in Di Donna’s former Upper East Side location in New York. It is a debut that comes, as Schrader himself notes, at a time when “everyone is closing, downsizing, shutting their doors.”
The decision to focus exclusively on the secondary art market is no accident: at this scale only five or six dealers operate worldwide, in a broad segment that, according to Schrader, “had hit bottom” just as competition was thinning out.
A different model for the secondary market
The strength of the project, Schrader explains, is a leaner cost structure than that of those who manage multiple locations: no need to triple reception, art handlers, and registrars if a single team can be shared. Among Schrader, Di Donna, and Glimcher there is almost no overlap in expertise or clientele, which makes David Schrader’s gallery model particularly efficient: a few exhibitions a year, collection advisory, zero dispersion across multiple addresses.
Changing collectors: women, leverage, and new priorities
Behind the numbers of the generational transfer in art lies a subtler shift in purchasing behavior, which Schrader observes closely in his daily work.
More women collectors, less use of leverage
Over the past ten years, Schrader notes, there has been a significant increase in the presence of women collectors capable of buying at high prices and shaping the taste of collections — a phenomenon “that could not have happened thirty years ago.” On the financial side, new collectors seem less interested in tools such as art‑backed loans or guarantees: they do not use them as leverage to buy more, unlike a previous generation that treated art as a fungible asset on par with a house or a car. For Schrader this is a positive sign, because it moves the market away from what he calls the “financialization” of art, restoring importance to the pleasure of living with a work.
This is where the story matters beyond industry news: if new buyers purchase for passion more than for returns, it also changes how galleries and auction houses will have to structure their offerings, less oriented toward financial leverage and more toward storytelling and educating the collector.
Costs, consolidation, and the research gap in the art market
The art market is facing a phase of unprecedented financial scrutiny, and Schrader expects that the response will come mainly through the consolidation of gallery support infrastructures, not through cuts to artistic content.
Pace looks for a tenant for its Chelsea headquarters
A concrete example of this trend comes from Pace Gallery itself, one of the partners in Schrader’s new project. The gallery is looking for a tenant to occupy part of its Chelsea headquarters, the eight‑story building at 540 West 25th Street in New York. A Pace spokesperson confirmed that the gallery is considering sharing the space to split operating costs, specifying that any lease will not affect public areas nor impact exhibitions, programs, or visitor experience.
The building, designed by Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture and completed in 2019, cost around $100 million, with developer Weinberg Properties financing the structure and Pace investing another $18.2 million in the interiors.
The search for a tenant comes after a season of cuts: at the beginning of the summer Pace had already reduced staff and its artist roster, with Glimcher describing the model as “unsustainable” and in need of correction to break the vicious circle of ever‑rising costs and prices. The same pattern had already emerged in London, where the gallery had put its 8,600‑square‑foot Hanover Square space on the market in search of a smaller, “less corporate” location.
Here the second reason emerges why this story matters to those who invest in art: the consolidation of historic galleries does not reduce the supply of quality works, but it changes the channels of access, pushing toward leaner models like the one chosen by Schrader with his new gallery dedicated to the secondary market.
On the knowledge front, Schrader points to a gap he considers more urgent than liquidity: the lack of research and training for new collectors. “What the market lacks most today is research and expertise,” he observed, stressing how the sector has undergone a real exodus of experts from auction houses and galleries. This very shortage, in his view, opens up a concrete opportunity: classical artists, already present in major museums and no longer producing new works, represent an interesting hunting ground today for those able to look beyond the ten or fifteen most celebrated names.
FAQ
How much artistic value will pass to new generations in the short term?
According to the Deloitte Private and ArtTactic Art & Finance Report, almost $1 trillion worth of artworks could be transferred in the next decade.
What distinguishes the business model of Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries?
The gallery operates with a leaner cost structure, focused exclusively on the secondary market, organizing several exhibitions a year with lower overhead than those who manage multiple locations.
Are new collectors really changing the art market’s clientele?
New collectors account for about 10–20% of recent transactions on the secondary market, many coming from wealth generated in the tech sector, but the high‑end clientele remains largely stable.
What challenges does the art market face in terms of infrastructure and research?
High operating costs are driving consolidation, while there is a noted shortage of research and expertise needed to educate new collectors.
Content produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and human editorial review.
Social media manager at The Cryptonomist
