Clare McAndrew

McAndrew received her economics PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2001, having spent four years teaching and researching there. She also researched taxation and regulation of the visual arts for Arts Council of England.⁠[2]

In 2002, McAndrew moved to the United States and became chief economist at art-investment adviser Kusin & Company, where she worked for three years.⁠[3]

McAndrew returned to Europe and founded Arts Economics in 2005 to study art, antiques and collectibles. The firm works with economists, analysts and industry specialists.⁠[4][2]

According to Arts Economics, McAndrew produced annual macroeconomic research on the global art market for TEFAF from 2005 to 2015, forming a substantial part of her long-running market-report work.⁠[4]

Liffey Press published McAndrew’s The Art Economy: An Investor’s Guide to the Art Market in 2006. It examines supply and demand, investment returns and risks, taxation, regulation and artists’ resale rights.⁠[5]

Southern Methodist University’s repository records The Collateral Value of Fine Art by Rex Thompson and McAndrew, dated January 28, 2006. The research concerns collateral valuation and downside risk in art-backed lending.⁠[6]

In January 2010, Wiley published Fine Art and High Finance: Expert Advice on the Economics of Ownership, edited by McAndrew. The multi-author volume covers valuation, art-backed lending, tax, investment funds, insurance and illicit trading. McAndrew also co-wrote several chapters.⁠[7]

The book’s 2010 biography described McAndrew as a guest lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, an associate of Sotheby’s Institute of Art in Singapore, and a lecturer in business studies for artists at Dublin’s National College of Art and Design.⁠[2]

In an EL PAÍS interview published April 17, 2013, McAndrew described private transactions as an obstacle to measuring the art market. She argued that high taxes and trading barriers could move transactions elsewhere, presenting a contemporary assessment of market structure and policy.⁠[8]

Arts Economics began receiving annual research commissions from Art BaselArt BaselArt Basel is a Swiss-founded modern and contemporary art fair brand within MCH Group, with fairs in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, Paris and Doha, alongside market research and public programs.Open the full entry and UBSUBSUBS is a global financial group headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, operating wealth management, Swiss personal and corporate banking, asset management and investment banking. Its modern bank emerged from a 1998 merger, its holding company was incorporated in 2014, and it acquired Credit Suisse in 2023.Open the full entry in 2016. Their first joint Art Market Report appeared in 2017, making the start of the commission distinct from the first publication year.⁠[4][9]

McAndrew’s work in 2020 included The Impact of COVID-19 on the Gallery Sector: A 2020 Mid-Year Survey, examining pandemic effects on modern and contemporary galleries and extending annual market research to changes in business during a crisis.⁠[10]

Commissioned by Instituto de Arte Contemporáneo and La Caixa, The Spanish Art Market in 2021 was co-authored by McAndrew, Marta Pérez Ibáñez, Isabel Niño Alfonso and Beatriz Niño Alfonso, examining the market and major changes over the preceding five years.⁠[11]

Commissioned by the British Art Market Federation, McAndrew’s The British Art Market 2023 examines the UK market through 2023 and its economic impact, illustrating her regional research alongside global reports.⁠[12]

The 2026 Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report, written by McAndrew, is the series’ tenth edition. It analyzes primarily 2025 activity across galleries and dealers, auctions and fairs, alongside the economic context.⁠[13]

Published October 8, 2026, the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting, written by McAndrew, surveyed 3,100 high-net-worth collectors across ten markets. It examined younger collectors, digital art and collecting motivations.⁠[14]

Around 1% of the sample bought an individual work for over $1 million during 2025 or the first half of 2026. Gen Z represented nearly half of that group; the finding does not mean that nearly half of Gen Z made such purchases.⁠[15]

The survey selected respondents by net financial wealth and recent art spending. It does not represent all wealthy people. Averages can be influenced by large purchases, and changing annual samples prevent treating every difference as change within the same people.⁠[15]

McAndrew wrote and presents Christie’s Education’s Art Market Economics course. Its public outline lists six modules covering market structure, economic theory, art finance, regulation and economic impact, with interviews featuring industry practitioners.⁠[16]