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People view various pieces and galleries at the Dallas Art Fair at Fashion Industry Gallery on Thursday, April 20, 2023 in Dallas. Texas ranked high in Bank of America and\u00a0ArtTactic\u2019s first report on the U.S. art market.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elias Valverde II\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
It came as no surprise to auction houses, art collectors and others in Dallas that Texas ranked high in Bank of America and\u00a0ArtTactic\u2019s first report<\/a> on the U.S. art market<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report, released earlier this year, showed that Texas joined California, Florida and New York in making up 46% of the country’s spending on art. Texas also ranked fourth in 2025 for art purchases of at least $1 million and at least $50,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the global art market slowly recovers<\/a> from a slowdown felt by the economy at large, according to reports such as Art Basel and UBS\u2019 2026 Global Art Market Report, Dallas is becoming a more prominent player. Bank of America Dallas president Jennifer Chandler said the phenomenon is a product of a broader story: The city has grown as a wealth hub.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think about how attractive North Texas is for business leaders and economic growth,\u201d Chandler said, \u201cmany of those people succeed in their careers, and they want to become collectors.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: From the coasts to Texas: Meet the wealthy executives moving to do business in Dallas<\/a><\/p>\n A host of wealthy Texans and the wealthy executives, companies and employees moving in from other states are giving the art market a boost. More seasoned buyers, meanwhile, have become comfortable purchasing pricier pieces, Dallas Art Fair<\/a> founder John Sughrue said.<\/p>\n Regional growth<\/p>\n Texas still ranked below the three other top states for art purchases in some measures. For example, New York, California and Florida each accounted for more than 20% of art purchases of at least $1 million, compared to Texas\u2019 6%. But that was up from 1% in 2015.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Prominent auction houses that connect wealthy art collectors with the blue-chip art market have noted significant growth in their Texas sales.\u00a0<\/p>\n The number of Dallas-region buyers working with Sotheby\u2019s more than doubled over the last decade and the number of Dallas-area sellers increased by 75%, Sotheby’s told The Dallas Morning News. \u00a0<\/p>\n The total value in items Christie\u2019s Auction House sold to Texas buyers increased by 74% between 2023 and 2025, according to data from the company.<\/p>\n When Aviva Lehmann began working at Dallas-based Heritage Auctions in 2013, she estimated it had about 350 employees and annual sales of more than $835 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, Heritage Auctions has more than 900 employees worldwide and already sold $1.41 billion halfway through 2026 to its international client base.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe see people coming in on private jets, just for the day at Heritage, just to see something they’re interested in,\u201d Lehmann, Heritage Auction\u2019s deputy chairman of fine art, said. \u201cThe fact that Dallas and Heritage has become a destination for seasoned collectors and new collectors from all over the country and the world is incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n Heritage Auctions’ headquarters in Dallas.<\/p>\n Heritage Auctions<\/p>\n A growing asset class<\/p>\n Art can be more meaningful than other assets, Charlie Adamski Caulkins, head of the Dallas office for Sotheby\u2019s, said.<\/p>\n \u201cArt has this really cool duality to it that a lot of investments don\u2019t,\u201d Adamski Caulkins said. \u201cI know plenty of collectors who maybe start getting interested when they hear about the high numbers and the possibility to make money, and then they start buying art and they get really drawn into the stories behind the artists or certain styles.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n One of Dallas\u2019 most prominent collectors is Craig Hall, founder of Dallas-based investment and real estate development firm Hall Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n The son of an art teacher, Hall began buying art as a teenager. What started as a hobby is now a key part of his commercial real estate business.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cArt was always a part of my life,\u201d Hall said. \u201cI never did it with the idea that it was a business thing, but I started putting art in buildings, and I think there’s no doubt that it\u2019s helpful in a commercial sense. It really does enhance and make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Related: Inside the world of family offices: How ultrarich dealmakers invest billions<\/a><\/p>\n Hall has bought primarily modern art and sculptures from Texas and across the U.S. that Hall Group displays in its buildings and outdoor areas, including the Hall Arts Hotel in downtown Dallas\u2019 Arts District and Hall Park in Frisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Although his passion for art collecting is more personal than financial, he says the \u201cK\u2013shaped\u201d economy with a large accumulation of wealth has helped fuel the art market\u2019s growth. He has watched more people buy art for themselves and for commercial buildings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cArt has become an investment class,\u201d Hall said.\u00a0<\/p>\n New collectors<\/p>\n The luxury market is also booming and helping to draw young people to the art scene, Lehmann noted. In an age dominated by the digital world, Lehmann said it seems more of the young wealthy buyers crave assets they can enjoy without a screen.<\/p>\n Young people may start with coins, comic books, sports and entertainment memorabilia, Pok\u00e9mon cards or furniture, Nick Nicholson, deputy chairman of decorative arts at Heritage Auctions, said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Aviva Lehmann, chairman of fine art at Heritage Auctions, and Nick Nicholson, deputy chairman of decorative arts at Heritage Auctions.<\/p>\n Heritage Auctions<\/p>\n \u201cThey start buying jewelry and then suddenly it’s the engagement ring, and then it’s the first real painting that they buy together as a couple and they grow and change with us and develop their tastes,\u201d Nicholson said. \u201cNo one ever thought a 24-year-old was going to have a billion dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n Capera Ryan, the North Texas-based deputy chairman of Christie\u2019s, has noticed younger millennials and members of Generation Z participate in auctions. Christie\u2019s most recent reports show that 47% of its global bidders and buyers were millennial or Generation Z, Ryan said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’ve been successful in creating these companies and businesses,\u201d she said, \u201cand then they start diversifying what they’ve made and their respective businesses into collecting and other areas, whether it be the luxury market or art.\u201d<\/p>\n Christie’s, a national auction house, has offices in Dallas.<\/p>\n Christie’s<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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