Sotheby's Insight Report into female artists is 31 pages long but can be summed up as some progress but not enough.
Analysts at ArtTactic looked at fine art sales between January 1, 2018 and May 31, 2025 at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips to compile the report and it makes grim reading.
They found 1,148 female artists represented at major auctions in 2024 which is up 131.9% from 2018 and the highest number ever recorded in the auction market.
Only last month, South African artist Marlene Dumas saw her work, Miss January, sell at auction for $13.6 million - a new record for a living female artist albeit well short of Jeff Koons’ and David Hockney’s auction records, both of which are just north of $90 million.
But despite what the report describes as "steady progress toward inclusion", it admits sales parity is "still distant" with female artists' share of the market by sales value standing at 12.6% so far in 2025.
A spark of hope comes in statistics showing female artists from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa are "gaining visibility" and last year accounted for a fifth (20.6%) of female artists at auction.
It concludes "the data also underscores how deeply entrenched male dominance has been — and how much further the industry must go to reach a more representative balance."
:: Read more about the Dumas sale here.