The New Zealand Art Auction Market in 2025
Cooling at the top, strength in the middle, and signs of renewed confidence
I’ve written a comprehensive review of the New Zealand art auction market in 2025 that includes a number of data driven insights. I’ve posted the summary and 10 key stats below. But for the full review, download the pdf using the link below. Also make sure to subscribe for more insights like this in the future.
Market Summary
What shaped the auction market in 2025
New Zealand’s art auction market cooled in 2025 compared with the exceptional highs of 2021–2022 and the Goldie-driven spike of 2024. Total auction sales fell to approximately $32.6 million, a decline of around 24% year-on-year. This pullback was driven primarily by the absence of ultra-high-value works rather than a broad-based fall in demand. Even so, 2025 remains among the five strongest years in New Zealand’s auction history, indicating a market that has softened rather than weakened structurally.
The highest price achieved in 2025 was $660,660 for Don Binney’s Fatbird II at International Art Centre. By contrast, 2024 was defined by the record-breaking $3.75 million sale of Charles F. Goldie’s Thoughts of a Tohunga, the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in New Zealand. No artwork reached the million-dollar mark in 2025, the first time in five years, and sales above $500,000 were rare.
Despite weaker headline numbers, the underlying market showed resilience. Sell-through rates improved to ~66%, and pricing across the middle of the market remained relatively stable. The contraction was concentrated at the very top, while activity below six figures remained active and competitive, particularly in the second half of the year.
These dynamics broadly echoed patterns seen internationally, where caution at the top end was offset by selective confidence in well-priced, high-quality works later in the year. While the New Zealand market operates at a very different scale, similar behaviour was evident across comparable price brackets.
Momentum within New Zealand shifted toward postwar and contemporary artists. Postwar works generated nearly $16 million in sales and accounted for seven of the ten highest-priced works of the year. Sales by contemporary artists increased despite the overall market contraction, lifting their share of total sales value to roughly one-third of the market. By contrast, early New Zealand artists experienced a sharp pullback following the exceptional Goldie-led results of 2024, compounded by several significant works failing to sell in 2025.
Women artists continued to gain ground. Their share of total sales value rose to 19%, the highest level across the five years analysed. Works by female artists recorded stronger sell-through rates across much of the market. Rita Angus’s Before the Demolition, sold at Art & Object for $621,435, became the second-highest auction price ever achieved by a female artist in New Zealand, reinforcing growing recognition of her work at the top end. This also reflects Angus’ high quality works being tightly held by institutions and leading collectors.
Overall, 2025 reflects a period of adjustment shaped by broader economic uncertainty, particularly in the first half of the year. Fewer trophy works came to market, buyers were more selective at the top end, yet the auction market remained historically strong, liquid across the middle tiers, and increasingly balanced as it enters 2026.
10 Key Takeaways
2025 by the numbers
$32.6m
Total value of fine art sold at NZ auction in 2025, down 24% from 2024.
80%
Increase in sales in the second half of 2025 ($21.0m) compared with the first half ($11.7m). This followed a similar trend to global markets, where H2 sales were also significantly up.
66%
Sell-through rate in 2025, up slightly from 64% in 2024.
$660,660
Highest price of the year (including buyer’s premium), achieved by Don Binney’s Fatbird II at International Art Centre in July (hammer price $550,000).
3
Only three artworks sold above $500,000 (down from 12 in 2024), representing an 86% decline in sales value at that level. For the first time in five years, no artwork reached the million-dollar mark. By contrast, 52 works sold for more than $100,000, broadly unchanged from 2024.
-$11m
Largest single-artist decline: Charles F. Goldie sales fell 94% year-on-year, following the exceptional sale of Neil Graham’s collection in 2024 and reverting to below long-term average levels.
$6,320
Average realised price per work, down 13% from 2024, reflecting fewer top-tier sales.
19%
Share of total sales value attributable to women artists, continuing an upward trend from 13% in 2021. Though only 11 women featured among the top 50 selling artists in 2025 (down from 13 in 2024).
$54,833
Price of the 100th most expensive artwork in 2025, about 40% lower than 2021.
358%
Largest over-performance against estimate: Michael Smither’s Pā Site with Mount Taranaki at Webb’s.