Brexit’s Long Shadow Over the UK Art Market: London Still Leads, but Friction Has Grown
Ten years after the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, the UK art market remains one of the world’s most important trading centers — yet the mechanics of doing business have become noticeably more cumbersome. London still ranks second globally by art trade value at 18%, according to the latest figures, though that is down from 21% in 2016. The city’s position is intact. The ease of operating there is not.
The clearest divide is between the top end of the market and everything below it. High-value auctions have continued to draw attention, with Sotheby’s Lewis Collection carrying a £200 million estimate, described as the highest ever estimate for an auction in Europe. But dealers, galleries, and collectors working at lower price points have faced a more complicated environment, shaped by import and export controls, temporary import rules, ATA carnet procedures, and import VAT.
Those changes have had measurable effects. UK imports of art and antiques fell from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $2.1 billion in 2020. The UK art trade also did not sign up to the EU’s new cultural goods import regulations, EU 2019/880, leaving cross-border movement between Britain and the continent more administratively demanding than before.
The impact is especially visible in the Old Masters sector. In 2014, the UK accounted for 52% of global trade by value in the European Old Master market. By 2025, that share had dropped to 38%. The decline reflects not only Brexit, but also a wider reshuffling of the market as business practices evolve between London and EU galleries.
Other developments have reinforced the sense of competition. Masterpiece London closed in 2023, while Art Basel entered the fair landscape in 2022, adding to perceptions that France, and Paris in particular, is gaining traction. At the same time, broader shocks — the global pandemic, wars in the Middle East, the first conflict in Europe since the Second World War, and changing tax regimes — have complicated any simple Brexit narrative.
For now, London remains a major art hub. The question is whether it can keep that status while the costs of moving art across borders continue to rise.
