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Meanwhile, there is evidence that women make very successful collectors when it comes to investment. Notable recent collections at auction include Pauline Karpidas’s well-received trove of Surrealism and design, from where highlights included a Console Végétale (2011) by François-Xavier Lalanne, which Karpidas had bought from his widow (and collaborator) Claude Lalanne. This sold last year for GBP 2 million (including fees), against an estimate of GBP 180,000–250,000. Another François-Xavier Lalanne work – his copper hippopotamus-shaped bar of 1976 – later made a record for the artist, and for any design piece, at auction when it sold for USD 31.4 million (estimate USD 7–10 million). Again, this had belonged to a female collector, the Texas-based, French-born heiress Anne Schlumberger, who had bought the work outside of the market’s traditional structures, namely directly from the artist, in 1977.
Their focus beyond paintings is borne out in more recent statistics. The Survey of Global Collecting finds that within the fine art universe, 64% of female high-net-worth collectors bought paintings between 2024 and 2025 versus 70% of male buyers. Digital art, photography, and installations were among the categories where the female spend was higher. When collectibles are added to the mix, women’s average spend on design was at USD 45,330, versus USD 36,650 for men, and these buyers also paid more for handbags and, perhaps more surprisingly, in the classic cars, boats, and jets category.
How these dynamics play out is of course unknown, but Donovan believes that it all points to a ‘shifting narrative’ and that ‘a certain momentum must come from this.’ Sand finds that the collector gender gap is narrowing, believing that the market as a whole is becoming more ‘diverse.’ She says her goal is ‘to engage all collectors’ so that ‘men feel confident when investing in work by female artists too.’ Ultimately, she says, it is ‘about opening doors for female artists and inviting everyone to be part of that conversation.’
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