9 Artists Whose Markets Artnet Pro Appraised in Depth in 2025

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Over the past 11 months, Artnet Pro delved into the markets of several artists, capturing important, and sometimes under-the-radar, developments in the art market. Whether spotlighting overlooked regional artists who are finally finding fame or onetime stars dealing with shifts in taste, our goal is to capture the moment, talking with dealers, auction-house experts, and independent advisors, and marshaling data to present a complete picture. Below, nine artists we reported on this year.

1. Dorothea Tanning

Star billing at the 2022 Venice Biennale helped fuel interest in Tanning’s work alongside a host of other female Surrealist artists. Even though her market has come quite a way in recent years, experts say there is a lot more room to grow, given decades of under-appreciation. While comparisons to peers such as Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo abound, the artist actually “had much more of a head start,” said art dealer Wendi Norris, who has collected the work for decades. Many museums acquired her work during her lifetime, and she was included in high-profile shows. People who visited the studio of her husband, fellow Surrealist star Max Ernst, would discover “this whole stunning surprise of, Wow, she’s an insanely great artist as well,” Norris said.

Read More: Collectors Cover Dorothea Tanning’s Surrealist Work. The Best Is in Short Supply 2.Gertrude Abercrombie

Gertrude Abercrombie’s magical works spark equal parts joy and fascination, so watching her market soar, from an average of around $15,000 a painting, just a few years ago, to six figures each, has been thrilling. As we noted in our recent coverage of the day sales in New York, Abercrombie’s work just set a new record, crossing the $1 million mark at Sotheby’s last week.

Read More: Once a ‘Regional Thing,’ Gertrude Abercrombie’s Enigmatic Art Is Selling for Huge Sums. Here’s Why.

3. Emily Kng Kngwarreye

Aboriginal artist Emily Kam Kngwarray enjoyed decades of appreciation from connoisseurs of Aboriginal art throughout her lifetime. But in 2025, the appreciation truly tipped over into the broader international art market, amid a flurry of gallery shows, culminating in a major retrospective at Tate Modern in London this past summer. A bonus for some high-flying contemporary collectors: prices may still be relatively affordable, as the rest of the world, and the market, catches up.

Read More: It’s No Longer Just Aboriginal Art Connoisseurs Buying Emily Kam Kngwarray’s Dazzling Art 4. Jack Whitten

This past spring, at the Museum of Modern in New York, a sprawling retrospective of the work of Jack Whitten proved to be the wake- up call that audiences needed in order to understand the breadth and depth of his talent. As curator Michele Kuo said at the time, he was an artist of “endless innovation,” whose influences included fellow artists like Willem de Kooning and Norman Lewis. He went on to have a lengthy and protean career, but was lesser known among the broader public than some of his equally accomplished peers.

Read More: Want a Jack Whitten Masterpiece? Prepare for an Auction Battle 5. Olga de Amaral

The shimmering gold fabrics of Colombian artist Olga de Amaral went from being material that mystified, and sometimes alienated, curators and viewers, into coveted objects that fuse art with design. They are now coveted, thanks in part to the long overdue recognition of fabric and textile art, as demonstrated by MoMA’s hit show this year, “Woven Histories.”

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Read More: Olga de Amaral’s Sumptuous Works Are In Hot Demand as Textile Art Finds Market Momentum 6. Tyeb Mehta

Indian Modernist Tyeb Mehta’s boldly colored scenes of everyday life in India, such as trussed bulls and other depictions fraught with tension and violence, were long appreciated and sought after by devoted collectors in the region. However, now that international demand has expanded, he has become a blue-chip star.

Read More: Indian Modernist Tyeb Mehta’s Market Is Soaring, How High Will It Go?

7. Ruth Asawa

Asawa’s intricately woven wire sculptures hit a high note in 2025, thanks to a traveling retrospective that was first at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and is now on view at New York’s Museum of Modern Art . It will also go to the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain and then the Beyeler Foundation, just outside Basel, Switzerland, ensuring that 2026 will also be a banner year for her. The retrospective includes roughly 300 works, showcasing her signature pieces alongside lesser-known areas of her oeuvre, such as public art commissions and her elaborate sculpted fountains.

Read More: Ruth Asawa Is Having A Massive Museum Moment. How Will It Affect Her Market?

8. Léonard Tsuguhara Foujita

It wasn’t so long ago that Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita’s paintings and drawings were tucked away in Impressionist and Modern art day sales. Japanese buyers have long prized his work, but his collector base was limited. But over time his wide range—from playful dogs and cats, to nudes (his five wives all posed), to little girls in dresses, to religious iconography—has garnered far more enthusiasm and attention. Add the facts of his wildly colorful life, and early fans like Pablo Picasso, and you’ve got a thriving, rediscovered market.

Read More: Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita Was the Toast of 1920s Paris. Now His Market Is Roaring 9. Bob Thompson

Bob Thompson died at just 28, but his influence on fellow artists has been enormous. Art advisor Allan Schwartzman summed it up: “He was working in a way that no one else was working at the time.” It occupies “its own unique, amazing world,” he said. “There’s a kind of dream-like atmosphere to a lot of his paintings,” said Kat Widing, head of the 21st-century evening sale at Christie’s. After years of focused attention by a devoted group of collectors and admirers, his market is now soaring.

Read more: Want One of Bob Thompson’s Enigmatic Paintings? The Best Time to Buy Was Yesterday

Read the argument alongside market data