Your First Visit Can Happen on Your Phone: How Collectors Start Now
For a long time, collecting started with walking through a gallery door. That is changing, and new 2026 data shows how far. It is also how we already work at Marcolina's: a private showroom, by appointment, with collectors on six continents who often meet the work on a screen before they ever meet us.
What the new Art Basel and UBS survey found
The 2026 Survey of Global Collecting from Art Basel and UBS looked at 3,100 high-net-worth collectors across 10 markets. A few numbers stand out. About 69 percent of collectors bought directly from an artist, up six points on the last survey. The survey also reports that 38 percent of works bought directly from artists were bought via Instagram.
One caveat worth stating plainly: this is a survey of wealthy collectors, a more affluent group than most people shopping for an original in the few-hundred to few-thousand-dollar range. Treat it as a direction, not a promise. But it points the same way as our own experience. We are based in Tampa, but we have always been a global gallery: our collectors are all over the world and our work ships worldwide. For most of them, a screen has been part of the first look for a long time.
Why the first look moved to the screen
The simplest reason is that the screen is where people already are. A collector scrolling Instagram can see a painting in progress, watch an artist talk about a piece, and follow a body of work for months before ever sending a message. By the time they reach out, they have already spent a lot of time with the work.
The survey also found that younger collectors researched more before buying than older generations did. That fits. Someone who has followed an artist online, read about the work, and compared options is not browsing casually when they get in touch. They are close to a decision and they have questions.
What has not changed
Galleries are not going away. In the same survey, 87 percent of collectors bought from a dealer, and most of those purchases were direct, not through fairs or auctions. What shifted is where the relationship begins. How much it matters has not changed.
If anything, a remote start raises the importance of trust. When you cannot stand in front of a piece, you are relying on the person showing it to you. That makes the gallery's job clearer: show the work as it is, answer questions without pressure, and stand behind what is sold.
Where most of the buying happens
It is easy to assume the collecting headlines are all about million-dollar sales. The survey tells a quieter story. Of the collectors surveyed, 77 percent spent under $50,000 in the first half of 2026, and when people named their first three purchases, painting came up most often at 43 percent, with sculpture second at 25 percent. In other words, collecting still begins with a painting or a sculpture you can picture in your own home, and that is exactly the kind of work that travels well from a screen to a wall.
What a gallery is for now
If the first look happens on a screen, it is fair to ask what a gallery is for. The answer is the part that has not moved online: someone who chooses the work with care, knows the artists behind it, and stands behind what is sold.
A good gallery curates, so you are not sorting through everything on your own. It represents artists and holds the details of their careers, which matters most for artists who keep a low profile and have little presence online. It presents work personally, answers questions as they come up, and backs the sale with documentation. The door may have moved. The judgment behind the collection has not.
How Marcolina's works when you start online
Marcolina's is a private showroom, not a walk-in storefront, and for the way people collect now, that suits. A viewing here is a conversation about one collector and the work they are drawn to, not a browse through a crowded room. Private viewings are by appointment, either in person at our Tampa showroom or virtually, and every virtual viewing is presented personally, not sent as a catalog link. Every original comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. Pieces ship worldwide with full insurance. And payment plans are available, so the price on the screen does not have to be a barrier to starting a collection.
How to buy art you first found online, with confidence
Buying from us or from anyone else, a few habits make remote buying safer.
Check that the seller exists beyond one social account. A gallery should have a website with contact details, a phone number that gets answered, and a track record you can find independently, such as press, past exhibitions, or collectors who will talk about the experience. Artists are different. Many excellent artists keep a low profile online, or have no presence at all, and are represented by a gallery that handles everything on their behalf. In that case, the gallery is who you are vetting. A good one can tell you about the artist's background, show you documentation, and answer your questions directly.
Ask for the Certificate of Authenticity and any provenance before you pay, not after. If you want to understand why that document matters, we wrote about what a Certificate of Authenticity actually protects.
Get the details in writing: exact dimensions, medium, condition, framing, and how it will ship. Confirm the shipment is insured and tracked.
Pay in a way that gives you recourse. A credit card often carries stronger fraud protection than a debit card or a direct transfer. Be cautious if you are pushed toward a payment app or wire transfer, rushed with a today-only deadline, or offered a price far below what comparable work sells for. A good seller lets you take your time.
What to ask in your first message
If you have found a piece you like, a first message does not need to be formal. A good one covers a few basics: is the piece still available, what are the exact size and medium, can you see it on a wall or in a short video, how does shipping and insurance work, and are payment plans an option. Any seller worth buying from will be glad to answer all of it. At Marcolina's we are, and every original comes with a Certificate of Authenticity and ships insured.
It can also be much simpler than a checklist. Something like "I love this artist, what else do you have in this style?" or "I am looking for something warm and abstract for my living room, what would you show me?" is a perfectly good first message. Tell us the artist, the style, or the room, and we will show you what fits.
Where this leaves you
If you have been scrolling past a piece for weeks, that is not wasted time. It is how a lot of collectors now begin. When you are ready, ask us about a private viewing, in person at our Tampa showroom or virtually, at info@marcolinas.com or 656.212.1775, or message us on Instagram at @choosemarcolinas.
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Marcolina's Fine Arts Gallery is Tampa Bay's leading contemporary fine art gallery, representing original work across painting, sculpture, photography, encaustic, and mixed media. Original works by Guillo Pérez 3, Willy Pérez, Ailene Fields, John Gurbacs, Elizabeth Fontaine-Barr, and represented artists. Private viewings by appointment. Ships worldwide.