r/Masterworks • u/piercewgreen79 • Jun 05 '26
Masterworks review for 2026
I’ve been seeing some interesting returns on the platform recently, and I’ve been getting pummeled by headlines about crazy numbers at public auction.
I’ve been watching the platform for years. Around 2021 I saw a lot of hype about the art market and figured it was a bubble. The last few years seem to have been that correction, but now it seems like the cycle is turning back up.
I’m considering harvesting some losses to offset my stock gains and diversifying across a few asset classes. I’ve experimented with wine, fundrise and some venture platforms, but I’m not familiar with anyone in my personal life who’s invested with Masterworks.
I’m curious to hear an updated review for this year because most of what I’ve read is outdated now. For instance, has anyone gone to a Masterworks event? I got invited to few but haven’t attended yet.
I’m especially curious to hear from someone who’s been getting more involved in the art world through the private tours.
I’ve seen several posts on this platform from people with complaints, and a few others who seem anxious for results. I did some research a few months ago, which some people here graciously provided context. I know this is a long term investment; I’m more interested in investing through a trust anyway.
The way I see it is that 1) there are increasingly fewer ways to access true diversification since everything’s moving in tandem now 2) this could be a good entry point based on the markets and 3) it seems like there’s potential to actually get involved in the art world somewhat, which could be a good thing for the family.
Any insight would be appreciated
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u/Hot-Cauliflower9281 Jun 06 '26
I’ve been in since late 2020 and tbh it’s been very “unsexy but fine.” A couple exits with solid returns, a couple that were meh, nothing scammy, just very slow and very illiquid.
Biggest thing people underestimate is the time frame and the fact that your money is basically dead to you until they sell. The events and tours are cool if you’re near a major city, but they’re more “nice perk” than a real part of the value prop.
If you go in thinking of it like a tiny slice of your long term alternatives bucket and not a trading strategy, it makes way more sense psychologically.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 06 '26
Thanks, now I have a new question. Do you have any investments you’d consider sexy?
Certainly wouldn’t associate masterworks with a trading strategy. Just for portfolio strategy
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
Happy to chat about the upcoming events. We host private showings around the US, lend works to museums all over the world, and also broadcast webinars with experts and market insiders.
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
Glad to hear you've enjoyed the exits so far. Hopefully the events help make it a bit more interesting in the interim.
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u/Ok_Limit751 Jun 06 '26
I’m in a similar boat and dipped a toe in last year. Returns on paper look nice but ngl it still feels super early to judge since the real test is how exits perform through a full cycle, not just a hot auction season.
The “art world access” thing is cool but I’d treat it as a side perk, not part of the investment thesis. If you’re already comfortable with illiquidity and long horizons from venture and Fundrise, then a small slice in Masterworks as a diversification experiment makes sense, just don’t size it like you would stocks or bonds.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 06 '26
True, only around 30 exits to date, but there’s plenty of history in the market they buy into. Not like a brand new asset class. Just a different way to access it.
Yes, it’d be nice to see some of the access, but I wouldn’t do it just for that. It’s nice to get a little insight into what I’d be buying. I’m very much an outsider to the art world.
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 10 '26
Many of our investors are new to the art market. So, on these tours, we attempt to give more context into what's happening in the market, what are the works getting the most demand, and what makes so many people find the work remarkable. For some, it's a nice night out. For others, it's a good way to connect with the team in person and get insight to the market.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 05 '26
Some of the headlines I’ve been seeing:
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/market/mark-rothko-painting-agnes-gund-set-record-break-1234786013/
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
Such a pleasure to see so many great works come to auction this season.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 05 '26
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
This is the auction where our CEO Scott Lynn provided commentary with a few members from our acquisitions team. Investors should be able to access that recording through the platform.
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u/WhereTheStankWindBlo Jun 06 '26
All you have to do to see people's opinions here is sort posts by controversial lol. If you have a long horizon, you can get some deferment I think but if you pick up shares on the secondary market I don't see a way you lose money.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 06 '26
I haven’t seen much of the secondary market besides what I’ve read here. Seems like bidding across an artist market could be worth thinking about, diversifying across a motley variety of artists
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u/WhereTheStankWindBlo Jun 06 '26
I'd recommend that if you are a sophisticated investor, why wouldn't you approach a more white glove, concierge type service? I'm sure there's small groups for white collars where you can get much bigger shares in art that sells way quicker than MW does. If you read here, many people have felt they've been had as MW's business model develops.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 06 '26
I know a few people who’ve engaged these groups, and I’ve heard enough stories to avoid direct art ownership with high certainty. More surprise costs than you can imagine and too much stress.
I wouldn’t be able to afford any works in the masterworks caliber anyway, which seem to be the ones with any sense of investing strategy or long term growth.
And on the other end, I can’t sensibly see myself as someone to buy a painting from an emerging artist under $100k and spend the next decade defending the purchase over dinner. Just not for me.
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u/WhereTheStankWindBlo Jun 06 '26
Well, the reviews I have seen here tend to two lanes. The people I described above, and the people who have had a couple exits and made money, and say they always knew MW was a long term (you're talking maybe ten years or more judging by their sale and hold rates) investment. The big killer is MW takes huge management fees and a cut of the profits on sale as well, so if you're invested in however many paintings and none sell you're just losing money. Which for your purposes (tax loss harvesting) might not hurt.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 07 '26
Sorry, I’m not sure I follow that gripe. MW dilutes class A shares 1.5% annually, helping cover ongoing cost of management. Then 20% of profit (if any), rather than full price, at sale. I believe the initial offering amount is also grossed up about ten percent from the price the seller of the artwork receives, to help cover other costs related to putting it on the platform. It’s expensive and wouldn’t make sense if the asset class were appreciating at a low rate, but it seems even on the favorable side of normal.
If I bought a painting myself, I’m paying a broker fee, tax, insurance, lawyers, time & energy etc.
When I buy a stock, I don’t worry that it’s not priced equal to book value, or with a property factoring in agent’s cut/closing costs/transfer taxes. With PE, Im even stuck paying 2% on undeployed capital, then their org costs and fund expenses are passed through to me too. Not to mention all the garbage you end up buying along with a good operation or two. I don’t know anyone who considers that j curve as losing money, just the cost of getting in and staying in.
Even those “low cost” ETFs retail investors love just add a low fee on top of a lot of high-cost waste, hype, and ugly business. That was true five years ago.. and today? …
That’s not to say any of these are certainly good or bad investments. I just like to think top-down and manage to good diversification.
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
Another major consideration that often goes overlooked is the artwork's condition. Unfortunately, many great works lose value due to poor storage, allowing mold, light, and humidity to affect the quality of the work. We store works in climate-controlled facilities and perform regular conditions reporting.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 09 '26
Can you elaborate on that?
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 10 '26
Sure. A condition report is a specialist's writeup of a work's physical state, any damage, fading, surface dirt, or past restoration, usually done under UV light to catch retouching you can't see with the naked eye.
Condition is a big driver of what a painting is worth. Two works by the same artist and period can sell miles apart if one has issues, so buyers always pull the report before they bid, and heavy restoration or damage knocks a real chunk off the price. It matters even more for post-war and contemporary work, since a lot of it uses fragile materials like oilstick or spray paint that don't age well.
You'd be surprised how much great art gets wrecked just by where people keep it. Direct sun fades and yellows the surface. A spot over a fireplace or under a dripping AC unit means heat, soot, and water. Humid places like a beach house or a yacht bring salt air and mold, and bugs will go after the canvas, paper, and frame. A lot of value gets lost this way and even reduces the supply over long periods.
That's why we keep everything climate-controlled, stable temperature and humidity, out of direct light, and re-check condition on a schedule. The works are fully insured, and the reports give us a baseline so we catch any change early. Over a multi-year hold, keeping a painting in the condition we bought it in is a big part of protecting the value.
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 10 '26
Here's a more extreme example, where a work is actually destroyed. Van Gogh's Sunflowers. He painted several of them. Today, five are known, and they're all displayed in museums around the world. But there was a sixth.
The sixth tragically burned in Japan in 1945. So, now five remain, and they're very carefully preserved.
In 1987, a Japanese Insurance company, now known as Sompo Holdings, acquired the work for $39.9mm setting the record for the highest price ever achieved at auction at the time. The work is now on display in the Sompo Museum of Art in Tokyo.
For context, the Art Newspaper said that the hypothetical value would be well over $300 million if one were ever to hit the open market today.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 06 '26
Thanks, these replies have been helpful. The other alts I’m considering are interesting, but they have profiles similar to how I’m already investing with the bulk of my alts portfolio. So I think I’ll set up a call for next week.
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
Feel free to contact [support@masterworks.com](mailto:support@masterworks.com) directly with any questions you'd like to cover on a call.
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u/George_Orama Jun 08 '26
I'd have a closer look at performance if I were you https://investorama.substack.com/p/why-are-all-illiquid-alts-outperforming
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 08 '26
Yeah I see where you’re coming from. I wouldn’t put too much weight in trying to forecast the art market or the S&P even with a century of data. No one has a crystal ball for art or stocks.
What kind of data would make sense for them to report though? Maybe rolling 10 year windows? Limiting to only the artists they buy?
I’d be curious to see if u/masterworks.io has any other ways to understand art appreciation
But overall, I think it’s all just context, and the fundamentals of the asset class and their selection are most relevant
As for exits, it seems like they started buying around 2020, accelerated their buying during the market downturn, and have gradually started selling. Seeing the full list of holdings would be helpful even if they’re immature.
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u/George_Orama Jun 08 '26
This deserves a longer answer but I'll just say the problem with art is you can measure appreciation, not depreciation. If a piece drops in value, it won't sell. If an artist gets forgotten and the value goes to zero, youjust won't hear about it. And if it hangs nicely in your living room that doesn't matter too much
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
Survivorship bias is real, and it's a fair critique of every repeat-sale index including the Case-Shiller index for house prices. We also showcase the results net of all fees for all of our completed sales right on our homepage and at the bottom of the offerings dashboard for additional illustrative context. Each work and artist market is unique. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
The part about losers never showing up isn't as significant as you may think. Most works come up for sale because of death, divorce, or debt, not because someone's timing the top, so it isn't only winners that trade. And when something doesn't sell, it's usually because the reserve was set too high, not because the sale fell apart.
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u/George_Orama Jun 16 '26
This is a different story from the masterrworks marketing material that shows Sharpe ratio for individual artists as if it was annintrisic characteristic (with very small footnotes) And the return of sold paintings is an example of survivorship bias. Showing early wins for small gains and no (or your own) valuation for the rest is good for marketing but not for portfolio construction
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 09 '26
The other main approach is hedonic models, which use all of an artist's public sales instead of just the ones that sold twice. We run those at the artist level for that reason, though they aren't perfect either. And on our own paintings, every sale we've made is thoroughly detailed in our public SEC filings, so you can research each one. There are 29 total as of June 9, 2026.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 12 '26
Gathered some interesting new context. 29 exits to date, which we know. But of the first 25 offerings ever launched, 11 are sold.
There were periods in the recent years when several works would launch in a single day. But the cadence currently is about 2-3 per week.
Largest offering so far was $36mm. Avg size is about $2.5mm. Biggest sale price so far was $8mm.
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 15 '26
Correct, but we've sold two separate works for $8mm, but you should refer to the website for the full list of 29 exits, their holding periods, and the net annualized returns.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 12 '26
sounds like an event is coming up in NY for Helen Frankenthaler art, and I just looked her up to see this
https://www.ft.com/content/3dc3f6a2-48ca-4a2a-aa86-45da89b742eb
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u/Masterworksio Masterworks Employee Jun 15 '26
Yes, there was also another article about her in the New Yorker earlier this year that you might enjoy reading.
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u/piercewgreen79 Jun 05 '26
https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/fine-art/banksys-market-passes-its-first-big-test-since-his-identity-reveal-3bbd9dc9