Art has once again proved itself to be a stable investment as global art sales reached record-breaking heights totaling $15.2 billion, reports the Telegraph.

The billion of dollars worth of art that was sold at auction during the year was a 26 percent increase from 2013, Artprice stated in its annual report, which is produced with the China-based Chinese art platform Artron. Of the auction transactions, 1,679 sales of $1 million or more were recorded—four times the amount that was recorded more than a decade ago.

Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan were market leaders, responsible for $5.6 billion in sales, followed by the United States. However, the slowdown in China’s economy and its crackdown on corruption have curtailed total spending, as sales were down 5 percent from 2013.

US auction houses saw a 41 percent increase to $4.8 billion in spending from 2013, and British houses saw a 35 percent increase to $2.8 billion in sales from 2013.

“Demand is constant and aggressive on every continent…notably from museums,” said Artprice CEO Thierry Ehrmann.

Wang Jie, president of Artprice and Artron added, “More museums were created between 2000 and 2005 than during the entire 19th and 20th centuries” and they need “a minimum of 3,000 to 4,000 quality works to be credible.”

Artprice also stated that the upper threshold for works could soon break the $1 billion ceiling, as just this month a Gauguin sold privately for $300 million (see Paul Gauguin Painting Sells for Record $300 Million to Qatar Museums in Private Sale).