Decorating & Design
November 6, 2017
Where To Buy Affordable Art Online
Design editor Lauren Petroff shares her top sources for budget-friendly art.
Until there is art on the walls, a room doesn’t feel quite complete. The process of developing and curating your own art collection, while fun, creative and rewarding, can also sometimes feel unattainable — art (never mind the framing) can be expensive. But you don’t need unlimited disposable income to add the personality that the presence of art creates. From original works to limited edition prints, there is a wide range of affordable options online, and I’m sharing some of my favorite sources below. Happy hunting!
A Copenhagen-based online store with international shipping, The Poster Club offers a unique selection of high-quality posters and art prints with a contemporary Scandinavian sensibility. Many prints are signed by the artist and all can be mounted in a variety of unique frames.
Artfully Walls is a carefully curated selection of limited and open-edition art prints ranging in a variety of sizes and mediums. All of the available prints are under $500US, and you can choose to add a frame for a rather nominal amount. Artfully Walls also specializes in pre-styled gallery walls, which offers a great way to start a collection.
The new Shop House & Home has a great selection of affordable art, from prints to one-of-a-kind pieces. I’m particularly partial to the geode print (left) for its stunning simplicity, and I love the leaf print (right) for the natural element it would bring to a space.
Art Interiors is a Toronto-based art boutique with both a centrally located brick-and-mortar studio as well as a full-service online shop. They strongly believe that the ability to collect art should be affordable and accessible to everyone, and thus represent a huge roster of Canadian artists with prices ranging from $25 – $6,500. There is also a selection of pieces represented by Art Interiors available through Shop House & Home.
Minted, which launched in 2008 as an online stationary source, now offers an extensive collection of limited edition fine art prints in a wide range of sizes and framing options. The works they feature are from international, independent artists, who have been selected through crowd sourcing competitions: artists submit their designs, there is a vote, and then Minted sells the winners.
At Partial Gallery, their mindset is that everyone should be able to afford original art. Through their innovative program based out of Toronto, patrons can either rent, purchase or rent-to-own pieces from the art boutique’s hand-picked collection produced by Ontario artists. There is a wide range of styles, mediums, and most pieces come framed. It’s an easy way to try before you buy!
A well-known and prominent online marketplace, Etsy is a great source for original work and fine art prints. It can take some time sifting through all of the various offerings to find exactly what you’re interested in, but once you do, it’s worth it. Some of my favorite shops are from painter Clare Elsaesser and Gallery440.
Saatchi Art is a resource for international artists to sell their work online in both original and print format, and offers an ever-changing, wide range of pieces. It’s easy to narrow down to your price range, as they offer categories based on price points. And while the top end hits $10,000, you can find great original art for under $500.
Porter Teleo is well known for their stunning hand-painted, hand-printed and bespoke wallpapers and textiles. They found themselves with piles of offcuts, and came up with the great idea to sell specific sections of those offcuts as pieces that people can purchase as original art.
Eye Buy Art is another Toronto-based online source that makes it easy to collect art. They specialize strictly in fine art photographs, and support artists on the cusp of growth. The fine art photo prints are available in limited edition at a number of different sizes and price points, never exceeding $2,500.