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10 ways to Buy Original Art online

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A comprehensive guide to help you buy original art online in 2023. Find out our top picks & the most popular websites for buying art…

Top Pick: Saatchi Art


Buy Original Art Online - Saatchi Art

My top recommendation for buying original art online is Saatchi Art.

Why Saatchi Art? Here are 10 reasons they made top spot…

1. Largest online gallery

Saatchi Art is big. Really big. Over 3 million original artworks for sale big. The kind of big that’s convinced hundreds of thousands of artists from over 100 countries to sell their work on the platform.

Not a bad chance of finding something you love with those kinds of numbers. But what of the 2 million plus artworks you don’t love, is it a nightmare to navigate? It could be but Saatchi Art have built one of the best search filters I’ve seen at an online gallery to help you narrow down options.

If you’re less sure of what you’re looking for the curated collections, printed catalogues, trending artists and rising stars features are excellent ways of discovering artists.

2. Excellent customer service

I wrote about my own experience of buying prints from Saatchi Art and was really impressed with their service. Don’t just take my word for it though Saatchi Art currently has a review rating of 4.6 out of 5 Trustpilot rating from well over a hundred customer reviews.

3. Better payouts for artists

For every original work of art you buy at Saatchi Art 65% of the sale price goes straight to the artist’s pocket. That’s a 5% drop from the 70% offer at launch though bricks and mortar galleries typically take a 50% commission so purchasing from Saatchi Art still means a 15% wider smile from the artist you’re buying from.

4. Curated collections

I’ve discovered several artists for MoMa through Saatchi Art’s Curated Collections. They’re a great shortcut to finding some of the best art on such a huge site. Browse selections from Guest Curators, Art By Room or the best New Additions each Monday.

5. Art advisory service

Saatchi Art offer a time saving and totally free art advisory service for individuals and trade professionals. Work one-on-one with your own personal art curator who’ll assess your needs and tastes then hand-pick a collection of up to 50 artworks to choose from.

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6. Money back guarantee

One of the biggest barriers to making that initial leap to buy original art online is not being able to see the work in person before it arrives in your living room. Step in Saatchi Art’s 7 day money back guarantee – return the work for a full refund if it’s not quite what you hoped.

7. Artist interviews

I’ve also discovered some amazing artists via Saatchi Art’s One to Watch interview features. Saatchi Art travels around the world to visit emerging artists in their studio to photograph them at work and talk about their practice and influences.

8. Follow artists

Saatchi Art lets you follow any artist so you’ll be notified first whenever they upload a new piece of original art for sale. This simple feature is a real game changer – once only available to galleries and well connected collectors now anyone can have a direct link to the artist.

9. Best offers

Earlier this year Saatchi Art introduced the ability for potential buyers to make a ‘best offer’ for original artworks. If the listed price is beyond your current budget, you can submit an alternate offer to the artist and Saatchi Art will take care of negotiations between the artist and buyer.

10. Discount codes

Saatchi Art frequently run discount codes and vouchers where you can usually save around 10-15% off prints and original art. If you want to find the latest offers then check out my Saatchi Art Discount Code page which we update every month with the newest codes.

Also there’s an excellent Saatchi Art iPhone app too (unfortunately not on Android yet).

As a footnote if you’re not the biggest fan of Charles Saatchi you’ll be pleased to hear that he no longer has any link to Saatchi Art having sold the site to Santa Monica based company Demand Media in 2014. Don’t think he’s too chuffed about the use of his name though.

Our Top 3 Artists on Saatchi Art

All featured on MoMa UK:
1. Gustavo Ortiz – Beautiful South American infused collages
2. Kelly Puissegur – Weirdly wonderful paintings straight out of SF
3. Daniel Mullen – Amazing architecturally inspired forms

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Best Online Galleries


Buy Original Art Online - Online Galleries

Here are 10 of the best galleries for buying art online…

Saatchi Art Wesbite

1. Saatchi Art – widest range

Read my Saatchi Art review or the 10 reasons above for why Saatchi Art comes out top of the pile for buying art online. From emerging to established artists Saatchi Art is a great site for buying affordable art or investing in more expensive work for your collection.
Visit Saatchi Art

Artspace website

2. Art Space – art world’s biggest names

‘Insider access to the world’s best art’ is the Artspace motto. A spare £15k will get you an original Jeff Koons ballon dog or three Louise Bourgeois prints. For the rest of us a slightly more affordable £340 pockets an animal themed Dave Eggers silkscreen print.
Visit Artspace  (get $50 credit via our link)

singularart

3. Singulart – curated contemporary

Paris headquartred Singulart are one of the bigger original art galleries with over 12,000 artists & designers from 110 countries. With a strong representaion of women artists and the option to ask an artist to create a work for you with an artist commission.
Visit Singulart

Artfinder website

4. Artfinder – independent artists

An excellent user-friendly site for buying more affordable art direct from independent artists. Can lean towards the craft/commercial end & quality varies but there’s strong art here if you dig around. Photographs by Filippo Minelli & Nadia Attura a case in point.
Visit Art Finder

Degree Art website

5. Degree Art – recent graduates

Features work by artists currently studying or who’ve graduated within the last five years as well as Contemporary Collective for alumni artists such as Anna Masters & Gosia Poraj. You can also commission an artist for a bespoke piece of work.
Visit Degree Art

eyestorm website

6. Eyestorm – curated contemporary

Eyestorm’s been selling contemporary art online as far back as 1999. I’m a big fan and have featured several of their artists from Henrik Simonsen to James Hunter. Collecting contemporary art isn’t for everyone but if it’s for you then Eyestorm’s a fine place to start.
Visit Eyestorm

Counter Editions Website

7. Counter Editions – leading contemporary

Prints and multiples by leading contemporary artists is how Counter Editions describes itself & it does exactly that. Tracey Emin etchings sit beside charming printed sculptures by Rachel Whiteread while David Shrigley keeps things from getting too serious.
Visit Counter Editions

artrepublic website

8. artrepublic – print editions & street art

Think Dan Baldwin, Pure Evil, Maria Rivans, Stanley Donwood & Peter Blake and you’ll have a good idea of the artrepublic roster. The Brighton based gallery is now a worldwide supplier of limited edition prints & posters with a street art/urban sensibility.
Visit artrepublic

Rise Art Website

9. Rise Art – rent or buy

I’m all for buying art for office spaces and which office wouldn’t be a little more joyful with the vibrant colours of a Bruce Mclean or Kotaro Machiyama. Rise Art’s uniquely positioned to let you rent art for your office space or home with the option to buy if you like it.
Visit Rise Art

Lumas

10. Lumas – photography

It’s almost worth recommending Lumas purely on the strength of these magical Christiane Steinicke forest themed prints. But plenty more stunning editions await on this German based photography site with the option for large prints & contemporary framing.
Visit Lumas

I’ve only just scratched the surface of online galleries here but I’m confident these represent some of the best and most innovative around. I’ll continue to update the list when any new galleries stake a case to be featured in the Top 10 websites to buy art.

Notable Mentions

11. King & McGaw – Art prints & frames
12. New Blood Art – emerging UK artists
13. Art2Arts – Online since 2006 with over 800 artists

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Online Curators


MoMa UK website

One of the biggest barriers to buying original art online is navigating your way through the myriad of artists and art websites to find the art you love. Even an excellent site like Saatchi Art can be overwhelming to find your way around. We only have so much time to scroll through page after page of not so great art to get to those rare gems we just have to have.

Hence the role of the online curator. While there’s some truth that curator has become a frequently misused self-identifying term by “people who are really picky with what they share on Facebook” there’s still room for passionate lovers of art to guide others towards the art they’re so excited about.

Whether it’s called curating, collecting or jumping up and down shouting ‘look at this!’ doesn’t matter so much as the sharing of creative ideas and expression. The Latin origins of the word come from curare meaning ‘to care’. That works for me.

Favourite art curating sites

So which curatorial sites would I recommend? Am I allowed to choose the one you’re reading now? I am? Why thank you generous people, I will.

MoMa UK only started in 2014 so it’s still in its early days but I created this site to make it as easy as possible to not just find art you love but to buy it too. If you can’t easily buy an artist’s work online then I won’t feature it.

The best place to start on MoMa is to browse the Buy Art section for a portfolio of featured artists with selected favourite works and links to buy their work. After that you could browse our Museum section for a bunch of artist interviews, emerging artists, news, offers and more.

The Jealous Curator

Started by fine art graduate and designer Danielle Krysa in 2009 The Jealous Curator is now one of the most popular art blogs around. What began as a way to vent her frustrations at amazing art that made her jealous gradually evolved into a showcase of contemporary art that inspires her to get back to the studio.

A good place to jump in is with one of a kind Kelly Puissegur. Her work features several times on TJC and she makes an endearingly down to earth guest on their podcast Art For Your Ear.

Best of The Rest

Saatchi Art has a really good blog of curated art, interviews & guides called Canvas. It’s an excellent way of discovering art you can buy directly without hunting elsewhere.

If contemporary abstract art’s your bag then IdeelArt is a seriously well curated online gallery for purchasing artwork. Check out their magazine for features and news in the world of abstraction.

Street art lovers should then Posters & Prints is a blog started just a few days before The Jealous Curator and has served up over six years of limited edition poster and print releases.

Contemporary Art Daily is excellent for showcasing art each day from current exhibitions around the globe (to buy anything you’ll need to do the detective work yourself).

Our Top 3 Online Curators

1. MoMa UK really quite good!
2. The Jealous Curator equal parts jealousy inducing & inspiring
3. Canvas Blog well curated online magazine by Saatchi Art

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Art Marketplaces


etsy

Online marketplaces are platforms that artists can use to market and sell their work directly to collectors (usually in exchange for a small commission on any sales).

Etsy is one of the biggest and has long been synonymous with hobbyists, makers and handmade crafts. But a growing number of artists are starting out on Etsy as a way of testing the market for selling their work.

Etsy is now one of the best places to find affordable fine art prints and original paintings on a small budget. You can feel extra good about buying art from Etsy too knowing that a tidy 97% of what you pay goes directly to the artist! Folksy is a similar marketplace site worth having a look at.

I like the art & illustration of Natasha Newson on Etsy with original paintings starting at only £30. On the other hand you could buy a rare David Hockney print or poster for a few hundred to a few thousand pounds. Which leads me onto the next destination…

Don’t forget eBay

It’s easy to overlook eBay when looking for websites to buy original art. Don’t! eBay is a fantastic resource for buying limited edition prints and fine art posters long sold out everywhere else. The Eelus prints After The Rain and Where They’ll Never Find Us sold out in minutes on release but you can almost always find some on eBay. You may well pay a premium for such in-demand prints but at least you can get them.

Bargains do show up though, whether they’re limited editions by Stanley Donwood or signed prints by Peter Blake – the motto is keep checking! Even better just follow a search for your favourite artist and eBay will email you whenever new listings are added. Vintage art exhibition posters can be scooped up at decent prices too. Not to mention classic art books, sculptures, ceramics & just about any kind of art you can imagine…

Our Top 3 Art Marketplaces

1. Etsy – affordable art direct from artists
2. eBay – best place for sold out prints
3. Folksy – craftier version of Etsy

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Art Auctions


The Saleroom

Confession time. Art auctions are a new frontier for me. My prior knowledge to researching this article comes mostly from news stories of another Picasso or Gaugin painting breaking the world record from a bewildered looking auction house.

What’s been pleasing to discover is that most art auctions aren’t just for exclusive collector’s (or James Bond villains) with millions to spend. I found art across all price levels from prints to posters and original artwork. Here’s the best online art auctions from what I found…

The Saleroom – marketplace for auction houses

Most of the art auctions below are US based with worldwide shipping. The Saleroom, however, is something a bit different. Is the design a bit dated and clunky? Yep. But it’s more than made for by the range of auction houses it draws from. Billed as “Europe’s leading portal for fine art and antiques auctions” they list items from auctions all over the UK & Europe (including Christie’s) which is great for searching for works by particular artists.

For example here’s a search for David Hockney which brings back dozens of results from original paintings to rare etchings, screenprints and posters. Same goes for anyone from Andy Warhol to Louise Bourgeois.

Artnet, Artsy & Artspace – contemporary artists

Artnet is one of the biggest art websites in the world so it’s no surprise that Artnet Auctions is one of the best for buying modern & contemporary art.

Auctions tend to be live on the website for around 10 days and you can make your bid at any point. Each item has an opening bid (reserve price) so you’ll have to bid at least that to win the auction. At the time of writing there are auctions for a vibrant Josef Albers poster screenprint starting at $500 and a beautiful original watercolour by Canadian artist Marcel Dzama starting at $800. The site’s super easy and intuitive to use and all items can be returned if not as described. The only stumbling block for some might be paying by wire transfer but some auctions accepted Paypal too.

Auctions on Artsy & Artspace are less frequent than Artnet but are close contenders with Artnet for buying contemporary art from well known and emerging artists.

A similar endnote to the last section – don’t forget eBay! It’s still the most popular auction site in the world so has more than its fair share of art. Most art prints and posters tend to be fixed price ‘buy it now’ but auctions are there to be found and bargains can be had.

Our Top 3 Art Auction Sites

1. The Saleroom
2. Artnet Auctions
3. Mutual Art

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6. Social Media

Buy Original Art - Moma on Twitter
Artists are increasingly finding ways to sell their work directly from social media. It’s now one of the best channels for finding new work and connecting with artists whose work you’d like to buy. Ashley Longshore sells her larger than life paintings for tens of thousands of dollars on Instagram and she’s not the only one…

My 10 Ways To Sell Art Online article highlighted Lorraine Loots’ 365 Postcard For Ants series and how social media was fundamental to selling her work. Now titled Paintings for Ants Lorraine often uses Instagram to run live auctions for paintings. Followers leave a comment with their highest bid and the person with the highest bid at the closing date gets the painting. It’s incredibly direct and every buyer knows 100% of their payment goes straight to Lorraine.

So how do you find artists to follow on social media? Every featured artist on MoMa has links to their social media pages, Saatchi Art does the same on their profile pages.

Social to Personal

While some artists sell their work directly through social media most artists use it to announce new work and link back to their personal website or online gallery so you can buy it there.

One of our featured artists Ellis O’Connor does just that via her Twitter account with links back to her online shop.

Another favourite artist Gustavo Ortiz frequently updates his Instagram account with images of his latest work alongside photos and video clips that give you a sense of his tastes and influences. If you see a new work you’d like to buy you’re probably just a comment or direct message away from purchasing an original piece of work before it’s even made it to a gallery.

As an artist myself I can tell you that artists LOVE getting messages from people interested in buying their work. It allows us to keep doing what we love to do. So don’t be shy and introduce yourself to the artists you’re interested in. We live in a time when social media makes that easier than it’s ever been.

Our Top 3 Social Media Sites

1. Instagram
2. Twitter
3. Facebook

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Artists Websites


Artist Website - Andy Wilx

Art students are increasingly encouraged at college to have their own website. It’s hardly surprising that those websites are quickly becoming the artists preferred platform for selling their work. There’s no middle man, no commission to split and no hassle for the buyer trying to work out how to buy the art.

I’ve featured prints by Andy Wilx on MoMa with links to artrepublic where you can buy them. But you can also buy prints direct from Andy’s beautifully designed website AndyWilx.com. You might even bag them cheaper than gallery sites via his screenprint sales.

Buy direct from these artist websites featured on MoMa: recent graduate Sylvia Moritz, the ubiquitous Deedee Cheriel and the even more ubiquitous Shepard Fairey’s Obey Giant store.

Not all artist websites have online stores but you can still utilise them them to get in touch and ask if a work is for sale. Catherine Ross is a recent graduate deservedly getting lots of recognition and selling work offline. The best way to follow her progress is via her website and blog at CatherineRossPainter.com.

Zmas Boutique

I’m a big fan of Stanley Donwood and a happy owner of two fantastic etchings. One of the first things I did after buying the prints (from an Amsterdam gallery) was to seek out his website. From there I signed up to his newsletter (another way of being the first to hear of new work for sale) which is where I heard about his new shop Zmas Boutique.

It’s totally in keeping with Donwood’s grumpy style and there’s been some limited edition releases on Zmas Boutique were a steal (and sold out super fast).

So, next time you’re in a gallery and see an artist you like – look them up online, get on their mailing list and you might have some of their work on your walls sooner than you think.

Our Top 3 Artist Websites

1. Stanley Donwood
2. Shepard Fairey
3. Ashley Longshore

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Crowdfunding


Buy Original Art with Kickstarter
I’ve written previously on backing Ellis O’Connor’s Kickstarter campaign to create new art on a Northern Isles Expedition with the Clipperton Project.

Backing Ellis’ campaign not only felt good (helping support another artist) it also got me an A4 sized drawing she created on the trip. Buying art via Kickstarter often connects you with an artist or community in a much more personal and meaningful way than an a conventional online or offline transaction.

Have a wander through of the hundreds of art campaigns currently running on Kickstarter and see if you can find an artist doing something so inspiring you can’t help but invest in.

The Monster Project

Running a site about to help people buy art online is really rewarding. But sometimes you need a healthy reminder of what got you into art in the first place. The unbridled joy of raw creativity. Not for the first time I’ve felt that passion rekindled via Kickstarter.

When I was hunting for Kickstarter projects to feature here The Monster Project is a lovely example of an opportunity the site gives you to buy art – and make a difference too.

The Monster Project is a collection of artists who invite elementary school kids to draw monsters. Then the artists get to work interpreting the kids drawings using their own techniques and skills before going into the schools to present the new interpretations to the kids.

The children get to learn new art techniques as well as reinforcing their inherent potential for creativity and originality. Watch their Kickstarter video for the looks on the kids faces alone!

This is the kind of art project that makes Kickstarter and alternative crowdfunding sites like Indiegogo and GoFundMe so inspiring to be a part of.

Our Top 3 Crowdfunding Sites

1. Kickstarter
2. IndiGoGo
3. GoFundMe

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9. Print on Demand


Buy Art Online at Society6

Not everyone can afford to buy original prints and paintings. Print on demand sites bridge the gap between artist and the people who love their work but don’t have the budget of an art collector. Sites like Society 6, Threadless, Design by Humans and RedBubble use high resolution images by artists to create prints, clothing, and a wide range of accessories. Because print runs are unlimited prices are way cheaper than buying limited edition art prints and are still really good quality.

Print on demand websites make a good fit for buying art from illustrators & designers whose work often suits the medium better than a traditional gallery. See a few of my top picks for artists and illustrators selling work below…

Featured Artists

Several artists featured on MoMa currently have work for sale on print on demand sites. Amy Hamilton is is one of the most popular artists on Society6 and you can see why her animal illustrations connect with so many people. Staying on the illustration tip Federico Babina joins Amy on Society6 selling works of re-imagined buildings based on movies, artists and designers. Over on Design By Humans you’ll find the magical world of Deedee Cheriel on everything from prints, t-shirts, stickers and phone cases.

Our Top 3 Print On Demand Sites

1. society6
2. designbyhumans
3. redbubble

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Photography Sites


Buy Photography Prints at Saatchi Art

This was a tough section to research. While there’s a zillion photo sites online most of them are stock photo based or only sell digital images for download. If you’re only looking to buy photographs to download I’d recommend 500px.

For those looking to buy photographic prints online – the rest of this section’s for you.

The most expensive photograph ever sold is Andreas Gursky’s Reine II for $4.3 million. A long way off the hundreds of millions the world’s of most expensive paintings but still, quite good for a day’s work and a notable nod towards photography as a sound investment.

There are certain considerations to be made before buying original photographic prints. Editioning, paper types, c-type or giclée prints, the list goes on… thankfully The Telegraph put together a handy article on buying prints you’d be wise to read first.

Photography on Saatchi Art

After going through a bunch of photography sites I kept coming back to Saatchi Art’s photography section. I couldn’t find another site that matched it for the range of photography on show and quality of work.

There’s such a vibrant mix of emerging and established photographers with over 10,000 photographs for sale between them. Saatchi Art also makes it easy to sort by category, price, style and has some well curated photography collections too.

Leading photographers Edgar Martins, Laurent Elie Badessi and Ysabel LeMay rub shoulders with emerging photographers Miss Aniela, Dean West and Zena Holloway.

Add Saatchi Art’s fantastic customer service and it’s my top pick for buying photography online.

Best of the rest

For lower priced fine art photography by independent photographers Artfinder is worth a look. The German based company Lumas is one of my favourite sites for contemporary photography and, in typical German style, have some sleek framing options.

I’ve bought some William Wegman photographs from US based 20×200 and was more than happy with their service (just watch out for UK customs charges!).

Our Top 3 Photography Sites

1. Saatchi Art – Photography category
2. Lumas – Contemporary photography
3. Artfinder – Independent photographers

Phew, that wasn’t short! Hope you found it helpful in finding the best websites to buy original art online. If you did then you might like my equally long winded articles 10 Ways to Sell Art Online and my Best Sites to Buy Art Supplies guide.

Thanks for reading and I hope you find some art you want to live happily ever after with!

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