Our home is our safe haven, a hiding place away from the craziness of the outside world (especially of late). Or at least that’s the way it should be. That’s why we build it in our image, in a way that reflects our personal taste, style and atmosphere we need it to provide, whether it’s one of calmness or joy. And that extends to our walls too.
But when it comes to dressing our walls, it’s often more complicated than choosing something like a dining table or a vase. A piece of art is charged with emotion portrayed by the artist and at the same time, it always makes us feel a certain way too.
After all, one of the definitions of art is ‘a creation meant to communicate or appeal to senses or mind’.
Most people don’t know where to start when choosing their art – where to go and where to turn to with the overwhelming amount available on the market. And then there is the financial aspect, as art is infamously expensive.
But we are here to tell you that a great artwork doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg as long as you know where to look. Bearing that in mind, let us introduce you to 10 of the best online destinations where you can find affordable art, whatever your budget.
1. Paper Collective
Based in the centre of top-of-the-class design and taste that is the city of Copenhagen, Paper Collective offers contemporary art prints for as little as €18, with most works hitting the €40 mark.
Founded in 2013, the company is all about making art available and affordable for everyone, championing the #artforall hashtag on its Instagram page.
Delivering all across the globe, Paper Collective handpicks a selection of artworks from artists with varied styles and backgrounds – be it Amelie Hegardt’s soft paintings of women, exploring beauty, power and seduction or Berenice Hernadez’s vibrant and colourful works influenced by her home country of Mexico.
This is also the perfect place to turn to if you are looking for sustainable art. All paper and timber used is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and a percentage of every sale is donated to a good cause.
The latest is World Wide Fund for Nature’s Waste to Value program fighting plastic waste in Kenya.
IG: @papercollective
2. Drool Art
Drool was born in 2018 out of its founder’s frustration at the lack of support and representation of emerging artists. A graphic designer by trade, Alex Liepman set out to create a destination where underrepresented contemporary talent could gain the exposure it needed. And that’s exactly what Drool Art is, offering an alternative and modern way to shop for art.
Alex scours the world for young artists and stocks their bold prints and posters, ranging from £20 to £495, with artists receiving fair commissions.
Delivering globally, Drool also takes it upon itself to print and send off every sale, partnering with the highest-quality print labs around the world.
Orders are printed in the nearest lab to you for higher efficiency and lower carbon footprint. All printed on FSC-certified paper using water-based inks.
Knowing that picking the right art for yourself is no small feat, the site offers a helping hand in the form of a quiz to narrow down the wide selection of its offering, with the option to receive regular updates on works in line with your taste from the founder himself.
IG: @drool_art
3. Print Club London
East London-based Print Club London is an online gallery with an artwork for every budget. The site’s offering is divided into two categories – affordable limited-edition art prints for as little as £30 and one-off original paintings starting at £100, all by some of UK’s best contemporary artists, illustrators and graphic designers.
Every art print is produced by hand in Print Club’s studios by the artists themselves. Using a screen-printing technique, the process utilises a vintage printing press and high-pigment water-based inks.
You can see this process for yourself on Print Club’s website, documenting every step in a beautiful fashion which is so satisfying to watch as paint is poured and evenly spread onto the traditional press.
Purchases of many of these works directly support charitable organisations, the latest example being the Choose Love collection.
Inspired by the same famous slogan of fashion designer Katharine Hamnett, the collection is created by several artists, all bearing these words and with all proceeds going to the non-profit organisation of the same name supporting refugees around the world.
IG: @printclublondon
4. The Poster Club
Another Copenhagen-based studio making it onto our list is The Poster Club. And given the amount of good style and design that comes out of the Danish capital on a regular basis, we are not surprised.
The Poster Club is very much influenced by its Scandinavian roots and culture surrounding it, while also drawing inspiration from interior design and fashion. And that’s very much evident in its imagery, as well as the handpicked art prints by various artists, starting from €43 a piece.
Some of the site’s bestsellers include Sofia Lind’s enchanting female paintings and botanical graphics by Linnéa Andersson.
The Poster Club is very much aware that choosing art and filling your walls with it can be a daunting task. That is why it curates its art walls, showing photos of some of the studio’s art grouped harmoniously together in a home.
You can purchase the entire art wall or you can just use it as reference and inspiration. That also goes for the journal section of the website where you can read about art, how to collect it, decorate with it and take care of it.
IG: @theposterclub
5. 20×200
20×200 is a New York City-based site with a wide offering of digitally printed art prints, charging as little as $35 for a piece. Priding itself on its high-level printing comparable to gallery quality, 20×200 is all about making art available to everybody as its founder Jen Bekman believes everyone can and should collect art.
The store partners with many contemporary artists and photographers who create limited-edition prints, sold exclusively at 20×200. Some of its most popular prints, however, are vintage.
The team behind 20×200 thoroughly searches through archives of museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, libraries and even NASA to come up with a selection of images to be reworked and integrated into its offering. These include both well-known iconic shots and never-before-seen snaps.
IG: @20×200
6. PSTR Studio
Hailing from the Netherlands but delivering worldwide is PSTR Studio. Founded in 2019 by two former product designers, the online store is home to curated art prints from a variety of contemporary artists in a range of sizes, as well as some fine art classics like Wassily Kandinsky or Claude Monet, starting at €45.
Using the giclée printing method which utilises pigment-based inks, resulting in the sharpest detail and highest resolution, this process captures every possible shade of the original artwork onto sustainable FSC-certified fine art paper.
PSTR Studio gives both emerging and established artists a platform to get their name and art out there, as well as make their art accessible to the wider public.
Thanks to this site, we can marvel at the charm of Madelen Möllard’s Poppies or Maliv’s sensual prints.
IG: @pstr.studio
7. Affordable Art Fair
It’s in the name when it comes to the Affordable Art Fair. What started as a single art fair in London’s Battersea in 1999 is now a full-rounded international operation. But still with the same objective – to democratise art and make it accessible to everyone.
That is why you can find pieces for as little as £40 and as much as £6000.
You can now purchase these on the organisation’s website but that doesn’t mean that the days of physical Affordable Art Fairs are over. On the contrary. Popping up everywhere around the world, the fairs resume this March, commencing where it all started in Battersea before moving onto Melbourne, Brussels and New York. And that’s just in the month of March.
So if you’re near, make sure to check it out because it’s not an event to be missed, featuring performances, talks, workshops, live music and food.
8. King & McGaw
If the classics of modern art like Andy Warhol or Mark Rothko are your jam, then head over to King & McGaw and have your pick. Based in East Sussex, the printers are a destination for high-quality and affordable fine art prints, with prices starting at £20 for unframed artworks and £65 for prints in bespoke handmade frames.
Since its beginnings in 1982, it’s trusted by museums, galleries and artists alike, including the National Gallery, Tate and the V&A, as well as regular customers.
In addition to the icons, the site offers a selection of prints from contemporary painters, illustrators and graphic designers, creating modern art to dress your walls.
United by a shared passion for fine art, King & McGaw is making it their mission to preserve it for posterity. They conserve rare pieces, represent emerging artists, and finance exciting creative bursaries.
IG: @kingandmcgaw
9. AucArt
Affordable means something slightly different to everyone, most probably depending on one’s financial situation. And given that art is notorious for its high price tags which can go into thousands of pounds, an original artwork for £150 or £200 is not half bad. And that’s exactly what you can find at AucArt.
Known for championing next-generation artists and supporting them early on in their careers, the online gallery offers customers the opportunity to purchase artworks directly from the rising stars of the art world.
This way, you can find out about on-the-rise artists before anyone else and acquire an early work from the next Picasso, right before they become an established name and their prices start to skyrocket.
Besides this, the site also offers consultation services to help you along the way of selecting your art and even provides art for hire for various time durations.
IG: @auc.art
10. Spacey Studios
Similarly to AucArt, Spacey Studios requires a higher investment than the previous destinations on our list. Compared to much of the art on the market, however, the prices are still much lower, starting at $195 for a piece which is an affordable price when it comes to fine art.
Spacey Studios is the first direct-to-consumer fine art seller. Based out of New York, the company selects a roster of emerging artists who are gaining attention and recognition, some of which have even won awards.
By bypassing the need for agents, galleries, framers and more (as everything is done in-house), Spacey Studios is able to sell the artists’ work for a fraction of the usual price, while maintaining museum-level quality.
All materials are archival- and professional-grade so that it lasts for hundreds of years without deteriorating and every artwork arrives framed with a certificate of authenticity. And if you can’t quite find what you’re looking for among the hundreds of works available, Spacey Studios offers a commission service so that you can have an artwork made specially for you by one of the residence artists.
IG: @spaceystudios
