Where to find affordable, interesting art
A few ideas for finding your next great piece of art that won't break the bank
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Probably the number one question I get from people is “where do you find art?” I get it. It can feel impossible to find art that you want to look at every. single. day. that isn’t a huge investment. Of course there’s no shortage of dentist office art or classic college dorm art, but I promise you can find good art at reasonable prices.
When I’m shopping for myself (and honestly I’m never not shopping for art), I’m looking for either original paintings and drawings or genuinely unique posters and prints. I’ve found great bargains at thrift stores and on eBay, but it’s nice when someone does the curation for you.
So I’ve broken down my favorite online sources for buying art into a couple main buckets below, along with my picks from each source. Everything I’m linking below is available for sale at the time of this newsletter. So happy shopping!
As a note: affordable art means something different for everyone. The original paintings and drawings I’m linking below are under $300 and mostly under $200. And the posters and prints are generally under $50 (exception being numbered or limited edition prints which are worth more). See notes at the end for additional budget options. Artists deserve to be paid fairly for their work, so of course if you have the budget to invest in original art, please do!
Vintage art resellers, mostly in Europe
There is a whole category of Instagram accounts and websites run by Europeans who hit up flea markets or estate sales and resell amazing vintage paintings they’re buying locally. The downside to this is that you have to pay for shipping from Europe. But on the plus side, they’ve done the curating for you and whatever you buy is original and still relatively affordable. Here are two of my favorites:
Vintage Art Room: I almost don’t want to tell you about this one because it’s so good. Their tagline is “Affordable 20th Century Art from Scandinavia” which, yes please. Shipping is like $75 from Sweden and she posts new art every Thursday on their Instagram account.
Pile of Tat: One of the first European resellers I found, who also sells quirky homewares along with art. I found my favorite naked lady painting from her, below. Her email subscribers get first dibs at new stock.
Local artists
It can be tricky to find them online but this year I want to buy more art from local artists. Below are two San Francisco watercolor artists whose work I’ve purchased — Doug Gorney who sells online, and Andy Forrest, who has a shop near me. Both of them sell high quality prints for under $100 (in person, I couldn’t tell which were prints and which were originals). When you’re shopping for local art, I would avoid buying anything with international landmarks (ie the Golden Gate Bridge) and look for art that speaks to your local experience.
Creative original posters and graphic art
I have recently gotten into more modern/graphic art and posters. I think they make for a very fun contrast with traditional paintings or drawings. I especially love them for hallways, bathrooms, or kids rooms. Here are some of my current favorites:
Book/Shop in Oakland: They sell merch for book enthusiasts and I love their original posters that celebrate reading:
Christopher Niemann prints: He’s an illustrator and a graphic designer based in Berlin who has done several New Yorker covers. He sells letterpress and silkscreen prints that are incredibly playful — it’s hard to choose just a few. They’re more expensive than generic posters but they’re all limited edition, numbered prints:
Museum Posters
Buying museum shop posters doesn’t mean framing a poster of the Mona Lisa. They can be unique (and affordable) if you look for either prints of less popular works or the museum itself plays a more central role in the design. My favorites are from LACMA, the Louisiana Museum of Art in Denmark, and the Design Museum Denmark:
Bonus Categories
Here are a few more ideas if you’re still looking:
If you’re in the Bay Area, the annual White Elephant Sale has great original art and it’s where I’ve gotten the majority of my best paintings. The preview sale has sold out, but a limited number of tickets for February shopping days are still available here. Wear comfy shoes and be prepared to dig through stacks of art.
The Home section of Noihsaf Bazaar is hit or miss but can have some quirky finds.
I bought some prints from Block/Shop last year on sale and they are much more beautiful in person than I expected.
On a tighter budget? You can cut pages out of thrift store art books and frame them, or frame wrapping paper (my sister likes this one).
Juniper Print Shop lets you buy digital files and then print any size art you want, which is awesome if you want something extra large.
Have a slightly larger budget and want to know where to invest? I love Lost Art Salon which features 20th Century works from Bay Area artists. Their drawings and watercolors tend to be more affordable and they occasionally run sales.
Don’t forget to factor in framing. For nicer art, I’ve used Framebridge’s “Irvine Slim” frame. For a budget option, you can’t beat IKEA’s Ribba frame.
A final note: I only buy art that’s an immediate “yes.” I don’t grow to love “maybe” art more over time. And I never consider size or color if I find something perfect — if it’s a “yes,” I know I’ll find a place for it on my walls.
Am I missing any great sources for art? Let me know in the comments!
Just found your page and love it! We are looking for art for our new house so this comes at a perfect time!
HIGHLY recommend the Brimfield Antiques Flea Markets, held three times a year in beautiful central Massachusetts (a fact the author of this newsletter turned me on to first, hi Eliza!) It's truly a grab bag of stuff, but I've managed to get some lovely, unexpected pieces every time I've visited.