Deck the Halls (with Art!)

Sometimes it’s just plain easier to search for art online from the comfort of your own home than to go driving all over town. So, here is a quick guide to buying art online.

Before we get started, another great option is to find your nearest fine art show and go check it out. There are usually around 200 artists in attendance and you might just find a real quality piece of work that you can be proud of.

Oil Painting

Are you a big fan of Vincent Van Gogh, but don’t quite have $50 million to pick up an original? No problem, you can stop by OilPaintingsGallery.com and pick up a copy for a little over $100.

Now it’s basically going to be about the average quality of a talented high school artist, but think of what you can do with the extra $49,999,900! OceansBridge.com also offers knock offs, for slightly higher prices. It may be that their quality is a little higher, though I’m sure there is quite a bit of variability in every reproduction regardless of the vendor.

As a footnote, these reproductions mainly come from China where, according to Forbes Magazine,

“at least 30,000 painters earning $100 to $150 a week work in ‘oil painting villages’…”.

If you are a serious art lover you may not be satisfied with the quality of the work, but if you are just looking for something nice to hang on a wall one of these might do.

Photography

If you’re a fan of fine photography, check Lumas.com which offers selections from both well known and up and coming artists. Autographed and numbered limited edition prints can be found for $300 and up.

Popular Sites

Ebay is the largest art site on the web, believe it or not, with over 200,000 auctions going at any given time. Because there is a lot of junk on there, I recommend starting with the Self Representing Artists area. One important thing to look for is the seller’s feedback rating. If they’ve got a rating of at least 25 with 100% positives they are probably less of a risk. You can also click on the seller’s rating and read comments from previous customers which often helps with the decision process.

BoundlessGallery.com offers works from 4800+ artists in a wide range of categories. The site is well organized, easy to navigate and has a broad price range. They also offer a 7 day money back guarantee.

That’s all for now, but if you know of other sites that have a large collection, e-commerce capability and high quality please feel free to post a link in the comments.