Collectors Pieces: The Best Places To Buy Art Online

You’ve been cooped up inside for over a year and you’ve finally cottoned on to the fact that your walls are a bit bare. Block colour is all well and good but you need something to break it up a bit – and artwork is the obvious solution.

But where do you look? Don’t fall into the trap of buying the first mass-produced canvas or print you see on the high street. Get yourself online and choose something unique from an up-and-coming or established artist that genuinely loves their craft.

Saatchi Art

Best For: Selection

Sebastian Merk, ‘Success’

First up, if you’re looking for a big selection then Saatchi is a good place to start. The Sloane Square-based gallery’s online presence is huge, selling over 3 million original artworks from hundreds of thousands of artists from across the world.

Its website boasts one of the best search functions you’ll find, making filtering through the vast collection easy and enjoyable. With that much choice and a mixture of household names and rising stars, you’re bound to find something that speaks to you.

saatchiart.com

Sotheby’s

Best For: One-Of-A-Kind Pieces

Mat Joseph, ‘On a Whim’

If you think a piece from Sotheby’s is out of your reach, think again. The famous auction house has plenty of achievable pieces as well as its outlandish online aspirational selection.

If it’s got ‘enquire’ next to it on the website it’s probably out of your price range but there’s plenty of options in the low thousands across multiple genres – whether you’re looking for a contemporary piece or something of a finer vintage.

sothebys.com

Surface View

Best For: Affordable Prints

‘Penrose Annual 60’ Art Prints

For the design- and illustration-minded, Surface View is a great option for striking prints and pieces that aren’t going to break the bank.

Sourcing pieces from a range of public institutions, including the V&A and New York Botanical Garden, there’s something for all tastes with most pieces offered in a variety of sizes to suit your space.

surfaceview.co.uk

Tate Shop

Best For: World-Renowned Artists

Henri Matisse, ‘Blue Nude II’

If it’s on in the Tate then it’s worth seeing – and if it’s worth seeing, it’s worthy of a spot on your walls. The art gallery gift shop is a great place to begin your collection and the Tate Shop offers the crème de la crème.

A quick glance brings up excellent pieces from masters new and old, with limited-edition prints from the likes of Kim Lim and Antony Cairns.

shop.tate.org.uk

King & McGraw

Best For: Iconic Framed Prints

Jean-Michel Basquiat, ‘Trumpet’

Beginning life in 1982 as a basement silkscreen printing operation, King & McGraw has grown into an art sales operation that deals in the finest pieces, creating products for the world’s leading artists, museums and galleries.

With the handy addition of framing, making the bane of art collecting much easier, there’s an array of pieces old and new from Matisse to Jean-Michel Basquiat, all tastefully presented and delivered without a fuss.

kingandmcgaw.com

Canopy Collections

Best For: New Collectors

Aethan Wills, ‘Wet Footsteps’

Selecting and selling artworks from international living artists, Canopy curates its collections seasonally, offering a new approach to discovering and buying contemporary art.

Operating at a sort of crossroads between art, design and lifestyle, it’s ideal for new art collectors to build up personal collections and explore what they like.

canopy-collections.com

Murus Art

Best For: Limited-Edition Prints

Dan Baldwin, ‘Love and Light’

For contemporary, limited-edition prints, Murus should be your first port of call. Featuring a mix of up-and-coming and established artists, each piece is original and affordable and the website has the perfect tools to help guide you towards the best prints for your tastes.

murus.art