Where to buy paintings or photographs as wall decor?

October 11, 2016 5:47 PM

I'm looking to decorate some of the empty white walls in our house, and I've been to places like Pier 1, Home Goods, Target, etc. looking for some paintings or photographs to hang. Nothing has really caught my eye so I'm wondering if there isn't some online source (or even other stores) that sell affordable art. I'm mostly looking for landscapes or nature but open to considering a wide variety of subjects. Thanks for any ideas!
posted by madonna of the unloved to Shopping (18 answers total)

This can be really dependent on your budget. You can find some nice pieces, and some large pieces of art at Ikea. They're pretty decent for the price. But for those who shop there, they may be obviously "Ikea." There's a restaurant I go to, and I can tell they furnished using Ikea fixtures and artwork. Not a bad thing, but just ... noticable.

Or if you want to go higher end, take a look at Art.com.

If you have a lot of time to browse, you can try etsy.com.

I saw some art the last time I was at Bed Bath and Beyond, too.
posted by hydra77 at 5:56 PM on October 11, 2016

The Minnesota Historical Society sells prints from their archives as does the Hennepin County Library. I love having historical photos around.
posted by advicepig at 5:57 PM on October 11, 2016 [3 favorites]

There are quite a few groups on FaceBook dedicated to selling original art. The quality & prices vary greatly, but I've seen some amazing things at great prices.

These are a few I watch:
Auctions with Stephanie Gagos (tends to mainly be paintings of women)
Creative Spirit Marketplace (Self-link - I'm one of the admins for this group)
Heartful Soul Artist Collective Monthly Auctions (different themes each month)
posted by belladonna at 6:23 PM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

I just bought a slew of California boardwalk/beaches from etsy. They were even available as a canvas option. I was very pleased plus it supported the average artist.
posted by stormpooper at 6:26 PM on October 11, 2016

Where I live we have the equivalent of what you might call a Community College, that has students working towards a 'Visual Arts' degree. These students create some seriously amazing art in many different mediums. It's done as coursework but once it's been displayed and evaluated, it's theirs to do what they want with (this may differ from course to course) and many of them sell their pieces to interested parties. You get one of a kind art for a great price - not in the sense you are taking advantage of their naivety etc. and lowballing them - just that they are working at establishing themselves and as such will usually price things accordingly. If you have a local college or 'Visual Arts' programme you could possibly visit one of their pop up galleries to check out their work.
posted by BeeJiddy at 6:29 PM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've bought a few prints from Curioos and enjoyed the results. That said, I always make time to visit my local Open Studio weekend for art.
posted by cobaltnine at 6:33 PM on October 11, 2016

Overstock
Society6
World Market
posted by erst at 6:54 PM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

You can buy prints from the Library of Congress.

Their picture catalogs are huge and varied, and there's a lot of stuff to love, including landscapes, historical photos, and, most importantly, pictures of scantily clad old-timey strongmen.
posted by ernielundquist at 7:11 PM on October 11, 2016 [7 favorites]

It might depend on what you consider "affordable", but I should think there would be a ton of "arts fairs" or "crafts fairs" in your general area (northern CA/Bay Area.) Not sure if this is quite the season for them there - in my neck of the woods (Ohio) this would be a bit of a down time for these events. They're heavy in the spring & summer and then tend to wind down until closer to Xmas.

There's also things like First Fridays Art Walk, where a bunch of galleries in the same few blocks all stay open late and serve snacks & drinks. I'm sure there are similar events in other towns nearby.
posted by soundguy99 at 7:47 PM on October 11, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've bought from Fine Art America which includes your famous European masters, but also contemporary less known artists. I like being able to get art that doesn't look like every other piece of art at Ikea/Winners/TJMaxx/Pier1 etc. but also isn't famous stuff. You can get prints on canvas, which look very nice, though they're not actually paintings, obviously, it looks more "real" than a paper print.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:51 PM on October 11, 2016

All your usual sources of second-hand merchandise can be good places to keep your eye open for affordable artwork (nicely framed prints and originals): thrift stores, flea markets, antique stores, craigslist, estate sales... this approach takes some patience because you never know what you're going to find, and many days its "nothing", but it may also lead you to pieces that you would have never even thought to look for.
posted by drlith at 9:28 PM on October 11, 2016

You might find this question from last year helpful.
posted by ellieBOA at 10:01 PM on October 11, 2016

Well there's Posters.com, which should cover any subject matter you desire.
posted by vignettist at 10:12 PM on October 11, 2016

Big-name museums have online gift shops. The met, the smithsonian, etc. Also peruse Etsy.
posted by pintapicasso at 5:17 AM on October 12, 2016 [1 favorite]

Frame shops almost always have a wide variety of prints and photographs (that need frames, of course) for sale.
posted by Dolley at 6:39 AM on October 12, 2016

500px.com sells photography by members (full disclosure: I'm a member, or I used to be anyway) and while they don't seem to sell prints anymore, you can buy and download hi res images and then get them printed elsewhere. There are tons of online printing services that can then print them on wood or metal or canvas or just plain old paper at different sizes. Or you can pop them on a disc or thumb drive and take them down to the local drugstore or target because they also have lots of fun printing options these days.
posted by mygothlaundry at 9:14 AM on October 12, 2016

If you have a camera or a phone that takes hi-res photos (and you probably do), just get canvas prints of your own photo. FedEx has discounts on this.
posted by bendy at 9:48 PM on October 12, 2016

College art department, community college or however you may have to hunt a bit but it's fun to look.
posted by ibakecake at 6:38 PM on October 14, 2016