The Best Places To Buy Affordable Art
Images: AINHOA MONTÁNCHEZ; ARTORIAL X LAURA STEPHENS; STUDIO HÁM
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The Best Places To Buy Affordable Art

Thanks to a new wave of art-focused online platforms, it’s never been easier to add a bit of flair and personality to your home. Whether you’re starting an art collection or are on the hunt for one or two key pieces to finish off a room, we’ve rounded up our favourite places to source and buy affordable art in London – plus, the online specialists to know.
By Heather Steele /
Images: AINHOA MONTÁNCHEZ; ARTORIAL X LAURA STEPHENS; STUDIO HÁM

All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products.

GLASSETTE ART KIOSK

IN LONDON

Modern Muse, Notting Hill

Best For Emerging Artists

Started by Harriet Mathias, Modern Muse is a west London arts consultancy that focuses on emerging and mid-career contemporary artists. While the team specialises in introducing collectors to new artists, they also sell to one-off buyers. Current names on their books include Molly Brockhurst, a figurative painter based in south London, and Diana Forbes, who works with acrylics, cardboard and collage.



Visit ModernMuseArt.com

Affordable Art Fair, Hampstead Heath

Best For Choice

The Affordable Art Fair pops up in London twice a year, showcasing the best in contemporary art at prices ranging from £50 to £7,500. The event offers the chance to snap up a big name, with works by the likes of Damien Hirst and Quentin Blake for sale alongside pieces from a host of exciting emerging artists. Visitors can enjoy a range of bars, cafés and food trucks, with music, art and drinks until 9pm, and a family hour on the weekend. The next event will take place on 19th-22nd October at Battersea Park. 

Visit AffordableArtFair.com

RAW Editions, Clapham

Best For Bigger Budgets

RAW Editions is a private gallery with expertise in post-war and contemporary editions. The team’s eclectic online collection celebrates the qualities of print media and their raw materials: paper, ink, wood, copper and acid. RAW Editions was founded by Tanya Grigoroglou and Rupert Worrall in 2017. Together, they aim to create an interactive and honest experience to help collectors discover special editions. As well as selling art by big names – think Paula Rego and Tracy Emin – some of the artwork is around the £4,000-5,000 mark (such as those by David Shrigley), making this a good stop for those with a little more to spend.

Visit RawEditions.com

LIBERTY; BLUE SHOP COTTAGE

The Royal Academy, Piccadilly

Best For Affordable Repros

You just need to have an espresso or glass of something chilled in Jose Pizarro’s Poster Bar at the RA to be inspired to add some framed exhibition posters to your walls. We suggest taking a look at one of the RA’s exhibitions before browsing its two shops, where past and current posters and reproduction postcards and prints of famous artworks are available to by. Simply add a frame and you’ve got a ready-made masterpiece on the cheap. We also love the huge shop in the Tate Modern for a similar shopping experience. Right now, hits from the annual Summer Exhibition are available to buy here – and there’s an under £250 category.

Visit Shop.RoyalAcademy.org.uk

Liberty, West End

Best For One-Offs

It’s no secret that Liberty is a treasure trove for homeware and gifts, but we’re also fans of its art department. As well as a large collection of reprinted archive Liberty posters and prints – which would look lovely in any bedroom – the team sells one-off original artworks. Right now, the shop is selling colourful food-focused works by Amyisla McCrombie, kitchen-worthy cocktail prints by Elin PK and large-scale paintings by both Miranda Boulton and Naomi Munuo.

Visit LibertyLondon.com

Blue Shop Cottage, Camberwell

Best For A Gallery Experience

In 2016, Ocki Magill found and renovated a derelict shop in Camberwell and named the building Blue Shop Cottage. The building initially opened with a programme of arts and music events which organically grew into a gallery and central hub for arts and the community. Now, Blue Shop Cottage is a thriving space showing original artwork by new and mid-career artists. Focused on original works by leading emerging artists, the works are available to browse and shop online for under £500.

Visit BlueShopCottage.com

PARTNERSHIP EDITIONS

ONLINE

Studio HÁM

Best For Paintings

Studio HÁM is the home store designed and curated by the team behind HÁM interiors. The family business, which is based in Oxfordshire, also creates one-off custom pieces of furniture and sources and sells artwork, decorative antiques and homeware through its Found by HÁM arm. Available to buy online, the current selection of artwork starts at £180 for a painting and goes up to £3,250 for a huge still life.

Visit StudioHam.co.uk

Art Kiosk at Glassette

Best For Original Pieces

Glassette is an interiors marketplace set up in 2021 by food writer, presenter and HOSTE founder Laura Jackson. The website is a one-stop shop for the home, curating and selling homeware from top independent makers in the UK. Earlier this year, the team launched Art Kiosk, where Glassette commissions some of the UK's best artists to create ‘curious and creative’ original pieces at an affordable price point. Expect an expansive edit of ceramics, paintings and drawings, starting from £80.



Visit Glassette.com

Partnership Editions

Best For New Drops

Partnership Editions was founded by Georgia Spray in 2017 and aims to make art accessible to all. The team works collaboratively with some of today's most exciting emerging artists, curating prints and originals from just £60. These are available to buy as part of eight ‘drops’ of original artworks per year, which could include artist debut collections and limited-edition print collections. As well as its online offering, the team has an active events programme, showcasing its art via pop-ups, exhibitions and brand collaborations so buyers can see the artwork in person.

Visit PartnershipEditions.com

PARTNERSHIP EDITIONS

Artorial

Best For Price

Artorial was established by interior designer Jo Sampson and fashion designer Jenny Crosbie. The pair create art collections with a fresh attitude – all relevant to modern interiors, responsive to current lifestyle themes, thoughtfully scaled in standard sizes and offered at accessible prices. Its current artist in residence is founder Jo, who has created a 24-piece collection – expect a bold, expressive artistry showcasing her creative range. Pieces start at £29.

Visit Artorial.Art

King & McGaw

Best For Framed Prints

Since the 80s, when the company began life in a basement flat in Brighton, King & McGaw has been the place to go to for reproduction prints of fine-art classics. Currently sponsors of the Turner Prize, these days the store is online and sells everything from repro Rothkos to affordable prints by modern-day artists like Faye Bridgewater and Isabelle Carr. Best of all, customers can choose frame colours and finishes, plus mount and image sizes sizes, for an at-home piece of art that looks and feels bespoke. The website is easy to use – you can search by artist, style or category – i.e. floral, fashion and food and drink – to suit their tastes and spaces.

Visit KingAndMcGaw.com

Canopy Collections

Best For Supporting Artists

Founded in 2020, Canopy Collections is a contemporary art platform that operates online and through physical exhibitions. Its mission is to offer a new approach to discovering and buying contemporary art – in part by using Art Money, a 0% interest scheme that allows customers to pay over ten monthly instalments. Aiming to be transparent and accessible, the team wants to support living artists at all stages of their career and make their work accessible to a new audience of art lovers. One of our favourite clients is Celeste, a Mexico-based artist who exhibited in London through the platform earlier this year. Her abstract work begins from £850.

Visit Canopy-Collections.com

Petri Prints

Best For Antiques

Petri Prints is a small, family-run wall art business, offering bespoke commissions and made-to-order reprint collections inspired primarily by science, food history and nature. Its antique prints are mostly 18th- and 19th-century sourced from all over the world, before being hand-framed and ready to hang. On the more affordable end, its made-to-order reprint collections originate from antiques sourced by Petri Prints and are hand-framed in England with Artglass. Each artwork is printed on specialist Hahnemühle fine art paper and prints are hand framed to order and dispatched in three weeks.

Visit PetriPrints.com

SOTA Marketplace

Best For An Ethical Choice

SOTA Marketplace is an affordable online gallery created by entrepreneur, curator and artist Emma Lang and its sole purpose is to democratise art by providing a fair and trustworthy platform for artists to sell their work and by selling genuinely affordable art. SOTA only charges 8% commission on the purchase of a piece, which allows artists to sell their work at more reasonable price points compared to traditional art galleries. The team sells everything from prints, photographs, paintings and sculptures to illustrations and textiles.

Visit SOTAMarketplace.co

STUDIO HÁM

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