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Isn’t it sad when bad art happens to good apartments? Granted, finding out where to buy the best wall art that doesn’t look like it rolled out of a bougie SoHo dentist’s office is easier said than done. There are endless options out there when it comes to navigating the world of prints, reproductions, tapestries, and that limited-edition Herman Miller poster you keep seeing on your Instagram discover page. Luckily, we’re here to save you from the plight of blank walls, boring walls, or, worst of all, another day of dining under your dud of a roommate’s Pink Floyd back catalogue poster.
The Best Places to Buy Wall Art, According to GQ
What makes for great wall art might be objective, but there are some things to keep in mind that can help steer even the biggest decorating novices towards chic, investment-worthy pieces. For one, avoid balling out on unframed canvas prints, cliché cityscape photography, and aspirational word art. Not to yuck anyone’s yum, but the best way to truly live, laugh, and love is to take some time to investigate your own design tastes, and to sniff out the online retailers that are fastidiously catering to them with unique pieces.
Want to feel like you live in a European Luca Guadagnino movie set? Buy an old masters style painting on 1stDibs for a couple hundred clams. Can’t swing a trip to Japan just yet? Head to PSTR Studio for an Edo-period woodblock print reproduction. And if you truly don’t know what you need to feel from your wall art, there’s always this soul-searching, Margaret Keane-adjacent cowgirl on Saatchi Art to keep you on your toes.
Whether you’re a minimalist, maximalist, or creatively agnostic, consider the following a cheat sheet for the best places to buy wall art for all budgets and tastes, from the purveyors of sapphic O'Keeffe prints to the sites that are helping some of the coolest contemporary artists flourish.
Society6
Best for: You want to support indie artists and shop on a budget.
Society6 has something for everyone, from the Rae Dunn wine moms to the asshole discerning cultural aesthete who can’t stop thinking about the time Werner Herzog ate a shoe. It has a Discover Black Artists category where you can find prints of photographs by artists such as Aaron Ricketts and plenty of snapshots that will make you nostalgic for that summer you spent in Joshua Tree. And, out of all the sites on our cheat sheet, Society6 is one of the absolute fastest when it comes to shipping.
Etsy
Best for: Vintage mid-century modern art that might take a while to ship but is truly one-of-a-kind.
Ah, Etsy. There’s nothing you can’t do. In addition to offering psychic readings from witches and sick, hand-embroidered cardigans, Etsy is filled with more wall art than the human brain can comprehend. We say make a B-line for the MCM offerings on the site, especially when it comes to vintage tufted wall hangings and wooden sculptures that will add some texture to your space. Shipping can usually take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on where your dream piece is coming from, but it’s always worth it.
Saatchi Art
Best for: Those looking to take their first serious steps in collecting original artworks from emerging talent.
If you’re shopping at Saatchi Art, you have probably taken a date (or two) to NYC’s David Zwirner gallery and were the first person in your friend group to point out Drake’s use of James Turrell’s work in “Hotline Bling.” Saatchi Art offers not only original works by exciting contemporary artists, such as this haunting cowgirl by Catherine Denvir, but also a more price-accessible selection of prints.
Urban Outfitters
Best for: Affordable art and photography prints to boost your serotonin.
The devil works hard, but Urban Outfitters works harder when it comes to churning out affordable, on-trend wall art. Scroll past the blob-shaped mirrors and embroidered cottage-core tapestries, and you can find some surprisingly sophisticated framed prints of black and white photographs and even the occasional PSTR Studio print. Seriously, though, not all wall art has to cost the price of your rent—and UO helps make that possible.
Goodee
Best for: Art from a Black-owned marketplace.
Goodee is one of our favorite Black-owned businesses and a vast resource for decor, home goods, apparel, and more items sourced from artists, creators, and vendors worldwide. It’s easy to get lost in the site’s array of colorful, hand-woven bicycle baskets and sculptural pots and planters, but today we’re throwing down for its unforgettable wall art, which includes everything from three-dimensional light sculptures like the above Tinja bird piece, to a Jean-Michel Basquiat-inspired skateboard piece that belongs in every Dimes Square skater bro’s Lower East Side apartment. Honestly, you never know what you’ll find here, but it will always be effortlessly cool.
Minted
Best for: Prints to give as housewarming gifts and pet portrait painting commissions.
Minted kind of feels like the Paper Source of wall art sites because it has excellent wedding and stationary offerings, but Minted also offers a selection of prints from thousands of artists around the world, as well as original paintings, macrame art, and photographs. Minted will also hold your hand through the art selection process with its categories, which include abstract, landscape, botanical, portraits, and more, but we’re most excited about the site’s new commissioned art section—it’s where you can finally give your partner a painting of the pet that she loves more than you.
Art Finder
Best for: Buying original artworks from around the world directly from the artists.
Art Finder brings a “It’s a Small World” vibe that we appreciate. The site features a global selection of artists in an eclectic array of categories, from collage and printmaking to painting and photography. The art is also categorized by budget and offers shoppers a crash course in artistic aesthetics under its “Inspiration” tab. Whether you want an abstract grunge collage for the foyer or a folk art-esque waterfront painting, Art Finder has you covered.
Design Within Reach
Best for: Mid-century modern brand poster reprints from the archives and limited-edition photographic prints.
Another titan of mid-century modern design, Design Within Reach—or, DRW, as our lower back tattoo reads—carries an impressive selection of over one-hundred (mostly) MCM-inspired furniture and decor brands, including HAY’s Scandi patio furniture, Breuer’s Cesca chairs, Vitra’s Eames Elephant, and more. The site’s wall art section is filled with designer poster reproductions that are perfect for the graphic designer in your life and moodier limited-edition photography prints by artists such as Cas Friese.
Wall of Art
Best for: Prints and posters by contemporary artists who love minimalism, Modernism, and gauzy abstract paintings.
Wall of Art’s prints and posters were made to bedeck the walls of your favorite natural wine bar, ceramics boutique, and that corner of your home that could use an abstract print that captures the warmth of a Copenhagen sunset or the splendor of a dinner scene (see above) that reminds you of that one long-weekend trip to Paris. Peruse the site with styles such as Scandinavian minimalism, Realism, typography, and black-and-white photography, or start your journey by selecting your frame first or browsing through the site’s catalog of artists.
1stDibs
Best for: One-of-a-kind paintings, prints, and antiques.
In the words of Dakota Johnson in her Architectural Digest home video tour, “I f*cking love 1stDibs.” Same. 1stDibs has a reputation as a luxury auction house that offers everything from vintage YSL jewelry to 19th century, museum-quality chairs made out of horns, and you best believe there is plenty of iconic art in there as well, whether you’re shopping for a rare Dalí print to prove to your date that you’re absolutely over your mommy issues or a French old masters style painting that will make your apartment feel like a little slice of Paris’ Marais quarter.
PSTR Studio
Best for: Exhibition prints and posters from established and emerging artists.
Listen, the Nordic commitment to great design never quits. The Netherlands-based PSTR Studio curates a vast collection of prints and posters from new and well-established artists such as Paul Klee, Hilma Af Klint, William Morris, and others, but it’s the site’s graphic woodblock print reproductions from artists such as Enikő Eged, above, that are begging to be basked in the glow of our sunrise alarm clock. Finally, if you’re unsure how to flesh out a statement wall, PSTR Studio will even walk you through how to create gallery walls with specific selections of art from the site. There’s a 20% off sale with the code SPRING right now, so hop on it.
Upton
Best for: Original tapestries, prints on canvas, and prints on paper.
The coolest and most enigmatic person you know—aka, that polyamorous artist who lives in Topanga Canyon and throws the occasional sandal-making workshop—owns a piece from Upton. The SoCal-based, husband-and-wife-run design studio creates beautiful art and objects for the home and has a special talent for churning out bold prints on cotton canvas that Matisse would have loved during his cut-out era. Come for the textured wall art, and maybe even leave with one of its Bauhaus-pilled wine racks.
Abigail Bell
Best for: Early 20th-century art prints and original vintage photographs.
Let Abigail Bell outfit your life with good aesthetic choices because the site offers not only new and vintage art prints and photographs but also home goods, clothing, and accessories. We’re here to focus on the best wall art, of course, and Ms. Abby absolutely delivers on 20th-century oil still life prints by modernist and Fauvist artists. The collections also span everything from sensual, one-of-a-kind photographs by artists like Karen Costanzo to a patchwork quilt print that feels both uncannily intimate and grounding.
Best for: Functional Danish design goods that double as wall art.
Hay is kind of like if Ikea had a posh yet humble cousin with a better-paying job. The Scandinavian design house specializes in making versatile indoor and outdoor furniture ripe for color blocking, home gadgets, and decor. Plenty of lighting fixtures double as wall art, including a Dan Flavin-esque neon tube to nonchalantly lean against a wall and the brand’s iconic, pleated Matin Wall Sconce that will turn any wall into a party.
Herman Miller
Best for: Framed poster reproductions that pay homage to the brand’s iconic mid-century modern furniture and decor.
Whether you own an Eames lounge chair alternative or one of the original leather and rosewood thrones from 1965, mid-century modern furniture devotees consider Herman Miller hallowed ground. In addition to carrying MCM furniture and decor, it also has a vast wall decor and art section with framed posters from some of the retailer’s most memorable collections and launches. There are plenty of bold graphic poster reproductions for brightening up your space and some three-dimensional hanging pieces to bring more depth and interest to your walls.
MoMA Design Store
Best for: Rare MoMA exhibition posters, reprints, and high-quality reproductions of legendary modern artists’ works.
The best part of every museum is its gift shop, and one of the best parts of MoMA’s gift shop—sorry, design store—is its wealth of iconic exhibition posters reprints. This is where we go for the classics, folks, whether you need a sapphic O’Keeffe painting reproduction that is laminated, mounted, and floated in a wood frame for you to Uhaul with your lesbian crush this summer or a rare poster from Kerry James Marshall’s 2016 exhibit that comes framed with 99.9% UV acrylic glazing to protect from sun damage. It’s MoMA, after all. You’re in good hands.
Desenio
Best for: Browsing for classic and new artist prints by genre and need, from botanical prints to pieces that look good in the kitchen.
Desenio might sound like the name of a new celebrity vodka brand, but it’s a powerhouse marketplace for all kinds of art and budgets. Sure, there are plenty of corny pieces on the site, but the ability to browse by over two dozen categories broken down into not only aesthetics but needs—think, kitchen art, kids posters, and more—makes it so helpful for new collectors. A Mother’s Day sale is also popping off right now, so explore all your options while prints are 40% off.
Chairish
Best for: It's the same as 1stDibs, honestly. Come for vintage and pre-owned prints, paintings, and sculptures.
Chairish is similar to 1stDibs in that it’s an online marketplace for antiques, pre-owned designer furniture, decor, and art. The site’s offerings are organized by categories, such as paintings, prints, photography, installation, sculpture, and even wallpaper. You can find everything from trompe l’oeil still lifes for the kitchen to an original 1980s David Hockney exhibition poster.
Room & Board
Best for: Big, framed vintage maps and limited-edition prints and silkscreens.
An American institution, Room & Board is where all those attractive and well-adjusted people with Cloud sofas from Restoration Hardware go to find a salvaged 1950s French map for their study. The brand is most known for its Modern and contemporary furniture, but you can also explore its many prints, silkscreens, limited edition artist commissions, photography, and vintage art and wall decor.