The best places to buy art prints in Sydney

Kicking off out the back of a van, this pop culture stalwart has been in the business for two decades now, graduating to its beloved bricks and mortar home in Newtown. A firm favourite with students, their main game is in reproduced film posters, some of which display astounding graphic design. It’s not just uni folks who love perusing the buckets of must-hang art here though. And it’s not just about films either. Blue Dog is also a huge supporter of Australian artists, specialises in Japanese art prints, and also has a great range of prints for kids too.

A really cool way to liven up bare walls is to support the work of First Nations artists. This Penrith gallery is owned and run by a First Nations family and shows the work of a brilliant array of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island artists. Even better, they have a print on demand service where you can supply the dimensions you’re after, take a look at the works on show and then pick one to be tailor made for your space, printed on either cotton art rag paper or canvas. You can opt to have it framed too, nabbing you a nice 20 per cent discount.

This North Shore spot in Crows Nest is a supported studio that works with artists with intellectual disabilities, helping guide their professional practice and achieve their artistic and economic aspirations. They’re all about smashing stigma, and focusing on the fact that these are incredible artists who should be hanging on your wall. You can buy original art here or opt for limited edition prints, as well as graphic novels, zines, jewellery, face masks and more.

We’ve lost many an hour perusing the gorgeous goodies assembled in Art Gallery NSW’s gift shop. It just so happens that this is one of the most affordable ways to hang a masterpiece over your mantelpiece. Can’t afford a Brett Whitely? Sure you can, when it comes in at under thirty bucks. Every year the Archibald Prize finalists pop up in print form here, so you can always nab stunning likenesses of famous Australians, as captured by famous Australian artists. Gallery members get 10 per cent off, and shipping’s pretty affordable too.

Australia’s longest running artist-led organisation has been a champion of emerging and experimental artists since 1986. As well as showcasing new work in their gallery, they occasionally create limited edition prints of really cool, more affordable art you can snap up too. In particular, we love their classic prints harking back to their fundraising collaboration with Big Fag Press, because who doesn’t love some LGBTIQA+ creativity.

This cultural gem glittering in the Rocks is packed full of awesome gift ideas from jewellery, to homewares, to art books. It also has a small but perfectly formed rang of limited edition prints generally attached to the current blockbuster exhibitions. They tend to be at the pricier end of the range, but with strong emphasis on limited, if you do indulge, you’ll walk away knowing that you’ll be one of a v small group of lucky folks who have a piece from a superstar artist like Lindy Lee hanging on your wall.

The number one destination for stationery nerds in Newtown is chock full of colourful, creative options for design lovers, including those fond of notebooks decorated with cats in space suits and cute pencil sets. They also have a fabulous range of wrapping paper that could quite easily be rigged up as a super-affordable way to achieve framed artwork. Or, you know, you can opt for the actual range of prints they also sell.

This two-storey Aladdin’s cave of design goodies in Paddington (and its Newtown outpost) is a family-run business that has been around in one shopfront or other since the swinging ‘60s. The range is almost overwhelming, so be prepared to put aside at least an hour or two to explore. We highly recommend making a beeline to the art prints, which handily offer something for almost every budget. Or if you really want to rein in the spend-a-thon this joint positively encourages, you can cheat sheet it by checking out their vast postcard and gift card ranges too, plenty of which are little masterpieces.

Peach Black Gallery was founded in 2019 by visual artists Matteo Bernasconi and jewellery makers Oli&J. They sought to create a playful, innovative space that’s more than just about exhibition, but also a meeting space. They hold regular life drawing classes, workshops and events, and they also do a  mean line in top notch art prints at decent prices too. Some are a wee bit pricier, but you can pick up an absolute bargain from around $60. 

We love this outfit because they team up with artists to sell limited edition prints that raise funds for humanitarian causes here in Australia and around the world. The way it works is that the artist nominates a charitable cause like LGBTQIA+ youth champions Minus18, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation or the Asylum Seekers Centre, with a percentage of each sale donated to these organisations. Recently Archibald Finalist Luke Cornish aka Elk donated 100 per cent of all profits from a print to Mahboba’s Promise, a Sydney-based NGO dedicated to supporting disadvantaged women and children in Afghanistan.

You can check out the latest offerings/causes here.