Five Award-Worthy Web Galleries

Photo courtesy Mixed Greens

Leah Tinari, "Confetti Affair" (2006). From Mixed Greens ($5,000)

Photo courtesy the artist and WeHeartPrints

Omar Lee, "Goodbye." From WeHeartPrints ($20)

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This time around, we’re calling attention to online sites we like that let you view work for sale by a whole roster of artists.

We’ve aimed for a mix of sites—some smaller ones with a nice, DIY feel to them; some virtual sites maintained by galleries that also have a robust “bricks-and-mortar” presence; and some larger sites that feature many thousands of works by many hundreds of artists.

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The “Best of the Behemoths” award easily goes to PicassoMio, which serves up more than 20,000 works from 2,000 artists around the world.

Of primary importance, the site—which has an “art jury” that screens applicants—does a solid job of weeding out the Sunday-painter schlock that pollutes most mega-size online galleries. Many of the artists here have degrees from reputable art schools and have “real-world” representation; some of the work wouldn’t look (too) out of place in the showroom of a Chelsea dealer.

And we really like that the site doesn’t stick to editioned prints, photographs and multiples. The choice of unique paintings and sculpture is massive (at last count, you could browse almost 5,000 oil paintings and more than 3,000 acrylics). The vast majority of these are priced below $5,000.

The site doesn’t stint, however, on prints and photographs, and within these sections, you’ll find names you recognize: Murakami, Araki, Hirst, LeWitt. Decorative art, in more than 20 categories, is also available (as are art books).

Almost as important as the quality and breadth of work are the site’s technical adornments and buying policy. The site offers a no-questions-asked, seven-day return policy (for a full refund, minus one-way shipping). Authenticity guarantees are also provided, and the site will re-sell any work bought through it (for a 10 percent commission). Five percent of the commissions the site earns, it says, are donated to museums and other art institutions.

In terms of bells and whistles, we’re big fans of the visually sophisticated “View to Scale” feature that displays the work in a room, next to both a person and a ruler. We also found addictive the “Select Wall Color” feature, which lets you see how the work looks hung against dozens of different background hues. We also enjoyed its “Discover Art” archive, which has hundreds of useful, annotated links.

Buyer’s Tips: The site is especially strong in work from emerging Indian painters, with some compelling work for less than $2,000 (see: Anil KV Goswani, Rasenjit Segupta, Hema Guha, Sabia, Sandeep Kumarsoni and many more). There is also a "View Before Buying" program where prospective purchasers of a work priced at $1,000 or more can make an appointment to see a work in person at PicassoMio's galleries in Barcelona, Madrid or San Francisco (a "stocking fee" applies).

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The “Labor of Love” award goes to WeHeartPrints, maintained by Amber Dawn, whose passion is for small-editioned prints that are, in the main, incredibly cheap.

Remember how we ran a series of columns a little while go on affordable work for new collectors—with a pricing ceiling of $5,000? Prices here start at 15 bucks!

The site is something of a prints blog, with Dawn selecting one print a day (or close to it) to feature; she lists the price and shows a large image of the work, but a link takes you to the artist’s own site or gallery to execute any transaction.

It’s a simple site (with a bare-bones search function that lets you find works by themes such as “pirates,” “death” and “propaganda”), but her love for (extremely affordable) prints is infectious.

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The “Best of Both Worlds” award goes to the folks at Mixed Greens, a New York-based gallery. A number of galleries with a bricks-and-mortar location are trying to establish a sales-friendly presence in cyberspace; Mixed Greens is doing it better than most.