Where to Buy Vintage Art Online and How to Print Digital Art
Where to buy vintage art online and how to print digital art + picture frame recommendations for a designer look on a small budget.
Just like no closet is complete without a little black dress (I’ll always stand by that one), no room is ever complete without at least one piece of vintage art. Facts.
Art is a popular topic around here (and it’s trending BIG TIME)… whether you DIY wall art yourself or design an entire room around 1 inspired art piece, I’ve had an ongoing love affair with it here for a very long time.
But I realized I’ve never shared some of my favorite vintage art shops and resources in one place.
How to Find Vintage Art Online
Check Archives
I’ve mentioned my secret to finding free printable wall art online before, but searching through archives for the perfect art does take a lot of time.
However, if you’re willing to devote hours sifting through literally millions of images in public domain archives to find the perfect digital art file, it’s totally free and can be a fun treasure hunt. Just make sure they’re high resolution at 300 dpi.
Search for Free Vintage Art Printables on Blogs
You can also simply search “Vintage Art Printable Blog” in Google, toggle to the “images” tab, and find hundreds of blogs that offer free downloads of art they’ve already curated for you. Some do require you to subscribe to email lists (like my own printable library) to get access.
Purchase Vintage Artwork from Online Shops
There are SO MANY great vintage art online shops out there now where you can buy a download for as little as $2 to have printed and framed in an hour! Many shops sell digital images you can print yourself on your home printer, send the files to a local print shop, or order from a professional printer for specialty canvas prints.
If you want it quick and simple… here are some of my favorite vintage digital artwork shops so you can find the best option for your style.
Where to Buy Vintage Art Online
There are way too many beautiful online shops to list for buying vintage art, but these are my absolute top favorites where you can buy just the downloadable digital files instantly and inexpensively.
- Collection Prints
- BFF Print Shop
- Juniper Print Shop
- Vintage Supply
- Archive Print Co
- Nook Vintage Prints
- Chaos & Wonder Design
- North Prints
- Blue Jay Vintage Art
- White Moth
- Exotic Sheep Vintage
- Lacuna Printable Art
- Ever Art Prints
- Little Lief Creative
- Olive and Oak Prints
- Westwoven
- In Cotton Art
- Seven Hills Vintage Art
- Vista View Prints
- Ailish Print Shop
- Shop Home Revivals
Art Downloads (left to right): Flower Veil | Landscape Sketch Pair | Still Life Roses | Country Landscape | Michelle Portrait Sketch | Flight | Low Clouds | Vintage Equestrian | Painting of a Young Girl | Paris Map | Neutral Botanical Print | Moody Peach Still Life | Bronte Beach | New York City Street Sketch | Mountain Lodge | Horse Painting | Seascape
How to Print Digital Art
If you’ve never done more than prints at home from your personal inkjet printer, it can be really confusing where to get high quality prints inexpensively. I’ve tried many, and these locations are my go-to art printing spots.
Where to Print Etsy Downloads and Digital Art at Low Prices
Depending on what is available in your area, you can usually upload your digital art files to the photo or print services pages at any of your local stores listed above and pick them up same day if ordered by 2pm.
Keep in mind that “big box store” local printers like an office supply store or pharmacy don’t always have the best results for fine art prints. But they have the most competitive prices, if you’re on a budget.
- For small printsize – I often have my art printed at Staples or Office Depot on matte cardstock for 8×10 or smaller for about $1.
- For medium/large sized prints – For 11×14 or larger, I usually order through Walgreens Photo for same day pick up on photo paper. (Check their coupons page for a discount code. They almost always have one available to use.)
- For extra large / oversized prints – Some Staples and Office Depot locations will allow you to print art onto engineering blueprints starting at $1.89. There are some locations that have a policy against this for some reason. As an alternative, you can use Overnight Prints for inexpensive large scale art on engineering blueprints.
Where to Get the Highest Quality Print
For a specialty piece of art, it’s best to order digital art prints on fine art paper, archival paper, or giclee print using pigment-based inks, especially for larger size high-quality prints. These online printing services often have a slower turnaround time and additional cost, especially for prints with a slight texture added or deckled edge. But it is the best way to get a fine art image printed in vivid color for higher quality custom artwork to use as home decor.
Favorite Vintage Style Frames
Adding a vintage style picture frame (or even better adding a mat along with it) can make a simple $3 art print look upscale and authentic. I find gorgeous vintage picture frames at the thrift store all the time, but if you don’t like waiting around to find the perfect one in a thrift hunt, I love these frames too.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15
Where to Get Vintage Wall Art Custom Framed
Got any other vintage art shops and art printing places you’d add to the bunch? I know there are many more out there and more are being added all the time with vintage art trending now more than ever in the past decade.
Frequently Asked Questions
Generally, interior designers suggest pictures should be hung 57″ from the floor to the center of the picture frame, approximately at eye level.
Yes! I’ve sworn by the “toothpaste trick” for years! Dab a pea-sized amount of toothpaste onto the nail hooks on the back of a picture frame. Holding a level along the top of the frame, press the picture frame in place on the wall where you want to hang it. The toothpaste will be left on the wall so that you know exactly where to drive in the nails.
My grandpa passed away in January. Amongst the fascinating things in his basement was a cache of large fine art prints, both colored and black and white. Many are watermarked, and they are mostly dated between 1875-1885. Quite a few have a paper explaining where the art is found and giving impressions of the piece. Many are from the Chicago Exhibition. There are over 100 prints, and many are stunning.
The responsibility of what to do with this amazing collection leaves me a bit bewildered. What should I do next? Any advice/direction?
This is incredible. I would hope you could keep them or at least as many as your space will allow. I am not sure what to recommend. I am just impressed and would love to see pictures. If able, please share via email. I am intrigued.
The https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ and the Smithsonian Libraries and many other University Libraries all have millions of gorgeous botanical, birds (hummingbirds too!) images that are very high resolution. Those are all from 1700, 1800 and early 1900 images. Those are copyright free, it says so on their sites. Please do still read their copyright laws as there are some restrictions. No issue whatsoever if you want do download full res/print and hang them in your own home. Knowing these sites (and some of the ones mentioned in the post, I don’t buy art unless it’s original oil painting or whatever. Frankly, so many antique shops, consignment shops etc are getting free images from the sites above, printing them on parchment or other papers and selling them for a lot of money.
As for custom framing, some more good places are Costco as well as Joann’s. I do like Hobby Lobby as they seem reasonable for custom framing. I often print in standard sizes and pick up good frames at these stores that are cheaper (unless you want some decorative, higher end custom frames).
Thank you for all your secrets! This makes decorating so much easier and affordable. One thing I’ve experience and want to avoid is being accused of compywrite infringement and chastised at our local Office Depot. Is there an easy way to verify these are public domain or have been purchased? We don’t have a staples or anything as an alternative.
Thanks so much,
Kim
Hi Kim! I’ve been printing vintage art for a long time, and I’ve never had anyone question me when I print them. But just to be safe, you can screenshot the receipt or the public domain site page where you found the art to prove it has no copyright so that they know they have permission to print.
Thanks for this post. I recently downloaded art for my home. I had looked in stores for art and could not find what I liked. Also, anything I liked was way over my budget. One thing that was confusing for me was ratio size…and how that related to the size of the print I was going for.
You are most welcome! I am happy to hear you find it helpful.
Thanks for all the effort. Valuable info here. Unfortunately the Etsy links only opens Etsy. It does not open to the actual seller or referenced artwork. I have a love-hate relationship with Etsy for this reason.
Oh that’s so odd! It’s working on my end both on mobile and desktop. Are you clicking over to the Etsy app instead of staying within the internet browser? Sometimes that can be the culprit.