Looking for the perfect gifts for art lovers in your life? Artrepreneur has you covered with artist-curated picks for every person on your list, from adventure seekers to bookworms to pet parents. Browse this guide to give the gift of inspiration all year round.
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Shop by theme through the collections tab on the homepage. Enter your price point as a filter in shop tab to stay on budget, and don’t forget to check out the giclée print shop featuring museum-quality prints at wildly affordable prices. Treat yourself while you’re at it!
For the foodie
Food is a perennial source of inspiration for artists. Making food is an art, too. Accessorize your favorite home cook with an artful patchwork apron made of recycled saris by artisans in Bangladesh — no two are the same, and each one is sustainably made. A sculptural object for their countertop, like Artrepreneur artist Young Sook Park’s porcelain apple looks good enough to eat.
A still-life painting of their favorite food would make fabulous kitchen art! Browse the food collection to choose from coffee for the javaphile to cupcakes for the friend you can always count on splitting dessert with.
What seafood fan wouldn’t love Quincey Grace’s “Fish Head” (2021)?
For the plant person
A sweet bud vase by ceramicist Lauren Grace will make their blooms even more beautiful.
As the proliferation of house plants proves, bringing the outdoors indoors is a popular decorating move. An artful ceramic planter or handcrafted vase takes the plant shelf a step further and will always be a welcome gift for your favorite botanist.
Know someone who loves plants but suffers from a black thumb? Botanical art keeps their plants looking fresh forever, from paintings of flowers in full bloom like Ulyana Korol’s “Diva” (2020) to stunning cyanotypes like Lee O’Connor’s “Begonia” (2021).
For the outdoor adventurer
Art and nature go hand and hand, and what better way to remember a spectacular sunset, a beautiful flower or the view of a night sky than with artwork? Nature inspires as a universal force that transcends language, and artwork about nature is the most popular in the United States — which means that you have fewer chances of going wrong if you stick to this theme.
Graham Earnshaw, “Kimberley Kolors” (2021) The artist’s aerial photography feels like an abstract painting at a more affordable price point.
Graham Earnshaw landscape photography prints are sure to please with their dreamy color palettes. If you know an outdoor enthusiast who loves to hit national parks, consider gifting them a painting or print from their favorite place, like Thomas Haensgen’s “Eagle Peak in Yosemite” (2022).
For the gamer
No one said learning about art had to be boring. Your art enthusiast can pretend to be a hotshot collector with the card game “Show Me the Monet.”
Make fandom fun by gifting art-inspired twists for their next game night. Give new meaning to the term “art dealer” with the high-stakes card game “Show Me the Monet,” in which players compete to build the most valuable collection of masterpieces. Snag your own Kehinde Wiley by purchasing one of the artist’s collectible deck of cards featuring famed portraits “Yachinboaz Ben Yisrael II” (2021) or “Dacia Carter II” (2012). Proceeds benefit Black Rock, his artist-in-residence program in Dakar, Senegal. Or take Monopoly to the Met with this twist on the classic board game where you’ll develop mini-museums of your own.
For the pet parent
Do you know someone who loves their furry friends as much as they love fine art? Merge their passions by commissioning a hand-made pet portrait to immortalize the special creature that stole their heart.
Artrepreneur represents about 2,700 artists for hire who are ready to accept commissions, from Kyle Boyd, who creates custom photorealistic portraits in colored pencil, to Aubrey Putnam Graber, who burns your pet’s likeness into wood in this unique type of pet portraiture.
Give their pet the royal treatment with Ayla Webb’s digital paintings.
For the bookworm
“African Art Now” by author and curator Osei Bonsu features profiles of 50 established and emerging artists.
Does your art lover have enough books? The answer: never!
A coffee table book that doubles as decor is a great option for the budding art critic. This year’s most buzzed-about coffee table books include “African Art Now,” a definitive guide to contemporary African artists, along with beautiful reproductions of their work. Browse your art lover’s favorite movement or medium on Phaidon or Taschen — or better yet, at your local bookstore. Visually sumptuous gifts will help your recipient cultivate a moment of zen and prime creative thoughts.
For long nonfiction reads that will unlock creativity or revisit art history class, check out “The Best Art Books For Beginners.” our no-M.F.A.-necessary list guaranteed to shift perspectives on engaging with art.
Novels featuring art tap into the romance and psychology of creativity and depict the often eccentric characters who make up the art world. Classic picks include “The Picture of Dorian Grey” by Oscar Wilde. Or add to cart the historical fiction masterpiece “The Agony and the Ecstasy” by Irving Stone, who spent seven years researching this book, even moving to Italy, so he could better understand the life of Michaelangelo.
Looking for something more of this century? “The Goldfinch,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Donna Tartt, is about a boy who survives an accident at a museum that kills his mother and brings a highly coveted painting into his possession. For more high-stakes thrills, “The Art Forger” is a New York Times bestselling novel about a woman with a tarnished reputation trying to earn a living by making copies of famous artworks who must make a fateful decision.
How to package gifts for art lovers
Now that you’ve found the perfect gift, you’ll have to present it in a way that matches your recipient’s discerning taste. Since the gift of art is already the sustainable choice (and your purchase supports artists, too), take it a step further and package your present sustainably.
With an estimated 4.5 million pounds of wrapping paper wasted each year in the U.S., shop for a vintage scarf as both present or wrapping paper. Vintage scarves come in so many wonderful colors and patterns, and you can usually find them for cheap at a consignment shop. Your friend can put the scarf on a purse, tie a bow on their pet or accessorize the bookshelf. The art lover in your life is sure to appreciate the versatility of a vintage accessory.
Buy a reusable tote bag as wrapping paper. You can either shop for an artist-designed tote bag, or you can buy a pack of plain canvas tote bags and paint them yourself with fabric paint. No matter what you put inside, an art lover will appreciate the personal touch and effort you put into the presentation of their gift.
Last but not least, nothing beats classic craft paper. The rolls of brown paper that line tables for kindergarteners during art projects is recyclable — and there’s plenty of DIY potential when it comes to decorating the paper.
Get a potato, and cut it in half. Next, trace a simple shape on the potato, like a tree, star, or circle. Cut away the negative space, and behold, you have a compostable stamp. Put some tempera or acrylic paint on paper plates and go wild with decorations. For a more grown-up look, you can wait until it dries and add in your own swirls and flourishes in gold or silver marker. Patterns in plain black Sharpie or ballpoint work too!
No matter what kind of person your art lover is, Artrepreneur’s curated collections can help you find the perfect gift. Taking the time to consider the art styles and hobbies they are most passionate about will always be appreciated!
What’s your favorite art gift to give? Write us a letter to Santa in the comments.
