What Kind of Art Sells Best? (2024)

Art doesn’t sell itself, it has to be sold.
— Jack White

The question of what type of art sells best is puzzling.

It’s nearly impossible to accurately answer what kind of art will sell best. That’s because the question is too broad. So we need to drill down. For instance, are we talking about original paintings, sculptures, mixed media, digital art, or reproductions? Regardless, there is help for you to find out what art styles are the best sellers. So, please keep reading.

Understanding what kind of art to make is a factor in art marketing. Often, specialized insight is advantageous in selling your art, knowing what current motifs are in the wholesale home furnishings markets.

Florals and landscapes dominate.

I worked for nearly two decades for Decor magazine as “the bible” for retail art galleries and picture frame shops during its heyday. Over the years, Decor magazine frequently surveyed its readers to ask what kind of art sold best in their stores. Not surprisingly, landscapes and florals perennially topped the list. They go in any decor and are as non-controversial as you can get.

Your question is, “What do you do with this information?” I believe researching the resources I’m providing will help you. However, letting them slightly modify your creative process would be best. Soak up the information and ideas and use them wisely to make the journey worthwhile.

How to research what’s trending in online art sales.

Good for you if you are not reading this for infotainment and plan to follow my advice. There’s more than enough here to keep you very busy. And I appreciate you reading my posts for whatever reasons you choose.

This post gives you a running start on researching art trends.

Art.com publishes its bestsellers. Due to its annual sales volume, learning what’s hot there is informative. Like other sites selling art online, many poster publishers show what’s hot on their websites. FineArtAmerica.com also publishes a bestseller page. Study the ads in trade magazines such as Art Business News and Art World News to see what top art publishers advertise. Art print wholesaler Liebermans.net publishes a bestseller list as well.

Some Types of Art Are Perennial Bestsellers.

I’ve seen lists of bestselling art types for decades. The categories don’t change much, if at all. Whatever inventory you find, it’s sure to have these categories of bestselling art, and beyond landscapes and florals, they are in no particular order because of location influence:

Research, Take the Influence, and Do What You Want.

The reality is these suggestions are just that. Another thought is to stop trying to please others and make the art you like. Then, find your POP (Pocket of People) who shares your preferences.
If you are unsure about your style direction, pick one from the list you like the most and go for it. You are allowed to flourish and change your mind and your style.

Remember that you only need a handful of loyal buyers to launch a successful art business. You can be quirky and get by (better than many might imagine), or go corporate and ample time, or something in between. It’s up to you where you go, but that matters most as long as it meets your needs.

Consumer Sites Are Worth a Look.

Try leafing through the latest Crate & Barreland Restoration Hardware catalogs for ideas. Those are two of dozens of online sites that sell home decor, including original art and reproductions. ArtfulHome.com is a juried site worth checking out. You can look at Pantone.comor BenjaminMoore.com to find the latest color trends.

Making Art People Want to Buy.

Success in selling art starts with creating work that interests buyers. Without that, nothing else matters. It would help if you also had a plan to find buyers and a system to remind them regularly that you have artwork they should own. That is the art business in its most simplistic terms.

Being informed about trends is good for boosting sales. You probably don’t care about trends if you create art for all ages. Moreover, you presumably aren’t reading blog posts about art marketing either.

Since you are reading this, we’ll go with you to make art that is easy to sell. There is nothing wrong with that as a motivating purpose for you. Creating art as a business is as time-honored as any tradition in art history.

If that’s you, and you want your art to sell well, then it makes sense that you would like to know what other kinds of art sell best. It doesn’t have to be entirely monetary-driven. You may be interested in what other artists are up to because it stimulates your creativity in novel ways.

Creativity Is Borrowed and Stolen.

Good artists copy, great artists steal.
— Pablo Picasso

I observed successful artists mix their creativity with inspiration from what’s happening in their world. Art has always been madethis way. I’m sure cave dwellers borrowed ideas from each other.

Artists seek out and absorb inspiration from their peers. Great artists are influenced greatly and significantly affected by other artists’ concepts. If they didn’t, we would never have movements such as Impressionism, Cubism, Art Deco, etc.

Taking Influence Stretches Beyond Visual Arts.

Bob Dylan had an enormous influence over popular music in his day. He, in turn, found inspiration from the music of artists as varied as Little Richard, Woody Guthrie, Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Robert Johnson. The Beach Boys’ intricate harmonies and rhythmic sounds influenced The Beatles and vice-versa. Nothing is made in a vacuum when it comes to art and creativity.

Inspiration is everywhere. It’s waiting for you to see it!

Find Your Balance.

It’s more than okay to let the work of others influence and inspire your creativity. It’s probably the only way to improve to the best of your ability. Likewise, it’s okay to note what kind of art is selling all around you now. At the same time, you don’t want your art to be slavish to trends. But, of course, that sometimes works in the short run; it is a career killer in the long run.

You’re looking for a delicate balance between entirely original ideas and those formed by outside influences. Picasso’s interest in African masksstill ripples through the art world a century later. Without that influence, the magnificent untitled sculpture he gifted the city of Chicago would have never been.

Creativity is about making something new out of something old. Success is also about sticking with something long enough to take hold and make a difference in your career.

The Keys to Your Success.

If you make a recognizable body of work from the same hand and it appeals to buyers, you are on track to great success. What’s left at that point are two things:

Find prospects with an attraction to your art.
Communicate with your prospects regularly.

Finally, realizing what kind of art sells best is helpful but unimportant. Getting to know your prospects and what they like is much more critical. Selling art, straightforward to buyers, is an intimate thing. Your art is personal—to you and your buyers.

You don’t need mass appeal. To build a successful career, it would be best to have genuine enthusiasm from a few people for what you are doing. For these reasons, paying more attention to what your buyers are showing interest in is far more significant and profitable than worrying about or wondering what is selling best on a macro scale.

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