10 Places to Buy Affordable Art in New York

New York City is a contradictory kind of town. It’s a place where $250 dinner prix fixe menus are just as easy to find as $2.50 street vendor hot dogs. Nowhere are those fluctuations more evident than in the city's art scene. It’s home to some of the most astute art collectors on the planet—the kind who can afford to pay $120 million for a pastel version of The Scream—yet its storefronts (and sidewalks) are littered with talented artists and galleries who are selling original works for about .005 percent of the cost of a Munch painting. You just need to know where to find them (and no, IKEA doesn’t count).

To help you in that endeavor, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite places to browse—and buy—on the (relatively) cheap. Here are 10 Places to Buy Affordable Art in New York.

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Address: 215 West 57th Street between Seventh Avenue and Broadway, New York

Best known as an arts education center, The Art Students League of New York has been helping to train some of the art world’s biggest names since 1875, including Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, and Norman Rockwell, which makes it the perfect place to discover tomorrow’s talent today. You can’t buy everything you see at the League’s Phyllis Harriman Mason Gallery, but the organization holds student shows throughout the year (more than 2,500 aspiring artists train here each month). The League also exhibits at budget-friendly fairs like the annual Affordable Art Fair in April, where more than 80 galleries from around the globe offer work from $100 to $10,000 (though most of it is under $5,000).

Address: 232 E 9th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, New York

Founded in 2010, this private East Village gallery is focused on the work of Spanish artists, both well-known and emerging. It’s that latter group, of course, where you’re going to find the best pricing. The gallery’s current slate of a dozen artists (including Abstract Expressionist Rafael Canogar, whose work can be found at MoMA) produce works in a range of media, from wood to bronze.

Address: 197 Ninth Avenue at 22nd Street, New York

Founded in 2011, the contemporary work at this Chelsea gallery—located in the lower level of Chelsea Frames—is curated by artist Robert Dimin, whose focus is on “limitless possibilities” for emerging artists working in the painting, drawing, photography, and performance-based genres.

Address: 547 W 27th Street, Suite 514, New York

Founded in 1998, RARE Gallery’s goal has always been the same: to nurture and promote the work of emerging artists who are utilizing unique methods to create intimate works of art. This mission can be seen in their current group show, “Beneath the Surface,” in which artists Nicholas Hall, Zach Horn, Tom Snelgrove, and Daisuke Tsuchigahata use a range of media, such as cut paper collage, to create uniquely textured work with a social significance.

Address: 547 West 27th Street, Suite 510, at Eleventh Avenue, New York

This progressive space in Chelsea has a penchant for artists in the photographic, video, and installation realm and isn’t afraid to be a little provocative with its art. Case in point: Drew Tal’s “Worlds Apart,” a digital photography exhibit that's currently on display in which the Israel-born artist, who now lives in New York, explores his relationship with the Middle East.

Address: 531 W 26th Street, First Floor, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues, New York

Contemporary American artists are the thing at Chelsea’s Mixed Greens Gallery, which currently represents 17 artists working in various media, but all with a focus on conceptually-driven and/or figurative art. Work—which generally runs in the $1,000 to $5,000 range—can be purchased in person or online.

Address: 530 West 25th Street, Suite 407, at Tenth Avenue, New York

Expect as many as 15 exhibitions per year at this Chelsea art space, which also offers consultation services, portfolio reviews, and design services. Founded in 2012 by Seoul natives Peter B. Kang and Marc J. Lee, EMOA’s focus is on providing a global platform for new Asian artists.

Address: 235 South 1st Street at Roebling Street, Brooklyn

This charming little gallery and boutique hybrid in Williamsburg offers an ever-changing lineup of contemporary art prints, posters, clothing, books, and even toys, plus monthly art shows, events, and signings. Store co-owner and art director Tara McPherson is just one of the artists on Cotton Candy Machine’s roster of emerging talents.

Address: 47 Bergen Street between Boerum Place and Smith Street, Brooklyn

“Recession” isn’t an ugly word at this Cobble Hill-based organization and gallery. Far from it. Recession Art’s mission is to play matchmaker between emerging contemporary artists and would-be collectors and to make sure it’s an affordable endeavor for all.

Address: 177 North 9th Street between Bedford and Driggs Avenues, Brooklyn

Now entering its 10th year, Williamsburg’s Pierogi Gallery is a premier spot for discovering emerging and mid-career artists in a variety of disciplines. In addition to an ongoing calendar of curated exhibitions—including its current presentation of Jim Torok’s small-scale Jesus drawing series—the gallery houses the work of more than 700 artists through its Flat Files, drawers full of “flat” art (paintings, drawings, photographs, collages), with many pieces in the $400 - $2,000 range. Because they can be easily scanned, Flat Files can be searched online, too.