Amazon now offering... fine art?

Yup. Browse and learn about fine art at Amazon Art

Jeff Bezos & friends like to keep you guessing, as evidenced by Monday’s surprise announcement that Bezos is purchasing the Washington Post. Now, almost equally surprising: Amazon is dealing fine art. Now, no one can say that online shopping is for plebeians, even though it is pretty damn cool that you can buy a Matisse lithograph worth $40,000 and a new toothbrush in the same purchase.

Amazon Art features more than 40,000 works of art from over 4,500 artists. The marketplace is currently working with more than 150 galleries and dealers across the U.S., UK, the Netherlands, and Canada. The marketplace makes works of art ranging from $60 to $4.85 million available online in one spot, directly to consumers.

Customers can browse categories like Drawing & Ink, Pop Art, Painting, Photography, Prints, Artists You Know, Staff Picks, and more, as well as individual gallery partners, such as LusterNYC, the Holden Luntz gallery, Paddle8, the McLoughlin Gallery in San Francisco, and others.

(I’m browsing through photographs and lithographs priced at $10,000 and up, and then feeling relieved when I see one worth $900, only to realize that I can’t afford a $900 print either.)

The most interesting part of Amazon Art, I think, is the fact that browsing for art to purchase actually doubles as a learning experience. Clicking on a work of art brings up a detailed description of the piece provided by the artist (for example, location of a shoot or conditions), along with an artist bio and a list of other works.

It’s a little surreal to see Amazon offering a marketplace for fine art, since Amazon has long been characterized by convenience, selection, and price—not discovery. I go to Amazon to buy a new book, watch a movie, or find a new ice cream maker to replace the one I just broke. If I want to find new home décor, I go to One Kings Lane or Etsy. If I specifically want wall art, I go to Art.com or Art.sy or UGallery.

But then again, Amazon might be on to something. Fine art is a $55 billion market worldwide.

“We operate a wonderful fine art gallery, yet realize that the models for dealing in contemporary arts have evolved in this digital age and ecommerce is a channel to reach more clientele,” said Holden Luntz, owner of the Holden Luntz Gallery, in a statement.