London has some of the finest art supply shops in the world, from the flagship Cass Art stores to the century-old specialist dealers of Covent Garden and Bloomsbury. Whether you are a student, a professional artist, or simply looking for quality materials, this guide covers every significant shop.
For students, Cornelissen can seem intimidating, the staff know more than most art teachers, and the prices reflect genuine quality. The correct approach is to arrive with a specific project in mind, describe it to a member of staff, and take their advice. The recommendation will be accurate.
Best for: Professional artists, conservation work, gilding, historical pigments, specialist mediums.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9:30am-6pm.
Atlantis Art Materials, Whitechapel
Atlantis on Whitechapel Road is the most complete art supply shop in London by breadth of range. Where Cornelissen goes deep in specialist materials, Atlantis goes wide: painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking, bookbinding, screen printing, and a fabric and textile section that no other London shop approaches.
The printmaking section is the strongest in the city: etching plates in zinc, copper, and aluminium; acid-resist materials; a full range of relief and lithography supplies; and a section dedicated to relief and screen printing that stocks professional-grade materials at prices competitive with online suppliers.
The shop is large and slightly chaotic, you will find things here that you cannot find anywhere else in London, and you will find them by browsing rather than by following signs. Allow two hours for a first visit.
Best for: Printmaking, mixed media, sculpture, textile and fabric art, wide range.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10am-6pm.
Intaglio Printmaker, Borough
Intaglio Printmaker on Union Street in Borough is the only UK shop dedicated entirely to printmaking. The range covers etching, engraving, mezzotint, aquatint, lithography, monoprint, screen printing, and relief printing. The staff are practising printmakers; the advice is specific and authoritative.
For anyone working seriously in print, whether for artistic purposes or commercial reproduction, this is the shop. It is not useful if you are looking for general painting supplies, but for print it has no equivalent.
Sarah Whitmore, an etcher who exhibits at the Curwen Gallery in London, has been buying from Intaglio for eight years. "The acid-resist products are a nightmare to source correctly," she said. "Every time I have gone somewhere else I have regretted it. The difference in quality is immediately visible in the bitten line. Intaglio staff understand what you are making and what the material will do to it."
Cass Art: The Best Value Option
Cass Art operates eight London stores (Islington, Kensington, Hampstead, covered below, Stratford, Croydon, Oxford Street, Richmond, and Hammersmith) and has become the default art shop for students and amateur artists across the city. The buying power of a multi-site operator allows Cass to offer professional-quality materials, especially Windsor & Newton, Daler-Rowney, and Liquitex, at prices significantly below independent shops.
The flagship Islington store on Colebrooke Row is the best of the group: large, well-organised, with a members' discount scheme and a consistent programme of demonstrations and workshops. The stock depth is considerable, over 5,000 SKUs across painting, drawing, and craft.
Cass Art is not where you go for the materials Cornelissen stocks, but for paints, paper, canvas, and standard drawing materials it competes with any shop in London and beats most on price.
Islington: Colebrooke Row, N1. Open daily.
Kensington: Pemberton Row (off High Street Kensington). Open daily.
Hampstead: See below.
London Art Shop, Hampstead
London Art Shop on Pond Street in Hampstead is the only quality art supplier in North London. It stocks the main professional and student ranges, Winsor & Newton, Sennelier, Caran d'Ache, Fabriano, alongside a limited selection of framing materials and a small but well-chosen watercolour paper range.
For artists based in Hampstead, Highgate, Belsize Park, or Finchley, London Art Shop saves the journey into Central London for all but the most specialist purchases. It is smaller than Cass Art's dedicated stores and the range is narrower, but the knowledge of the staff is consistent and the stock of Sennelier watercolours and oils is better than most shops of its size.
Its proximity to Hampstead Heath makes it particularly useful for plein air painters, pick up your supplies and walk five minutes to the Heath. The shop carries a range of plein air easels and pochade boxes specifically for this purpose.
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am-5:30pm.
Jackson's Art Supplies, Fulham
Jackson's on Fulham Road is the largest art supply store in London by floor area, approximately 700 square metres across two floors. The range covers fine art, illustration, and graphic design, with particular strength in the painting section: the oil paint selection alone runs to over 300 colours from 20+ brands.
Jackson's is also London's best shop for brushes: the brush section occupies an entire wall and covers synthetic, sable, hog bristle, and specialist brushes for watercolour, oil, acrylic, and gouache. The staff in the brush section are knowledgeable about the difference between brush types and can advise on the right brush for a specific technique.
The framing section at the back of the shop stocks a range of standard frames, mounting board, and tools for DIY framing that is more useful than the equivalent at Cass Art.
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9am-6pm; Sunday, 11am-5pm.
Online vs. In-Store: What's Worth the Journey
For standard materials, student-grade paints, basic canvas, drawing materials, online purchasing from Jackson's or Cass Art's own websites often matches in-store prices and adds free delivery above £50. The case for the physical visit is specific:
Go in person for:
- Pigments and specialist mediums (Cornelissen), you need to smell and see
- Paper, weight, texture, and tone only make sense in hand
- Brushes, a brush must be held to assess spring and point
- Anything you have not used before and need advice on
Buy online for:
- Bulk canvas and board
- Paints you already know and use
- Framing materials to a known specification
Art Supply Shops by Area
| Area | Shop | Speciality |
|---|
| Bloomsbury | L. Cornelissen & Son | Specialist pigments, gilding |
| Whitechapel | Atlantis Art Materials | Widest range; printmaking |
| Borough | Intaglio Printmaker | Printmaking only |
| Islington | Cass Art (flagship) | Value; student materials |
| Fulham | Jackson's Art Supplies | Largest store; brushes |
| Hampstead | London Art Shop | North London; Sennelier |
| Kensington | Cass Art | Central/West |
Tips for Visiting
Staff knowledge matters: At Cornelissen, Atlantis, and Intaglio, the staff are artists themselves. Asking for recommendations is not weakness, it is the most efficient use of a specialist shop. At Cass Art, the knowledge varies by branch and staff member; the Islington flagship has the most consistent expertise.
Paper is where you spend: Good paper transforms watercolour and drawing work in a way that better paint does not. Budget for at least 300gsm cold-pressed watercolour paper; Fabriano Artistico (Atlantis, Cass Art) or Arches (Cornelissen, London Art Shop) are the benchmarks.
Student vs. artist grade: The quality gap between student-grade and artist-grade (also called professional-grade) paint is significant. Artist-grade uses higher pigment concentrations and fewer fillers; colour holds better, mixes cleanly, and does not fade as readily. If you are serious about a medium, buy one or two artist-grade colours and use them alongside the rest of your student palette, the difference is immediately apparent.
London's art supply shops represent a level of specialist retail that is increasingly rare in any category. Cornelissen has been in business since Victoria was queen. Intaglio serves a global specialist print community from a single Borough Street shop. These are not simply shops, they are resources for a city that has sustained a significant artistic community for centuries, and which continues to produce artists who need materials that require human expertise to source correctly.
