Art Buying Terms, Explained | Where to Buy Art Online

Common art forms and mediums

Oil painting: Oil paintings use pigments mixed with drying oils like linseed oil, which dry slowly and allow rich blending of colors. Original oil paintings often show physical brush marks or impasto texture on canvas or wood panel. Because true oils take time to dry and require skilled handcrafting, original oil works sit at higher price bands than prints.
Acrylic painting: Acrylic paint uses pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer emulsion that dries rapidly and turns water-resistant once dry. Artists can apply it thinly like watercolor or build it up thickly with palette knives to resemble oil painting. Originals in acrylic are common across online marketplaces and independent galleries.
Watercolor: Watercolor paintings are created using water-soluble pigments brushed onto absorbent art paper. The medium is known for delicate, translucent washes where the white of the paper illuminates the color from beneath. Because original watercolors on paper are vulnerable to moisture and light damage, they should always be framed behind protective glazing.
Gouache: Gouache (pronounced gwash) is a water-soluble paint similar to watercolor, but formulated with a higher pigment load and white chalk to make it fully opaque. Traditional gouache dries to a smooth, matte finish that photographs well and shows no sheen. Like watercolor, original gouache works on paper should be protected from sunlight and humidity under glass or acrylic.
Pastel and charcoal: Soft pastels and charcoals are dry drawing mediums applied directly to paper or board, creating rich velvety darks or vibrant powdered color. Because dry pigment rests loosely on paper fibers, original pastel and charcoal works can easily smudge if touched. They require framing under glass with a mat or spacer so the glazing never touches the artwork surface.
Drawing and ink: Drawing and ink works are created directly on paper using fine pens, brush and ink, graphite pencils, or colored pencils. Because fine ink lines and pencil marks are delicate, original drawings require careful preservation behind UV-filtering glazing. High-resolution art prints of drawings can preserve crisp line work while offering more durable display options.
Woodblock print: Woodblock printing (including Japanese ukiyo-e) is a relief technique where artists carve an image into a wooden block, leaving the raised areas to hold ink and press onto paper. Traditional multi-color prints require carving a separate block for each color. True relief prints differ from digital reproductions in their subtle tactile impressions and layered ink absorption.
Linocut (Block print): A linocut is a relief printmaking technique similar to woodcut, where the artist carves a design into a sheet of linoleum. Because linoleum has no wood grain, linocuts produce clean, bold lines and flat areas of solid color. Hand-printed block prints often show subtle variations in ink texture across individual impressions.
Screenprint (Serigraph): Screenprinting (also called serigraphy or silkscreen) pushes ink through fine mesh stencils onto paper, cloth, or canvas, laying down flat layers of color. Popularized by commercial print shops and mid-century pop artists, screenprints can be produced as fine art limited editions or mass-market posters. Check item listings to see whether each color layer was hand-pulled or machine-printed.
Lithograph: Fine art lithography relies on the repulsion of oil and water on a polished limestone or metal plate, allowing artists to draw directly onto the surface with greasy crayons. Fine art hand lithographs are original artist prints produced in editions. By contrast, 'offset lithograph' often refers to standard commercial four-color machine printing used for exhibition posters.
Etching (Intaglio): In etching and intaglio printing, an artist creates incised lines on a metal plate, either by scratching directly or using acid, which are then filled with ink and run under high pressure through a press. True etchings leave a distinct indented plate mark on the heavy rag paper around the image. They have been a staple of collectible printmaking for centuries.
Fine art photography: Fine art photography focuses on the photographer's creative vision rather than documenting news or advertising products. When buying photography prints online, check whether the print is an open-run digital photo or a documented limited edition signed by the photographer, as well as the paper type such as matte rag, luster, or silver gelatin.
Digital art: Digital art is created by artists using drawing tablets, styluses, and illustration software rather than physical brushes. To be displayed on a wall, digital artworks are translated into physical form through high-resolution fine art printing on paper or canvas. Because digital art originates as data, its physical quality relies entirely on the printer, paper specifications, and resolution used.
Mixed media: Mixed media artworks blend multiple materials on a single surface, such as combining paint, ink, collage elements, graphite, or digital prints. Because mixed media can involve materials with different aging rates or weights, check item listings for exact physical composition and whether the piece requires specialized framing or glazing.
Collage: Collage is an artistic technique where paper cutouts, photographs, printed pages, or fabric pieces are arranged and adhered to a backing board or canvas. Original physical collages have a tactile, layered depth with visible paper edges. Digital collages assemble elements using design software and are produced as clean, flat prints.
Tempera (Egg tempera): Tempera painting, historically using egg yolk mixed with powdered pigment, dries rapidly to a durable, satin-matte finish. Because tempera dries almost instantly, artists paint using fine, hatched cross-strokes rather than broad blended brushstrokes. Museum prints of Renaissance and medieval art frequently reproduce tempera originals.
Fresco: Fresco is a classical mural painting technique where water-soluble pigments are applied onto freshly laid wet lime plaster. As the plaster dries, the pigment bonds chemically with the wall to become a permanent part of the surface. Online prints of famous frescoes reproduce their soft, chalky color tones and plaster texture.
Encaustic painting: Encaustic painting involves melting beeswax mixed with resin and color pigment, then applying the hot liquid to wood panels or canvas. Original encaustic works have a rich, translucent depth with layered, sculptural wax surfaces. Because wax softens in extreme heat, original encaustic pieces should never be displayed near radiators, fireplaces, or direct sunlight.
Mezzotint and aquatint: Mezzotint and aquatint are specialized intaglio printing methods created to achieve soft, atmospheric areas of shadow and tone rather than sharp line work. Aquatint uses powdered acid-resistant resin on a copper plate, while mezzotint relies on roughening the plate surface with a metal rocker. Both techniques produce rich, velvety darks prized by print collectors.
Monotype and monoprint: A monotype or monoprint is created by painting or drawing ink onto a smooth plate, then pressing paper against it to transfer the artwork. Unlike traditional printmaking where a block or plate produces dozens of identical copies, a monotype yields only one primary impression. It combines the spontaneity of painting with the soft paper texture of a print.
Textile and fiber art: Textile and fiber art includes woven wall hangings, tapestries, embroidery, and quilted pieces designed for wall display. Original fiber artworks add warmth and acoustic dampening to hard rooms. Because natural dyes and fabrics fade quickly under UV light, textile art should be kept away from direct sunlight or displayed behind UV-filtering framing.
Calligraphy and typography art: Calligraphy and typography art focuses on the visual design of letterforms, ranging from traditional Asian ink brushwork to modernist Bauhaus typographic posters. Original brush calligraphy highlights fluid hand movement and ink absorption on rice or mulberry paper. Typographic prints rely on sharp line contrast and balance to make graphic statements on the wall.
Cyanotype (Sun print): A cyanotype (often called a sun print or blueprint) is made by coating watercolor paper with iron salts, placing objects or negatives over it, and exposing it to sunlight. The process creates a rich Prussian blue background with white silhouettes. Original cyanotypes are sensitive to alkaline framing environments, so they should be framed with unbuffered, neutral pH materials.
Bas-relief wall art: Bas-relief (low relief) wall art features sculptural forms carved or molded so they rise slightly from a flat background panel. Common materials include plaster, carved wood, cast paper, and terracotta. Because bas-relief relies on surface shadows to show detail, it looks best when illuminated from the side by natural window light or angled accent lighting.
Gold leaf and gilding: Gilding applies ultra-thin sheets of gold leaf or metallic foil onto painting surfaces, frames, or prints to catch and reflect light. Traditional illuminated manuscripts used real gold leaf polished to a high sheen. Modern art prints often feature metallic foil stamping to add subtle shimmer that changes as you walk across the room.

Prints and materials

Print-on-demand: With print-on-demand, nothing is printed until you buy. The shop keeps the image as a digital file, and when you order, a printer produces your poster or canvas and ships it. This keeps prices low and the catalog large, but it also means the print quality depends on the paper and printer, not the image on screen.
Giclee: Giclee (pronounced zhee-clay) is a French-derived marketing word for a high-resolution inkjet print, typically made with pigment inks on cotton rag or other fine art paper. There is no legal or technical standard behind the word, so 'giclee' alone does not guarantee quality. Judge the actual paper and ink specs, not the label.
Pigment ink: Pigment inks use finely ground solid particles rather than dissolved dye. They are the standard for archival prints because they resist fading, often rated for decades of lightfastness. Dye-based inks, common on the cheapest posters, look vivid at first but fade faster, especially in bright rooms.
GSM: GSM stands for grams per square meter, a measure of a paper's weight and therefore its thickness and heft. Thin posters run roughly 150 GSM or less, while fine art papers commonly sit around 285 to 315 GSM. A higher number usually feels more substantial, though weight alone does not tell you the ink quality.
Cotton rag: Cotton rag paper is made from cotton fibers rather than wood pulp. Because cotton is naturally acid-free and lignin-free, it resists the yellowing that affects cheap wood-pulp paper over time. It is the premium end of fine art paper and is often described as museum-quality.
Acid-free: Acid-free means the paper or mat board has a neutral pH and will not yellow or grow brittle the way acidic, wood-pulp materials do. It matters most for anything you want to keep for decades. Acid-free also applies to framing components: a non-archival mat can stain a print over time even if the print itself is fine.
Lightfastness: Lightfastness is a print's resistance to fading when exposed to light. Archival prints pair pigment inks with quality paper to reach ratings of 75 years or more under normal display. A print in direct sun fades faster than the rating suggests, so placement matters as much as the specs.
Gallery wrap: A gallery wrap is a canvas stretched over deep bars, usually about 1.5 inches, with the image or a solid color continuing around the sides. It is designed to hang as-is, without a frame. A standard wrap uses thinner bars and has less presence on the wall.

Editions and signatures

Open edition: An open edition is a print the publisher can reproduce without a fixed cap. Most print-on-demand and decor prints are open editions. They are priced for the wall, not for scarcity, so they carry no expectation of resale value.
Limited edition: A limited edition is capped at a set number of copies, documented by the publisher. The cap is only as trustworthy as the entity that documents it: numbering by the printer alone means little. A limited edition made for decor can still run to hundreds of copies, which is different from the collector sense of the term.
Numbered print: A numbered print carries a fraction such as 12 out of 100, where the second number is the total edition size. It signals the print belongs to a documented limited edition. Numbering alone does not create resale value; the artist, the demand, and the documentation do.
Artist's proof: An artist's proof, marked A/P, is a print made outside the main numbered run, traditionally reserved for the artist. Proofs are usually few, so they are sometimes priced higher than numbered prints. In practice their value still depends on the artist and the edition, not the A/P mark by itself.
Sells through: An edition sells through when its available copies sell out, often one size or price tier at a time. Publishers commonly raise the price as an edition sells through, so an early buyer pays less than a late one. A sold-out edition is not automatically a resale market; it just means you can no longer buy it new.
Hand signed vs plate signed: A hand-signed print carries the artist's actual signature, added by hand after printing. A plate-signed print reproduces a signature that was part of the original artwork or plate, so every copy shows it. Hand signing generally adds more to a print's value, but only when the edition and artist are documented.

Framing

Mat: A mat (or mount) is the flat border of card set between a print and its frame. Besides looking finished, it holds the artwork away from the glass, which prevents sticking and moisture damage. For anything you want to keep, an acid-free mat matters: a cheap one can yellow and stain the print.
Glazing: Glazing is the transparent sheet that covers a framed print, either glass or acrylic. Beyond protection, glazing choices affect glare and UV filtering. Anti-reflective and UV-filtering options cost more but cut glare and slow fading in bright rooms.
Acrylic vs glass: Acrylic glazing (often called by brand names like Plexiglas) is far lighter than glass and will not shatter, which makes it safer for large frames and shipping. Glass is cheaper, resists scratches better, and stays flat, but it is heavy and can break in transit. Museums lean on acrylic for large or traveling works.
Float mount: A float mount fixes the print on top of the backing so it appears to float, leaving a small gap and showing the paper's full edge, including any deckle. It suits prints with attractive edges or a stamped signature in the margin. It usually costs more than a standard mat because it is fitted by hand.

Buying, fees and returns

Price bands ($ to $$$$): The dollar-sign symbols on each directory card are a rough guide to a store's typical prices, not an exact figure. One $ marks budget, poster-tier pricing; $$ and $$$ are mid-range to gallery level; $$$$ marks premium or collector pricing. Compare the actual prices on the store, since ranges overlap and sales are common.
Made to order: A made-to-order item is produced specifically for your order rather than pulled from stock. Custom museum prints and many framed pieces work this way. Because nothing is pre-made, these orders are often final sale except for defects or shipping damage, so check the policy before you buy.
Final sale: Final sale means no returns or exchanges for change of mind. It commonly applies to framed, oversized, custom, made-to-order, or international orders even at stores with generous general return policies. Read for it in the fine print, because it is easy to miss until after you have paid.
Restocking fee: A restocking fee is a cut the seller keeps from your refund on a returned item, frequently around 20 percent in the art world. It can turn a change-of-mind return into a real loss. Some stores waive it if you accept store credit instead of a cash refund.
Change-of-mind return: A change-of-mind return is one you make because the piece did not work for you, not because it arrived damaged or not as described. These are the returns most limited by fine print: short windows, restocking fees, store-credit-only terms, or outright final sale. Damaged or misdescribed items usually have stronger protections.

Auctions

Hammer price: The hammer price is the amount of the winning bid when the auctioneer's hammer falls. It is not what you actually pay: the buyer's premium and any taxes and shipping are added on top. On framed work, shipping alone can rival the hammer price.
Buyer's premium: The buyer's premium is a surcharge the auction house adds to your winning bid, commonly between 9 and 28 percent, sometimes with an extra online-bidding fee. It is how many auction platforms make their money. Always factor it, plus shipping, into your maximum bid before you raise the paddle.
Reserve: The reserve is a confidential minimum the seller will accept. If bidding does not reach it, the lot goes unsold rather than selling to the top bidder. An item can look like a bargain during bidding and still not sell if the reserve is not met.
Lot: A lot is one numbered item, or a grouped set of items, sold together as a single unit at auction. Each lot has its own description, condition report, and estimate. Read the lot's condition report and attribution wording closely, since photos flatter and returns rarely exist.
Attribution qualifiers: Auction and dealer catalogues use precise phrases to hedge authorship. 'Attributed to' means probably but not certainly by the named artist; 'studio of' or 'school of' means by associates or followers; 'in the manner of' or 'after' means a later imitation or copy. These qualifiers do heavy lifting, so read them as carefully as the price.

Digital files and rights

Public domain: A work in the public domain is no longer under copyright, usually because it is old enough that protection has expired. Most pre-20th-century art is public domain, which is why museums can give away scans of it. You can print, sell, and adapt public-domain images, though a specific photo of an object may carry its own terms.
CC0: CC0 is a Creative Commons designation that places a work as close to the public domain as possible: the rights holder waives all copyright, so you can use the image for anything, including commercial work, without asking or crediting. Many major museums release open-access art under CC0. It applies to the image supplied, not necessarily to every reuse of every object photo.
Open access: Open access is a museum policy of publishing high-resolution files of public-domain works in its collection for free download, often under CC0. The Met, the Rijksmuseum, and the Smithsonian all run large open-access programs. For out-of-copyright art, the identical file a print shop sells is frequently free at the source.
DPI / PPI: DPI (dots per inch) and PPI (pixels per inch) describe print detail density. Around 300 is the common target for a crisp print seen up close. To find a file's clean print size, divide its pixel dimensions by 300: a 4,000-pixel file prints sharply at about 13 inches on that side.
Print resolution: Print resolution is simply whether a file holds enough pixels for the size you want. A file that looks fine on screen can print soft or blocky if enlarged too far. Check the pixel dimensions against your target: bigger prints need more pixels, though larger art is viewed from farther away, which is more forgiving.

Authenticity

Certificate of authenticity: A certificate of authenticity (COA) is a document asserting that a work is what the seller says it is. Its value is exactly the credibility of whoever issued it: a museum service, an established publisher, or a vetted gallery means something, while a COA printed by the same anonymous shop that made the print means little. Forged and AI-generated certificates exist, so verify the issuer, not the paper.
Provenance: Provenance is the record of who has owned a work over time, ideally back to the artist. Strong provenance supports both authenticity and value, especially for originals and vintage pieces. Gaps in the history are a reason for caution and for asking questions before you buy.
Original vs reproduction: An original is a unique physical work the artist made by hand, such as a painting or drawing. A reproduction is a print that copies an existing artwork, for example a museum poster of a famous painting. Both are legitimate purchases at very different prices; the honest question is which one a listing is actually selling, and whether its price matches.

Common art forms and mediums

Prints and materials

Editions and signatures

Framing

Buying, fees and returns

Auctions

Digital files and rights

Authenticity

Products