Art In The Digital Age
Featured on forbes.com
As the Internet becomes a marketplace for most things, fine art is no exception. Though few websites offer free professional curatorial services, a range of works from around the world, and a global brand.
In 2010, Saatchi Online planted itself in Los Angeles. Currently housed in Santa Monica, the growing operation has been expanding in the last year.
The genesis of the art site came from Charles Saatchi’s brand. Charles Saatchi co-founded advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, along with his brother Maurice, in 1970. Charles was an early and avid art collector, and founded the Saatchi Gallery in London in 1985.
Saatchi Online was developed in 2006 in London as a way to display the art on the Internet. Originally, the site was not meant to sell anything, but rather only to display works by emerging artists.
By 2010, the site shifted into a marketplace, and has been connecting painters, sculptors, photographers, and other artists directly with consumers ever since.
“Our mission is to give artists, many of whom don’t have galleries representing them, the chance to show and sell their work, so that they can support themselves through the work that they are making,” said Rebecca Wilson, Chief Curator and Director of Artist Development for Saatchi Online, and Director of the Saatchi Gallery.
“In addition to supporting emerging artists, our aim is to make contemporary art more widely accessible to people who love it and want to buy it.”
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