1st-art-gallery.comReviews of 1st-art-gallery.com

I bought the paint before due to I need to check the quality of he paint I love, When I got the paint, Im very surprise the perfect paint and the detail style. I want to buy the others paints if I can and I will choose the 1st-art-gallery again !!

I ordered a painting from 1st Art Gallery. I picked them because their website promised “museum quality” pictures that the original artist would be happy to endorse. There were also a large number of testimonials from happy customers. For various reasons, I could not inspect the painting immediately and it was over 7 days later before I looked at it. I was horrified when I did see it, as the whole painting was clearly painted to a standard well below the original. I contacted them immediately, explaining that I had only just seen the painting for the first time and was very dissatisfied. Their response was that they thought my expectations were high for the cost. I wrote back saying, yes, my expectations were high, but only as high as the wording on their website led me to have. This turned out to be a big mistake on my part as relations (via emails) rapidly deteriorated. The representative from the company scattered his emails to me with scorn, insults and threats. Some examples (all direct quotes): “Are you really surprised that the original which is worth MILLIONS is painted better than a copy that had cost only a few hundred dollars?” “We had experience servicing hundreds of people a month and I can easy recognize when someone has a personality disorder and / or is being unreasonable. Keep in mind that we have all your personal information and that posting lies on the internet is illegal, you might find yourself with a lawsuit for liable (sic), and your own name posted on the internet with warning for people not to deal with you.” “To say that you were "deceived" is preposterous, we will post this image online along with your name and a copy of the lawsuit that we will file against you. Any person with an ounce of a brain will see that you're insane.” There is quite a lot more in the same vein, but that’s enough for a flavor. They have indeed posted the image online – they really do seem to be proud of it, which is worrying. They are incapable of distinguishing a good painting from a poor one – not healthy given their line of business. The painting is Brueghel’s Hunters in the Snow. The whole point about Brueghel and the Northern Renaissance is the detail. At any point you should be able to look at the painting and take pleasure in the realistic depiction of what is there. In the ‘reproduction’ canvas there is no detail at all. It is very perfunctorily painted. It’s a disaster: at least two levels of quality below ‘museum quality’. I still have their original so I can provide pictures at any level of detail to prove this if needed. This is clearly not painted to museum standard, or any standard that Brueghel would have allowed out of his studio - it would have destroyed his reputation at a stroke. But go back to the first statement quoted from them: “Are you really surprised that the original which is worth MILLIONS is painted better than a copy that had cost only a few hundred dollars?” This says it all in identifying what these people are like. Firstly, it is saying “we don’t, never have, and never will produce paintings of top (i.e. museum) quality.” Therefore this claim on the website is a lie. Secondly, it is saying “we view you with contempt for expecting that level of quality”. Thirdly, it shows a total lack of understanding of what actually gives a work of art value. As far as I am concerned, the only correct response to their indignant question is “Well, yes, I am surprised, because this is exactly what your website promised.” 1st Art Gallery have said to me (twice) that I can send the painting back – at my expense – for improvements until I am happy with it. But since I missed the 7-day limit for refunds, they were absolutely rigid that there is no chance of getting my money back - despite the fact that I couldn’t see the painting in time. They completely fail (or refuse) to see my point that this painting is so far from the standard I expected that it would require complete repainting of everything except the sky. I cannot therefore see any realistic chance of this painting ever being brought up to an acceptable standard, especially in view of their scorn that I should expect better, and their stated belief that this painting is fine anyway. So I have decided to cut my losses, accept that I have lost more than $700 on a painting I am too ashamed of to hang on my wall, and find someone who will give me the quality I need. I have waited quite a long time to post this, because I wanted to prove to myself that their scornful jibe was false, and that I could get a faithful copy of this old master at an affordable price. It did cost me more, and I did need to wait longer, but it was still well within my budget, and definitely worth the wait. I am totally delighted with it, just as I was disgusted by the apology for art that I was sent by 1st Art. When thinking about buying an oil painting, bear in mind that what you put on your wall says a lot about you. You want to be proud of what you display in your house. I certainly could never live with a painting as crude as this, and 1st Art claim that all their paintings are produced to the same standard. So if you know anything about art, and want to be proud of any painting you commission (and also want to avoid the risk of encountering a deluge of hostile emails if you raise a problem), I recommend that you learn from my mistake. Don't assume that many good reviews are necessarily a guarantee of a good product and a good company. In this case they clearly are not. Do a bit more homework and digging around. You will find much better reproduction studios, and much nicer people, out there.

I found the paintings to be of very high quality, even though one of my ordered paintings had a high degree of complexity. Also, the delivery time was very close to the estimated delivery time. I will certainly shop here again.

I found this company on the internet and ordered in late November, early December for a Christmas gift for my husband. It arrived EARLY and I was just in awe of how incredible it was! A perfect reproduction of his favorite painting! He was blown away by it (and only a tad disappointed it wasn't by the original artist, valued at MILLIONS!). I also ordered another painting from another oversea's company two weeks earlier (in early November) and it is now mid January and that one has YET to arrive. When it does, I am returning it and will ONLY use 1st Art from now on. I've already got several more projects I am going to send to them, a family photo and another painting for gifts. This is the real deal! Order from them now, you will be VERY pleased you did! I am and happily count myself as a permanent customer! I only wish I could give them MORE than five stars, in my book - they are TEN stars plus!

Once again I am very pleased with my order from 1st Art Gallery. This time I ordered 3 paintings and they were all excellent. They also expedited my order enabling me to give 2 of the paintings as gifts. My house is beginning to look like a museum and I am thrilled. 1st Art Gallery does an excellent job and I will order again. BTW, their follow up response and reaction from Customer Service Manager David was outstanding and gave me the confidence and assurance that I would get an excellent product in an timely manner for the Holidays. Great job David and 1st Art Gallery! Robert P. Boston, MA USA

My painting has just arrived and I am absolutely delighted. I wish I could thank the artist in person. He/she has an amazing skill. I will definitely buy from 1st art gallery again. I love the work of Edward Coley Burne-Jones and have previously ordered prints on line which have proved extremely disappointing. This feels almost like owning an original. Erica Heeley

I recently had 7 paintings commissioned, mostly based on gothic art such as Albrecht Durer, but also a couple "nautical disaster" paintings from Ludolf Backhuysen. Previously I had a large version of Albert Bierstadt's Puget Sound On The Pacific Coast done. With all of the paintings I got done, 1st Art Gallery did an amazing job. The gothic art was based off of rubbings done from wood carvings, a difficult thing to work from when doing oil paintings, and they did an amazing job translating it. I will continue to do business with them in the future, and am constantly recommending them to friends. The price and the quality of work are top notch, and for the one time I had to deal with customer service (a sizing issue they contacted me about), the issue was quickly and easily resolved. Amazing company and I look forward to dealing with them again!

I bought a reproduction of a painting by John Constable called Hadleigh Castle. It shows the area where my home town is, before it was ever built. It's beautiful, thank you very much. It was very quick to arrive and I was kept informed as to how it was going.