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

Horrible! "Let’s talk about ‘stupidity’. I have purchased paintings from 1st Art Gallery over the past 5 years, which have all been good replicas of the originals. My last purchase wasn’t even close to the original, so of course I would return it, expecting a full refund. I couldn’t even believe they sent me such a horrible painting. I sent them an email explaining this, and their response was: 1. I can keep the painting and they will credit me $100.00… which doesn’t make any sense. Why would I keep it? 2. I can mail the painting back for them to try to fix it… which is unacceptable. You can’t ‘touch-up’ such a disastrous painting. 3. I can pay out of my own pocket to return the painting to them, and they will then deduct an additional $45.00 from my purchase amount to cover ‘their shipping costs’? Shipping was free! And why would I pay for their mistake? Also, per their website, they state: 365 Day Money Back Guarantee. I gave them the option of having someone repaint the painting and I will destroy the one they sent, or send me a return shipping label and I will return it back to them. They never responded. I had to dispute the charge with my credit card company, to which they agreed about the issue. They informed me that they’ve credited the charge and it will remain permanent. Oh, THEN 1st Art Gallery started making excuses as to why the painting didn’t come out as it should have. Too late for that! I have since purchased this painting from another site and it came out beautifully. Back to the ‘stupidity’. How stupid was it to lose a loyal customer over this?? ** UPDATE: I just received a response, years later, stating they send emails of the paintings for review before shipping. As they are aware, they never sent me an email for review of this disaster. If they did, it would have never been accepted. So, in addition to the stupidity, they are now lying. Wow!

Be very careful with this company. You have to read the "100% Satisfaction" page and the "Returns Policy" page. The "Returns Policy" is only part of their rules. They will not refund if you don't like the work from the photograph of the painting. They will refuse. The photograph I received showed the painting to be crude in execution. (Updated 5/9/22 -- As the work was so badly done, I had no confidence in necessary improvements; plus I asks for a refund which was refused. The painting was never shipped, but the company lied to my credit card company, saying it was shipped, and I HAD received it. So, they blocked me getting a refund through my credit card. CAUTION)

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.

Service - I can hope that this was only a problem with the person who was assigned to me and not the whole company, but the representative who handled the transaction was at times unprofessional, and sometimes downright rude, at one point typing an email in all caps with an extremely sarcastic tone, making a point that he ultimately admitted to being wrong about in the first place. I hope that this doesn't represent the standards with which the gallery operates, but I can only tell you about my experience. The customer service at every step of the way was horrible. Painting - The quality of the painting itself is excellent. The artist is obviously very talented at what he does. However, there were also issues here. I asked for some modifications that I felt made the image that they were using look more like the original. Some of these requests were done, and done well, but other things were not. The entire tone of the painting is a little more dark than the original, and I was a little surprised by this. When I saw the painting (the send a picture of the painting before they ship it) I asked if anything could be done, but apparently nothing could be done and the painting was shipped. Handling - This was the last straw. When the painting arrived I saw three distinct horizontal lines creased into the paint and canvas in the lower left corner (pictured in attached photos.) The picture that they sent of the painting did not have this, meaning that it was mishandled at some point before it left the gallery. I know this because it probably wouldn't have happened if the paint was fully dry, and the cardboard tube it was shipped in is in perfect condition. It isn't so serious that it ruins the painting, but it certainly detracts from the experience. Overall, in my experience, the company employs excellent artists, and horrible customer service representatives and package handlers. I have people asking where I got it and wanting to order and I don't know that I will send them any more business on account of how my transaction was handled, and whoever mangled it after the artist finished his wonderful job. Quality - 10/10 Service - 1/10 Handling - 1/10 After I posted my review I recieved the folowing e-mail: "OK, wait a few days.... your name will be all over the internet with what a horrible person and customer you are, only idiots get bad service and I knew you are an idiot."