Contemporary Canadian Art for Sale

Original contemporary paintings by Canadian artists, most of them working in Vancouver, each piece hand-painted, signed, and the only one of its kind.

Can you visit the artists' studios in Vancouver?

Studio visits can be arranged by appointment for serious buyers and interior design professionals, and you can write to us to set one up. Most of the painters in this collection work in Vancouver, so the studios sit close together: Phaedra and her psychological surrealism, Nahira's figurative abstraction, Melina Ghaemi's abstract expressionism, Roshan's spiritual meditations. Standing in front of an unfinished canvas tells you more about a painter than any artist statement does.

If you live too far to come in person, ask us and we will send extra photographs, close-ups of the surface, exact measurements, and a short video of the piece in daylight before you buy anything. After that, the 14-day home trial does the rest: hang the painting, live with it for two weeks, and if it is wrong, we refund you in full and pay the return shipping.

Golden Whispers 01: Original Colored Pencil on Artboard by Phaedra | VanArtHub, an original painting in the Contemporary Canadian Art collection
Golden Whispers 01: Original Colored Pencil on Artboard by Phaedra | VanArtHub · $870.00

What makes contemporary Canadian art recognisable?

There is no single Canadian style, but there is a strong regional character, and on the West Coast it comes out of the weather and the water. Painters working in and around Vancouver live with grey green light, long wet winters, cedar, fog, and a tidal edge that is never the same colour twice, and that shows up even in work with no visible subject. The other half of the story is who is painting here. Canadian studios are full of artists who trained somewhere else and brought that training with them, so a canvas made in Vancouver can carry an older drawing tradition and Pacific light in the same image. We are based here, we meet the artists, and we pack the work ourselves. Our Canadian art page goes further into the scene and where it sits.

Does buying Canadian art actually support the artist?

It does when you buy from a gallery that works directly with the artists, which is the reason this collection exists. Each painting here comes from a named artist we deal with in person, not from a print-on-demand catalogue or a reseller shipping images from a warehouse, so the sale is income for someone working in Canada rather than a licence fee on a design file. Here is the honest limit: our roster is small on purpose. A giant marketplace will show you forty thousand results, and we will show you a few dozen paintings we have physically held. If maximum choice is the thing you want most, we are the wrong shop.

Echoes of the Unseen 03: Original Oil on Board by Nahira | VanArtHub, an original painting in the Contemporary Canadian Art collection
Echoes of the Unseen 03: Original Oil on Board by Nahira | VanArtHub · $1,265.00

How does buying Canadian art work if you live in the United States?

The same way it works inside Canada, and the shipping is free and fully insured in both directions across the border. We send the work from our Vancouver studio to any address in Canada or the United States, the painting arrives with its Certificate of Authenticity, and the trial period starts the day it lands rather than the day you order.

What you getCanadaUnited States
Transit after dispatch3 to 7 business days5 to 10 business days
Shipping costFreeFree
Insured in transitYes, full valueYes, full value
Home trial14 days from delivery14 days from delivery
Return shipping if you send it backWe pay itWe pay it
In the boxSigned original and Certificate of AuthenticitySigned original and Certificate of Authenticity

Which Canadian subjects are worth collecting, and which are cliché?

Buy the painting that gets the light right, and be careful with the postcard mountain. The Canadian scenes that hold up over years are usually the quiet ones: a forest interior where you cannot see the sky, water at the moment the tide turns, low cloud sitting on a treeline, or abstraction built out of local colour instead of a chosen palette. The versions that go stale fast are the souvenir ones, a sharp peak with a mirror lake and a canoe, painted from another painting rather than from a place. Look for evidence the artist actually stood there, usually in how the light behaves and how little of the scene is tidy. Most of that work sits in our landscape paintings, and the city end of it is in Vancouver wall art.

Frequently asked questions

What should I expect to spend in this collection?

Plan for around $925, which is the middle of this group. The full span runs from about $72 to about $3,000. The middle sits higher here than in our small-format lists because this collection leans toward larger canvases in oil and acrylic rather than small works on artboard. Free insured shipping is included at every price, so nothing extra gets added at checkout.

I am in the USA. If I send the painting back, who pays the return shipping?

We do. The 14-day home trial works the same across the border: hang it, live with it, and if it is wrong, tell us inside 14 days. We cover the return shipping and refund you in full. Keep the original box and packing, because it is the safest way to send a canvas back. The outbound shipping was free and fully insured as well.

I am furnishing a whole house. Will you put a list together for me?

Yes, that is our free art advisory. Send us your room photos, a floor plan if you have one, and a total budget, and we come back with a shortlist matched to the walls, the light, and the money, room by room. It costs nothing and carries no obligation. For a full house we usually suggest one anchor piece per main room and smaller work in halls and bedrooms.

How is this collection different from your general contemporary art collection?

This one is limited to work made in Canada, and it runs larger and dearer as a result. The general contemporary list is broader and starts lower, with more small works on artboard. Several artists appear on both, including Nahira, Phaedra, Roshan, and Nima Sayadian. If buying Canadian matters most, start here. If price matters most, start with the broader list and come back.

Will the colours look the same in person as they do on my screen?

Close, but never identical. Every screen renders colour differently, and a painting also shifts with the light in your room, so a canvas photographed in Vancouver daylight can read warmer or cooler on your wall. We shoot in natural light and do not retouch the colour. The 14-day trial exists for exactly this: if the colour is wrong at home, send it back at our cost.

Can you hold a painting for a few days while I measure the wall?

We would rather not, and the honest reason is that every piece is one of a kind, so holding one means telling another buyer no on a maybe. Measure first, which takes two minutes, then use our Art in Your Room tool to see the piece on your wall at true scale. If it still feels risky, buy it and treat the 14-day trial as your hold.

Do I pay customs or duty on Canadian art shipped to the USA?

Original paintings normally enter the USA duty free under the tariff heading for original works of art, so most American buyers pay nothing extra at the border. Tariff policy does change, and couriers sometimes add a small brokerage fee, so ask us before you buy if it matters. We declare every piece as an original by a named artist.

What makes West Coast Canadian painting look different?

West Coast work carries the light and weather of this place: wet grey air, deep cedar green, mountain and ocean edges, and a lot of restraint in the colour. Vancouver painters live with rain for much of the year, and it shows in the palette. You see fewer hot desert colours here and more silver, blue, and moss.

Is Canadian art cheaper for an American buyer?

For an American buyer, a painting priced in Canadian dollars often works out cheaper once the exchange rate is applied, and that is the main practical advantage of buying from a Vancouver gallery. Confirm the currency shown at checkout before you pay, and check whether your card adds a foreign transaction fee. Rates move, so today's saving is not a promise.

How long does shipping from Vancouver to the USA take?

Expect 5 to 10 business days to a US address and 3 to 7 within Canada, with free fully insured shipping either way. Border processing is the part that varies, since paperwork for an original artwork gets checked by hand. We pack rigid, send tracking the day the parcel leaves, and follow it until it arrives.

What size painting is practical to ship across the border?

Anything up to about 150 cm (59 inches) on the longest side ships as a normal boxed parcel and reaches you without special handling. Above that, freight and crating come into it, which takes a few more days. If you want something very large sent to the USA, tell us early so we can plan the crate and route.

How do I know a painting was really made in Canada?

The certificate names the artist, and our artists work in Canada, most of them in and around Vancouver, so you can look them up and see where they paint. We also film work in progress in the studio for many pieces. If provenance matters to you, ask and we will tell you which studio the piece came from.

When is buying Canadian art not the right choice?

If you need the piece in two days, or you want to see it in person before paying, ordering across the border is not ideal, since even fast shipping takes several business days and studio visits here are by arrangement. Buyers who need same-week delivery are better served locally. Our 14-day home trial covers the seeing-it-in-person part.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What defines contemporary Canadian art?

Work made by living Canadian artists, reflecting current artistic concerns: identity, place, materiality, tradition and innovation. At VanArtHub, our Canadian artists are predominantly Vancouver-based.

Do you ship Canadian art internationally?

Yes. All original paintings ship with complimentary delivery to the USA, Canada, and the UAE. International shipping to other regions is available upon request.

Can I visit the artists' studios in Vancouver?

Studio visits can be arranged by appointment for serious buyers and interior design professionals. Contact VanArtHub to coordinate.

Can you frame a Canadian original before it ships?

Yes. Framing is done in our own workshop on Davie Street in Vancouver, so a piece can be framed and fitted with hanging hardware before it leaves. Frames are cut to the piece rather than to a standard size, and we use conservation materials throughout. Tell us which painting and what the wall is like, and we will send back the combinations.