Hotel Lobby Art

Original large-scale paintings for hotel lobbies, hand-painted and signed by the artist, so your property never hangs the same piece as anyone else.

Does a hotel lobby need an original painting, or will a print do?

A print will fill the wall, but in a lobby it is usually the wrong call, because the art is the first proof a guest gets of what kind of place this is. A reproduction says calculated. An original says considered. Guests pick up that difference in a second, without stopping to think about it.

There is a plainer reason too. Every painting here is sold once, so your lobby will not share its art with the hotel two blocks away or with a property in another city. That holds whether the building is a boutique independent or a five-star flag. Large originals also carry the volume of a lobby better than a printed panel, because real paint has texture and depth that a guest can see while they stand at the desk waiting to check in.

Ephemeral Flames: Original Oil on Canvas by Nahira | VanArtHub, an original painting in the Hotel Lobby Art collection
Ephemeral Flames: Original Oil on Canvas by Nahira | VanArtHub · $1,446.00

Why does lobby art matter more than any other art in a hotel?

Lobby art matters most because guests form their opinion of a hotel in the first minute, at the exact moment they are standing still with nothing to do but look around. Check-in is a queue, and a queue is captive attention. Whatever hangs in that sightline gets studied harder than anything in the building, including the room the guest paid for. That is why we tell hoteliers to spend their art budget where the waiting happens. A single commanding original in the lobby outworks ten pleasant pieces upstairs. Ours are signed, one-of-a-kind paintings, which gives the front desk a true sentence no chain can copy: no other hotel in the world has this wall.

What size art does a double-height lobby need?

A double-height lobby needs a painting at least 200 cm (79 inches) wide, or a grouped series covering equivalent area, because normal domestic sizes disappear against a two-storey wall.

Lobby ceiling heightMinimum painting widthIn inchesApproach
Standard, 2.7 to 3 m (9 to 10 ft)120 to 150 cm47 to 59 inOne strong horizontal work
Raised, 3 to 4.5 m (10 to 15 ft)150 to 200 cm59 to 79 inSingle large piece or a diptych
Double height, 5.5 m+ (18 ft+)200 cm and up79 in and upOversized vertical work, or a stacked series

Scale is the mistake we see most in lobby photos sent to us. A 90 cm canvas that would own a living room reads like a postage stamp beside a mezzanine. When in doubt, go one size up, and start your search in large abstract paintings, where the work is built for distance viewing.

Inferno of the Mind: Original Oil on Canvas by Nahira | VanArtHub, an original painting in the Hotel Lobby Art collection
Inferno of the Mind: Original Oil on Canvas by Nahira | VanArtHub · $813.00

Where should lobby art hang for check-in sightlines?

The two walls that earn art first are the wall behind the check-in desk and the wall a guest faces the moment the entrance doors open. Behind the desk, the painting shares every guest photo, every queue, and every conversation with staff, so it becomes the visual signature of the property. Facing the entrance, art pulls people in and sets the tone before a word is spoken. Hang higher than residential height, with the centre around 160 to 170 cm (63 to 67 inches), because lobby viewing distances are longer and floors are often stepped. Before committing, test the exact wall with our see art on your wall tool using a photo taken from the front door, which is the sightline that decides everything.

What subjects work in a hotel lobby?

Abstract and atmospheric work suits lobbies best because it welcomes every guest without telling any of them what to think. A lobby serves honeymooners, auditors, and tired families in the same hour, and a painting with a strong narrative will land differently on each. Colour and scale do the emotional work more reliably than subject matter. We admit the tradeoff in our position: abstraction can drift toward blandness when it is chosen timidly, and a timid lobby is worse than a divisive one. Choose a piece with real conviction, then build outward. The wider program, from corridors to suites, is covered in our hotel wall art guide. If it helps, our team will shortlist options against your lobby photos at no charge, and delivery is free, insured, and takes days, not months.

Frequently asked questions

A lobby piece arrived damaged during install. What happens now?

Tell us the same day and send photos before anything is unwrapped further. Every shipment leaves our Vancouver studio fully insured, and each canvas is packed by hand with nothing pressing on the painted surface. Because these are one of a kind originals, the honest outcome is a refund or a replacement piece we choose together, never an identical copy of the damaged work.

Can you deliver to a construction site or a project office instead of the hotel?

Yes, we deliver to a construction site or project office. Give us the address plus a named person and phone number and we ship there. We would rather the work arrive after dust and painting are finished, because canvases stored on an active site collect damage that has nothing to do with shipping. If your schedule slips, tell us early and we will hold the shipping date rather than send art into a building site.

Can a hotel buy a painting that is still being made?

Yes, a hotel can buy a painting that is still being made. Our works in progress collection at /collections/watch-art-being-made lets you follow it, send an offer, or claim it before it is finished. Design teams use it when a lobby needs a particular scale and the finished pieces at that size keep selling. Start early, because a large oil takes weeks of layering and drying that cannot be rushed.

Does the 14-day trial apply to a commercial order?

Yes, the 14-day trial covers commercial orders. A hotel gets the same 14 days as anyone else: hang it in the lobby, judge it under the real lighting, and if it is wrong send it back for a full refund with return shipping paid by us. Lobby lighting is exactly why we keep that open to trade buyers, since a painting judged in studio daylight can behave differently under warm spots.

Our lobby art budget is fixed. What actually sits inside it here?

Lobby pieces here run from about $450 to $2,200, with the middle near $1,200, and the largest canvases reach roughly 102 by 120 cm. Inside a fixed number, one strong painting behind the desk usually beats three medium ones spread around the room. Shipping is free and insured, so the price you see is the landed price. Send the budget and wall sizes and we will build the list.

Which artists here hold a large lobby wall best?

Melina Ghaemi and Roshan, in our experience. Their large oils on canvas carry across a room, which is what a lobby needs, since a guest reads the work from ten metres before ever standing close to it. Phaedra, Nahira and Peyman Mehdizadeh suit the closer walls near seating and the lift lobby. Send a floor plan and we will place them for you.

What should the first artwork a hotel guest sees do?

The first piece a guest sees should tell them where they are, so a Vancouver hotel wins with West Coast water, forest, or mountain light rather than generic global abstraction. Guests decide how they feel about a hotel in the walk from door to desk. Give them one clear image to attach that feeling to, not six competing ones.

How big should art be on a double-height lobby wall?

On a double-height wall, the artwork needs to read from 10 metres away, which in practice means 200 cm (79 inches) or more on the long side, or a stacked group that reads as one tall block. Hang the visual centre at about 200 to 240 cm from the floor, not at the middle of the wall, or it floats out of reach.

How much does a large lobby painting cost?

A single lobby-scale original, roughly 150 to 220 cm on the long side, generally runs $1,500 to $6,000 depending on the artist, the medium, and how much surface work the piece carries. A group of three medium canvases can reach the same visual size for less. We will price both options against your wall before you commit.

Where should art go around the check-in desk?

Put the main piece on the wall a guest faces while queueing, and keep the wall directly behind the desk quieter so it does not fight with staff, signage, and screens. Check the sightline yourself: stand at the entrance door, then at the end of the queue, then at the lift. Anything invisible from all three spots is money spent badly.

How do you ship an oversized lobby painting?

Oversized canvases travel in a custom-built wooden crate, fully insured, and for the largest pieces we can ship the canvas rolled with stretcher bars for assembly on site. Tell us the door widths, lift dimensions, and whether there is a loading dock before we build the crate. A painting that cannot fit through the service door is a real and avoidable problem.

Should lobby art have a plaque with the artist's name?

Yes, put a small plaque or card beside every lobby piece with the artist name, title, medium, and year. It costs almost nothing and it changes how guests read the space: named art looks collected, unnamed art looks bought by the metre. We supply the exact wording from each Certificate of Authenticity so the plaque matches the record.

When is one big lobby painting the wrong idea?

One big painting is wrong when the lobby has no wall long enough to hold it, when glass and daylight fill every surface, or when the ceiling is low and a large canvas makes the room feel shorter. In those lobbies, a series of smaller works along the walk to the desk gives the same presence without crowding the space.

For your space:

Original Canadian Paintings → Art for Hotels →

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I select art that works with my hotel's existing design?

Start with palette. Identify the dominant and accent colours in your lobby. Select art that either harmonizes with these tones or provides deliberate, controlled contrast. VanArtHub provides high-resolution images and palette samples.

Can you supply art for multiple hotel properties?

Yes. We work with hospitality groups to develop coherent art programs across multiple properties: brand identity with unique original works. Trade pricing and coordinated logistics standard.

How quickly can hotel art be delivered?

In-stock original paintings ship within 5 business days. Full property programs requiring custom commissions typically take 8-12 weeks from brief to delivery. Rush service available for pre-opening deadlines.