Original painting from the VanArtHub collection, shown alongside a comparison with Federation Gallery

Vancouver gallery comparison

Updated August 2026

VanArtHub vs Federation Gallery: which should you buy original art from?

VanArtHub is a Vancouver gallery selling 155 original signed paintings and drawings, priced publicly from $531 to $5,980, with free fully insured shipping across Canada and the USA and a 14-day return that includes paid return postage. Federation Gallery is the federation of canadian artists’ granville island gallery, with published prices and juried member shows. VanArtHub is the better choice if you want a curated roster, free insured shipping built into the price and a written 14-day return. Federation Gallery is the better choice if you want breadth, juried variety across hundreds of Canadian artists, and a Granville Island space open every day.

Browse the 155 originals
1941 Founded
2,000+ Member artists
Yes Prices shown online
18+ Exhibitions per year

The short answer

Federation Gallery is a rotating juried survey of Canadian art with the prices on the labels. VanArtHub is a fixed, curated collection with shipping, returns and authenticity all included in the number you see.

Where VanArtHub wins

VanArtHub is the better choice if you want a curated roster, free insured shipping built into the price and a written 14-day return. Federation Gallery is the better choice if you want breadth, juried variety across hundreds of Canadian artists, and a Granville Island space open every day.

Where Federation Gallery is genuinely better

Federation Gallery has something no commercial gallery can match: a national membership going back to 1941 and a jury system that filters thousands of submissions down to about sixty works a show. That produces real variety at real prices, published openly, with instalment payments and a stated refund guarantee. If you want to see a wide slice of Canadian painting in one room and know what everything costs, this is an excellent place to start.

Federation Gallery is the Granville Island home of the Federation of Canadian Artists, a registered charity founded in 1941 by professional Canadian artists including members of the Group of Seven. It is at 1241 Cartwright Street and is open daily from 10am to 5pm. The Federation has over 2,000 members across BC and Alberta chapters, runs more than 18 exhibitions a year, and each show is juried, typically presenting around 60 selected works. Artwork prices are published on its browse pages in Canadian dollars, and the gallery offers payment in three instalments and states a 100% refund guarantee.

Federation Gallery at a glance: National artist society gallery · 1941 · 1241 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver · visit their website

VanArtHub vs Federation Gallery, point by point

Fourteen things that decide whether buying a painting goes smoothly. Everything in the Federation Gallery column was read from that gallery's own website on 4 August 2026.

What matters when you buy VanArtHub Federation Gallery
Price shown publicly on every artwork ✓Every one of 155 pieces ✓Listed in CAD
Buy online without emailing first ✓Add to cart, checkout ✓Cart on the browse pages
Ships across Canada and the USA ✓Canada 3-7 days, USA 5-10 days ≈Shipping not published
Free fully insured shipping ✓Included in the price ✗Not published
14-day return, return shipping paid ✓We pay return shipping ≈100% refund guarantee stated
Certificate of Authenticity included ✓Signed, with COA ✓Juried member work
Lifetime Trade-Back for store credit ✓Any piece, any time ✗Not offered
Originals only, never prints ✓One-of-a-kind originals ✗Also shows prints and pastels
Original work under $500 ✓13 of 155 pieces ✓Many works under $500
Browse and buy any hour, no appointment ✓Open 24/7 online ≈Site open, gallery 10-5 daily
Walk-in gallery you can visit ✓1242 Davie St, open 7 days ✓1241 Cartwright Street
In-person delivery and hanging ✗Courier delivery only ✗Collection or courier
Rent before you buy ✗Purchase only ✗Purchase only
Public verified buyer reviews ✓Rated 5.0/5 on Etsy ✗No public review page

Score: across these 14 points, VanArtHub is the only one of the two to offer 7 of them, and Federation Gallery is the only one to offer 0. The rest are offered by both galleries or by neither. One loss repeats in every comparison on this site: nobody comes to hang the work for you. VanArtHub ships by courier. Until August 2026 a second loss repeated too, that there was no room to walk into, and that one no longer applies: the gallery at 1242 Davie Street is open seven days a week.

How the two galleries score, side by side

Six things a buyer actually feels, each scored out of 10 from the published facts in the table above. VanArtHub scores 56 out of 60 in total and Federation Gallery scores 43 out of 60, but the totals matter far less than the shape: the two galleries are strong in different places.

Strength profile, out of 10 per axis

Numbered points match the list below the chart.

1 2 3 4 5 6
VanArtHub Federation Gallery
  • 1 Price shown up front 10 / 9
  • 2 Buy online in minutes 10 / 7
  • 3 Ships USA + Canada 10 / 5
  • 4 Risk-free return 10 / 6
  • 5 Under $500 options 9 / 8
  • 6 Visit in person 7 / 8

Steps from "I like this" to "it is on my wall"

Fewer steps means fewer places to give up.

VanArtHub3 steps
Federation Gallery4 steps
  • VanArtHub: choose the piece, check out, it is delivered free and insured.
  • Federation Gallery: find the piece, add it to the cart, check out, then settle shipping or delivery separately.

Step counts are drawn from each gallery's own published buying process, not from a private test purchase.

What VanArtHub originals actually cost

All 155 original artworks live on vanarthub.com, counted on 4 August 2026. Prices in CAD.

Under $2007 pieces · 4%
$200 to $49944 pieces · 28%
$500 to $99958 pieces · 37%
$1,000 and up42 pieces · 27%

Median price $1,265. Lowest $531, highest $5,980. 69 of the 155 works are priced under $1,000, and 13 under $700. Shares are rounded to whole percent, so they do not total exactly 100. Federation Gallery also publishes prices, including many works under $500, so this is one of the rare like-for-like price comparisons available in Vancouver.

How is Federation Gallery different from a commercial gallery?

It is the exhibition space of a registered charity. The Federation of Canadian Artists was founded in 1941 by professional Canadian artists, including members of the Group of Seven, and now has over 2,000 members across BC and Alberta. Work gets on the wall by passing a jury, not by being represented by a dealer, and the shows rotate roughly twice a month across more than 18 exhibitions a year.

That means the inventory is wide and always changing. VanArtHub is the opposite: a fixed, curated group of Vancouver artists whose work stays on the site until it sells, with each sold piece kept online afterwards as a permanent record.

Do both galleries publish prices?

Yes, and that puts them in the minority in Vancouver. Federation Gallery lists prices in Canadian dollars on its browse pages, with examples such as C$550 for a 10x8 inch work and C$1,070 for a 36x24. It also offers payment in three instalments and states a 100% refund guarantee.

VanArtHub publishes all 155 of its prices, from $531 to $5,980 CAD, median $1,265, with 13 works under $700. Both galleries let you compare by price before you speak to anyone, which is genuinely useful and rare locally.

What about shipping and returns?

This is where the two diverge. VanArtHub includes free fully insured shipping in every listed price, delivers in 3 to 7 business days across Canada and 5 to 10 across the USA, and publishes a 14-day return that refunds in full with return postage paid by VanArtHub.

Federation Gallery states a 100% refund guarantee but does not publish shipping terms or a return window on its browse pages, so a buyer outside Vancouver would need to confirm both with the gallery on 604-681-8534 or sales@artists.ca before committing.

Which has more choice?

Federation Gallery, by a wide margin, but not all at once. With over 2,000 members and about 60 juried works per exhibition, the total number of artists whose work passes through is far larger than any commercial gallery’s roster. The catch is that the show changes roughly every two weeks, so a piece you liked may be gone.

VanArtHub carries 155 originals at any time. Smaller, but stable, filterable by subject, style, medium, colour and price, and every listing stays up so you can come back to it.

See the prices for yourself

Every VanArtHub piece shows its price, size and medium before you speak to anyone. Free insured shipping, and 14 days to send it back if it is wrong.

Browse original paintings

155 originals from $531. Certificate of Authenticity with every piece.

Which one is right for you?

Four situations, with an honest answer for each. In one of them Federation Gallery is the better gallery, and pretending otherwise would not help you.

Federation Gallery

You want to see a wide range of Canadian painting in one visit

Juried shows rotating roughly twice a month, drawn from over 2,000 member artists, on Granville Island seven days a week.

VanArtHub

You want shipping and returns settled before you pay

Free insured shipping is included in the listed price and the 14-day return is published, with return postage paid.

Federation Gallery

You want to spread the cost of a larger piece

It offers payment in three instalments. VanArtHub charges once at checkout.

VanArtHub

You want to come back to the same piece in a month

The collection is stable and every listing stays online. Federation Gallery’s shows change roughly every two weeks.

Looking for a Federation Gallery alternative in Vancouver?

A Federation Gallery alternative is worth considering for one reason above all: permanence. Federation Gallery runs more than 18 juried exhibitions a year, so the work on its walls changes roughly every fortnight. That is what makes it a fine place to see a wide slice of Canadian painting, and also why a piece you liked last month may be gone.

VanArtHub’s collection of 155 originals is stable. Every listing stays online until it sells, and sold pieces stay up afterwards as a permanent record, so you can come back to something a month later and still find it. The catalogue filters by subject, style, medium, colour and price.

Both galleries publish prices, which makes them unusually easy to compare in a city where most do not. The difference is what happens after you choose. Federation Gallery states a 100% refund guarantee and offers payment in three instalments, but does not publish shipping terms. VanArtHub includes free fully insured shipping in the listed price and publishes a 14-day return with postage paid.

See what is available

VanArtHub and Federation Gallery: common questions

Is VanArtHub an alternative to Federation Gallery?

Yes, with a different shape. VanArtHub is a Vancouver gallery with a fixed collection of 155 original signed artworks priced from $531 to $5,980, free fully insured shipping across Canada and the USA, and a 14-day return with return postage paid. Federation Gallery on Granville Island shows rotating juried exhibitions drawn from the Federation of Canadian Artists’ 2,000-plus members, with prices published in Canadian dollars.

Does Federation Gallery show prices online?

Yes. Prices appear on its browse pages in Canadian dollars, with examples including C$550, C$1,070 and C$1,800. It also offers payment in three instalments and states a 100% refund guarantee.

What is the Federation of Canadian Artists?

A registered charity and national arts service organisation founded in 1941 by professional Canadian artists including members of the Group of Seven. It has over 2,000 members across BC and Alberta chapters and runs Federation Gallery at 1241 Cartwright Street on Granville Island.

How do I get work into Federation Gallery?

Through its jury process. Each exhibition presents roughly 60 juried works, and the gallery runs more than 18 exhibitions a year including international open shows. VanArtHub instead works with a selected roster of artists it represents directly.

Which gallery ships across Canada and the USA?

VanArtHub ships free and fully insured to both, with published delivery windows of 3 to 7 business days in Canada and 5 to 10 in the USA. Federation Gallery does not publish shipping terms online, so contact 604-681-8534 or sales@artists.ca to confirm.

Where is Federation Gallery?

1241 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC V6H 4B7, open daily 10am to 5pm.

Facts about Federation Gallery on this page were taken from its own website on 4 August 2026. Galleries change their sites, so check anything that matters to your purchase directly with them. VanArtHub's own figures come from its live catalogue on the same date.

Compare VanArtHub with other Vancouver galleries

All 13 comparisons are collected on the Vancouver gallery comparison hub.

Useful next reads

Buy an original you can send back

155 signed originals, every price on the page, free insured shipping across Canada and the USA, and 14 days to change your mind at no cost.

Browse the collection

Rated 5.0/5 on Etsy by verified buyers. Certificate of Authenticity with every piece.