L. Cornelissen & Son, London
Cornelissen has been around since the 1800s. It’s located in the heart of Bloomsbury, Fitzrovia tucked away near the British Museum. If you didn’t know it was there you would easily miss it.
I first discovered the shop when I was a student studying fine art at The Royal College of Art under Peter Doig in 1996. I was told about it from the older artists at the college – it’s the kind of place that gets handed down to you. When I first visited, I was shocked by how lovely the place was.
Walking into Cornelissen is like walking into a set from Harry Potter. It still has all its original fittings and there are loads of antique items throughout the shop but, despite it being so beautiful, it is still a properly functioning art shop. Everyone who works there is an artist, and they really know their stuff. The shop is filled with jars of pigment all lined in a row, colours, brushes and much more.
If I were to design my ideal art shop, Cornelissen would be the place I drew inspiration from because it has everything a modern artist needs, while also being strongly connected to the past and the heritage of the place.
Russell & Chapple, London
The sister store of Cornelissen is called Russell & Chapple and can be found on Store Street, just over a five-minute walk from Cornelissen.
Russell & Chapple has traditionally served set designers and prop stylists for London’s theatre district, so it is a great shop if you need to secure large quantities of paint. It also has a framing shop inside the store which is ideal if you’re looking for a way of getting your artwork mounted.
My favourite part of the shop is where I get to browse its glitter collection, which is always loads of fun. It has hundreds of pots of glitter all in different colours and sizes. Funny little things like that are great and easy to find at Russell & Chapple.
Sennelier, Paris
I first discovered Sennelier when I visited Paris as a young art student. The art school École des Beaux-Arts is nearby, and that is how I found out about it.
This shop is located at the bottom of the Rue de Seine, right near the Musée d’Orsay and walking distance from the river.
Sennelier is quite similar to Cornelissen. I just love those art shops that feel like they’ve been around for 100 years or so, but they are still functioning as a modern workshop. It’s got that sense of history where you feel like Monet could walk in there at any moment.
There’s just so much to discover and choose from that you could be in there for hours. Upstairs is a whole paper department and downstairs is home to the paint. Sennelier makes its own paint and oil bars so it’s great to browse its collection, as often there is stuff you can’t access in England.
If you choose to visit Sennelier, I recommend meshing it with a proper Parisian day out. Begin the day with a nice coffee, walk along the Seine and maybe pop into a museum along the way.
Atlantis Art Materials, East London
Atlantis is the UK’s largest art materials store, and it is based in east London, in London Fields. It was located on Brick Lane in the ’90s, before it became overrun with tourists, and that is when I first discovered the place.
It’s traditionally been where all the artists in east London have gone to buy their equipment. You can get canvas, linen, framing, paint, paper… It truly has everything. The selling approach is pretty hands-off and it’s the sort of place you go into with a list of things you need, with their products selling for a reasonable price.
It’s not as glamorous as Cornelissen or as romantic as Sennelier – it’s a warehouse – but it is an extremely reliable place. You’re guaranteed to go and get everything you need.
This recommendation aside, east London is such a wonderful place in itself. If you fancy taking a trip to Atlantis Art Materials, make a day of it and stroll round London Fields and visit the area’s many markets, such as Broadway Market and Mare Street Market.
Imogen Almond writes for Brummell magazine
