Have you ever wandered into a new acquaintance’s home and wondered how on earth they afforded the Andy Warhol above the fireplace? Or the Tracey Emin in the hallway, and the Bruce McLean in the bedroom? Some quick mental maths and you’d easily calculate that your host must have spent hundreds of thousands to have the pleasure of these world-class artworks in their home. Impressed? Of course you are – but perhaps you’d been even more impressed if you knew your savvy host had afforded themselves these works at a fraction of the price. Welcome to the burgeoning world of rental art.

It was only a matter of time until rental art boomed, following in the footsteps of rental fashion, which has taken the industry by storm and is estimated to be worth £2.9 billion by 2029. With hiring a whole outfit becoming more and more affordable, rental offerings have extended way beyond our wardrobes, now including cars (a McLaren 570S Spider can be yours for £1,095 per day), jewellery (Royal Warrant holder Bentley and Skinner offers a select amount of rental high jewellery, which will set you back 1 per cent of the retail value plus VAT and a £200 fee) and watches (a Rolex Submariner can be yours from £375 per month with London-based platform Montlux). Naturally art, being one of the leading luxury industries, was always going to follow suit. 

A popular choice for those wishing to ‘try before you buy’, Scott Phillips, founder of Rise Art, began offering rental art more than a decade ago – and says this arm of the industry has only gone from strength to strength. “Galleries are a great way to discover art, and it’s a super important part of artists having their work seen, but it’s also not how a lot of people consume art. We wanted to break down the barriers between new collectors and discovery and engagement within the broader art world,” explains Phillips. 

Scott Phillips, founder of Rise Art

Milena Paladino, Vase Composition

“It’s why we focus on doing things that make art visible, collaborative and fun, such as our rental offering which allows people to engage a little bit more easily regardless of budget, experience, and knowledge. Similar to what we see across fashion, this idea of pre-loved, subscription and ‘rent the runway’ [is] becoming more acceptable across categories. People are looking at different ways of experiencing things other than owning it.”

Phillips looks at art collecting, or as he puts it “living with art”, as an experience in itself. It’s something that corporate offices, branded residences and hotels have also cottoned on to, offering their clientele the option to change or rotate the art already in residence. For example, London-born art agency Artiq has curated rotating collections for the likes of the Corinthia, The OWO, and the newly-opened Whiteley, while Rise Art’s work spans in-store experiences at Soho Home to decking out cruise ships and turnkey real estate. 

“Overall people are questioning the need to buy things across all categories, and are looking at other ways of consumption,” explains Phillips. “To be able to rent and get something in your home which is the fraction of the cost of ownership appeals to a lot of people, whether they want to discover, experience and live with more artworks, rotate works and keep their space fresh, or for companies keep[ing] it off their balance sheet by doing a subscription.”

Breaking down the barriers between artist and prospective collector is Rise Art’s raison d'être. Collecting art was once the reserve of older high net worth individuals with the means to visit international galleries or employ designers to do the scouting for them – but a 2022 report by Art Basel and UBS found that 74 per cent of online collectors are now under 40 years old, with online art sales accounting for 20 per cent of the global market. 

Highlighting the industry’s shift into the digital world, Rise Art – while being first and foremost an online art platform – was aware that art always looks better in person, with art rentals proving a crucial way of overcoming this barrier to purchase. Phillips says: “We designed tons of things – visual search, in-room imaging, augmented reality – to help reduce those friction points, but art rentals was another way that allows people to see it in their house before they buy it, or rotate it and discover new artists through subscription.”

And, while getting fresh art under collectors’ noses is great, the real reason behind the huge surge in rental art is undoubtedly the price points. “We have editions on the website from a couple of hundred pounds all the way up to original work by well known names in excess of £50,000-100,000. Not all of them can be rented, but the rental price is typically anywhere from a couple percent to the artwork value on a monthly basis. It can be an accessible way to sample it.” 

He’s not wrong. Works by London-based artist Darren Macpherson – whose vibrant human figurative pieces have gained him traction in contemporary circles – can be rented from £200 per month, or bought for upwards of £2,000. At the other end of the scale, Frank Schroeder’s abstract depiction of The Last Supper (unfinished sympathy) can be yours for £39,188 or rented at £2,814 per month. 

But, does the rental offering run the risk of draining the buying market? Phillips doesn’t think so. “When you find an artwork that you love and treasure, apart from it being a potential investment, it’s something people can’t part with. We see a lot of the rentals being bought by the collector because it fits their space perfectly and they really identify with it.” 

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