WEEKLY Dose of Art

Mother's Day is May 10. 

If your mom is the kind of person who has a favorite museum, an opinion about Frida Kahlo, or a painting on her wall she actually chose herself, this one's for her. 

Skip the generic stuff. We have carefully built a thoughtful list of gifts. Keep reading!

Artist spotlight of the week

Under $50 - thoughtful doesn't have to mean expensive

A book she'll actually read and display

Art books are great because they look nice even when no one is reading them. Two really good ones out right now:

A print from a real working artist

Skip the mass-produced wall decor from big retail stores.

A gorgeous art journal or sketchbook

If she draws, paints, or even just doodles, a beautiful sketchbook is the kind of thing she'll never buy for herself but will use every single day. 

Brands like Leuchtturm1917, Moleskine's Art collection, and Fabriano make journals specifically for artists with thick, quality paper. Pair it with a set of Staedtler or Faber-Castell pencils, and you have a complete, thoughtful gift under $40.

A coloring book for adults

This sounds basic, but hear me out. The art coloring books coming out right now are genuinely beautiful. 

• The Museum of Modern Art sells official MoMA coloring books based on works in its collection. There's also the Frida Kahlo coloring book, the Klimt, and the Van Gogh. 

For a mom who loves art, sitting down with one of these is a genuinely lovely, meditative experience. Available at store.moma.org starting at around $20.

$50 to $200 - the sweet spot

A handmade ceramic piece

Handmade ceramics are one of those gifts that feel genuinely luxurious without being over the top. Etsy has incredible options from independent potters across the world, many of whom ship internationally. 

Three shops worth knowing about right now:

The Mountain She Can Hang in the Living Room

Bozhena Fuchs paints Alpine landscapes entirely with a palette knife - thick, textured oil paint scraped and layered until it almost looks like the mountain is built right into the canvas.

Her work is in collections across Europe, Japan, and North America. Canvas prints start at $120 on iCanvas, shipped ready to hang. If you want to go bigger, her originals start at £1,195 at Cotswold Contemporary.

Canvas prints from $120 | icanvas.com Originals from £1,195 | cotswoldcontemporary.co.uk

A museum membership

This is honestly one of the best gifts on this list, and people underestimate it. A museum membership means she can walk into one of the greatest institutions in the world anytime she wants, for free, all year long.

If she's anywhere near New York, this is genuinely the best thing on this entire list. Even one visit per month makes it worth it.

$200 and above - go all in

The Painting That Looks Like a Photo

At first glance, you'd swear it's a photograph.

Look closer. It's oil on canvas.

Philipp Weber is a German hyperrealist painter born in 1974 who spends months on a single canvas. His paintings look exactly like high-fashion magazine editorials - perfect lighting, precise detail, until you notice the things a magazine would airbrush out. He makes one or two paintings a year, and his work is built around superrealism 

If your mum has a favourite wall in the house and real taste, this is what goes on it.

Prints from $500 | artsy.net/artist/philipp-weber-b-1974

An art class or workshop with a real artist

If she's ever said she wants to paint, draw, or try ceramics but never actually done it, this is the push she needs. Here are real places to book right now:

The experience of making something with your hands, in a room with other people, guided by someone who actually knows what they're doing, is genuinely one of the best things you can give someone.

A Samsung Frame TV

Okay, this one sounds weird, but hear it out. The Samsung Frame TV looks like a framed artwork on your wall when it's not being used as a television. It displays paintings, photographs, and digital art in high resolution, and you can load it with whatever she loves.

So during the day it's a Klimt, in the evening it's a family photo, and when she wants to watch something it becomes a regular TV. For an art lover who cares deeply about how her home looks, this is genuinely a dream object. 

Starts around $700, but it replaces both a TV and a piece of wall art.

The one rule

Make it about her taste, not yours. The best art gift is the one that says I paid attention to what you love, and I found something inside that world. 

Happy Mother's Day.

Before You Go

New York in spring is already pretty hard to say no to. Add six of the best art shows in years, all running at the same time, and honestly, what's the excuse?

Book the ticket.

This Week in Art