Some describe Pictify.com as the Pinterest for art lovers. Visitors can like, share and virtually collect their favorite art works (paintings, sculptures, photographs, etc.) but the problem is that you like van Gogh’s Sunflowers and so does everybody else. Really, everybody. So ubiquitous images that have been commercialized for decades are predictably the “most liked” on Pictify: van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” and Munch’s “The Scream.”
So while Pictify looks more like a museum gift shop than a museum, there is a place online for the postcard-averse. Try artsy.net, which caters to the art lover who might actually buy an original–or longs to, anyway. Artsy founder Carter Cleveland says his site is “like Pandora for the fine art world.” A computer scientist educated at Princeton, Cleveland hopes his search technology and connections (he’s partnered with hundreds of prominent galleries and museums) will make the sometimes intimidating art world more accessible to those really interested in art. It encourages a new generation of art lovers with smart curation. If you like van Gogh’s “Starry Night” (yes, it’s on artsy too), why not follow other similar (living!) artists you never heard of. You know: if you like Matisse you might like Tracey Emin. That kind of thing. And there’s a better chance you can afford their work.