Most elegant and functional shopify theme for artist website

Store Design
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Hi there, I am new to this space so thanks for any help in advance. I am building a website for my dear freind Robert, who is 90 year old impoverished artist with a whole life time of artwork to sell. We want to do something of a pre Christmas flash sale, but there are over 1000 works which we could show.

I’ve made a template website with no customisation which shows what I’m trying to do (mostly just to help him and anyone else visualise it) - www.robertmacdonaldart.com.

What I am really struggling with is to find a theme that looks elegant and non tacky, shows the images in a gallery view (masonry style - as there is a lot of work) but when you click on it a lightbox or something else then shows the prices, sizes, description ect….Basically make it look less like a shop and more of a gallery but with the ecommerce option available, as I think it can scare people away if its all priced to readily.

The themes I found don’t seem to do this, In a ideal world I would also be able to export all the data I have straight from my spreadsheets, and use it as a innovatory as well as a CRM

Any help much appreciated.

Theo

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Hi @robertsart ,

I hope you well!

Great to hear about Robert! May he live many more years.

I would like to recommend you 2 themes which you can use:
1.) Ecommerce Website Templates - Free and Premium Themes for Your Online Store.
2.) Ecommerce Website Templates - Free and Premium Themes for Your Online Store.

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Hi @robertsart ,
Welcome to shopify community you can choose any theme but some themes are best for your project are listed below
Focal Theme (Shopify Theme Store) Has a very masonry-style grid and is designed for visual-heavy brands (photographers, artists, galleries).
Prestige Theme Clean, elegant, high-end aesthetic. Not masonry by default, but can be customized.
Flow Theme Minimalist, with gallery-like layouts.
These are premium themes (~$300) but worth it for art. For free themes, Dawn theme can be customized with some code/apps to get close.
Thanks
Manoj

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Hi Theo,

What a wonderful project! For what you need, which is a gallery feel with ecommerce in the background, I’d suggest:

  • Themes: Prestige, Motion, or Artisan → clean, elegant, and great for showcasing artwork.

  • Gallery/Lightbox: Use an app like Photo Gallery + Lookbook or Enorm Gallery to get a masonry layout with pop-ups for details (price, size, description).

  • Bulk Upload: With 1000+ artworks, use Shopify’s CSV import or an app like Matrixify so you can upload directly from your spreadsheet instead of adding products one by one.

This way the site feels like a gallery first, but still has ecommerce built in when someone clicks through.

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Hi @robertsart ,

Welcome to the Shopify community! It’s great that you’re building a website for Robert, and I can imagine how important it is to get the right theme for a gallery-style layout. Based on your needs, here are some theme and app recommendations to help you get started:

Theme Suggestions:

  1. Focal Theme: This is an excellent choice for visual-heavy websites like art galleries. It offers a masonry-style grid, which would be perfect for showcasing Robert’s artwork.

  2. Prestige Theme: Elegant and clean with a high-end aesthetic. While it doesn’t come with masonry by default, it can be customized to meet your needs.

  3. Flow Theme: A minimalist option with gallery-like layouts. It’s simple and effective, but might need some tweaks to align with your vision.

For a more affordable option, the Dawn Theme is a free theme that can be customized using code or apps to give it a gallery feel.

App Recommendations:

To make the gallery experience more seamless and to add eCommerce functionality, you can use these apps:

  • PageFly: A drag-and-drop builder that allows for full customization (free plan available).

  • EComposer: A visual editor that helps with cohesive designs (offers a free tier).

  • GemPages: Provides powerful layout features (paid).

  • Shogun: An enterprise-level tool for professional-grade page building (paid). You might want to start with PageFly for a simple and smooth flow.

These tools can help you build the gallery without wasting time, and many of them are flexible for both free and paid plans.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you need further guidance as you go along.

Best,
Felix

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Thanks everybody, so useful - much appreciated. If its ok, I will let you know how I go and perhaps you can share any tips.

2 Likes
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@robertsart Sure! Feel free to let me know if any help is required.