Atlantis Art Materials: London's Largest Independent Art Supply Store

Atlantis Art Materials is London's largest independent art supply store, occupying five floors of a building in Whitechapel, East London, and offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of professional art materials available from any single retailer in the UK. Founded in 1975 and operating from its current Whitechapel location since the 1990s, Atlantis has built its reputation on the breadth of its product range, its particular strength in printmaking and sculpture supplies, and its position as a genuinely independent alternative to the larger art supply chains.

The store's location in Whitechapel, in the heart of East London's creative community, reflects its deep roots in the London art world. The area around Whitechapel has been a centre of London's art scene for decades, with major galleries, art schools, and studios in the surrounding streets, and Atlantis has been part of this community throughout its history. The store is a familiar destination for students and faculty from the nearby art schools, for professional artists working in East London studios, and for artists from across London who make the journey specifically for the breadth of the Atlantis range.

The Five-Floor Range

The five-floor store is one of the most distinctive aspects of the Atlantis experience, with different floors dedicated to different categories of materials. The sheer physical scale of the store allows Atlantis to stock a range of materials that would be impossible to accommodate in a smaller space, and the organisation of the store by category makes it relatively easy to navigate despite its size.

Painting materials cover oil paint, watercolour, acrylic, and gouache from a comprehensive range of manufacturers, with both professional-grade and student-grade options across all media. The painting materials floor is well-stocked and well-organised, with clear labelling that makes it easy to find specific products.

Printmaking is one of the areas where Atlantis most clearly distinguishes itself from other London art supply retailers. The printmaking range is one of the most comprehensive available from any UK retailer, covering etching, relief printing, screenprinting, lithography, and other printmaking techniques with inks, papers, tools, and equipment from leading manufacturers. For printmakers in London, Atlantis is often the only retailer that stocks the specific materials they need.

Sculpture materials are another area of exceptional strength, with a comprehensive range covering clay, plaster, casting materials, armature wire, modelling tools, and other sculpture supplies. The sculpture range reflects Atlantis's understanding of the specific needs of sculptors and its commitment to serving the full range of fine art practices rather than focusing exclusively on painting and drawing.

Drawing materials cover graphite, charcoal, coloured pencil, pastel, and ink, with a comprehensive selection from leading manufacturers in each category. The drawing materials range is particularly strong in pastel, with a comprehensive selection from Schmincke, Sennelier, Unison, and other leading pastel manufacturers.

Paper and canvas are covered with exceptional depth, with one of the most comprehensive selections of fine art papers available from any UK retailer. The paper range covers watercolour papers, printmaking papers, drawing papers, and specialist papers from Arches, Fabriano, Hahnemuhle, and other leading mills, alongside a comprehensive range of canvases and canvas boards.

The Independent Character

The independent character of Atlantis is one of its most important and distinctive qualities. Unlike the larger art supply chains, Atlantis is not driven by the need to maximise profit margins or to stock only the most commercially popular products. This independence allows the store to stock specialist materials that larger retailers would not carry, to maintain a range that reflects genuine knowledge of professional art practice rather than commercial calculation, and to provide the kind of expert, personalised service that is difficult to replicate in a larger commercial context.

The staff at Atlantis are knowledgeable about the materials they sell, with many having direct experience as practising artists. This expertise is reflected in the quality of the advice they provide and in the specific products they choose to stock, which reflect genuine knowledge of what professional artists need rather than generic commercial considerations.

The Online Shop

The online shop provides access to the Atlantis range for customers who cannot visit the Whitechapel store in person. The website is well-organised and provides detailed product descriptions, and the UK delivery service is reliable and competitively priced.

The online shop is particularly valuable for customers outside London who want access to the specialist printmaking and sculpture materials that Atlantis stocks but that are not available from their local retailers. The breadth of the Atlantis range means that it is often the only UK source for specific specialist materials, and the online shop makes these materials accessible to artists throughout the UK.

The East London Art Community

Atlantis's position at the heart of the East London art community is one of its most important contextual characteristics. The store is surrounded by galleries, studios, and art schools, and it has been part of the East London art scene for five decades. This community connection gives Atlantis a character that is genuinely rooted in the London art world rather than in the commercial art supply market, and it is reflected in the specific materials the store stocks and the specific knowledge its staff bring to their work.

The proximity to major art schools including the Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths, and the Slade means that Atlantis serves a significant student population alongside the professional artists and serious amateurs who make up the bulk of its customer base. The student clientele brings a particular energy and curiosity to the store, and the store's commitment to stocking a broad range of materials at competitive prices reflects its understanding of the financial constraints that many art students face.

The Bottom Line

Atlantis Art Materials is London's largest and most comprehensive independent art supply store, offering a five-floor range of professional materials with particular strength in printmaking and sculpture alongside a broad selection of painting, drawing, and paper materials. For London-based artists who want access to specialist materials that are not available from larger retailers, and for artists throughout the UK who need the specific printmaking and sculpture supplies that Atlantis stocks, it is one of the most important and distinctive art supply resources available.