L. Cornelissen & Son: London's Oldest Art Supply Shop

L. Cornelissen and Son has been supplying artists, gilders, conservators, and craftspeople from its shop on Great Russell Street in Bloomsbury, London since 1855. That is 170 years of continuous trading from the same street, a few minutes' walk from the British Museum, making it one of the oldest specialist art supply businesses in the world still operating from its original location. The shop is a living piece of London's cultural history, and a visit to Cornelissen is an experience that no other art supply retailer in the world can replicate.

The shop's interior has changed little over the decades. Wooden drawers and glass-fronted cabinets line the walls, filled with dry pigments, gilding materials, specialist papers, and the kind of rare and unusual art materials that have disappeared from mainstream retail. The staff are knowledgeable in the way that only comes from years of working with unusual materials and serving customers with highly specific professional needs. Cornelissen serves professional painters, conservators, gilders, bookbinders, theatrical prop makers, and anyone else who needs materials that simply cannot be found anywhere else.

The Pigment Collection

Cornelissen's collection of dry pigments is one of the most extensive available anywhere in the world. The range covers historical pigments including genuine ultramarine from lapis lazuli, malachite, azurite, verdigris, and a comprehensive selection of earth pigments sourced from specific deposits in France, Italy, and other locations. It also covers the full range of modern synthetic pigments, including cadmiums, cobalts, and the synthetic ultramarines and viridians that form the backbone of most professional palettes.

For painters who want to grind their own paint, to understand the properties of specific pigments at a technical level, or to work with materials that are unavailable in tube form, Cornelissen's pigment range is unmatched in the UK. The staff can advise on the properties of specific pigments, their lightfastness, their toxicity, and their suitability for different painting techniques and mediums.

The shop also stocks historical pigments that are no longer in common use but remain important for conservation work and for painters who want to work in historically accurate techniques. These include materials like genuine vermilion, lead white, and a range of organic pigments derived from natural sources that were used by painters before the development of synthetic alternatives.

Gilding Materials

Cornelissen is one of the finest sources of gilding materials in the world, serving professional gilders, conservators, and artists who incorporate gilding into their work. The gilding range covers loose gold leaf in a range of karats and colours, transfer gold leaf for easier application, silver leaf, palladium leaf, and a range of base metal leaves including copper, aluminium, and Dutch metal.

Beyond the leaf itself, the shop stocks the full range of materials needed for both oil gilding and water gilding: gesso for preparing surfaces, bole in a range of colours for water gilding, size in various formulations for oil gilding, burnishing tools, and the specialist brushes and equipment that gilding requires. The staff can advise on the specific materials and techniques appropriate for different gilding applications, from furniture restoration to icon painting to contemporary art.

The gilding range also includes shell gold, genuine gold powder mixed with gum arabic that can be applied with a brush like watercolour paint. Shell gold is used in manuscript illumination, icon painting, and fine art applications where the precision of brush application is required. Cornelissen's shell gold is made to traditional specifications and is used by professional illuminators and icon painters worldwide.

Specialist Papers and Grounds

The shop stocks a selection of specialist papers that are difficult to find elsewhere, including Japanese papers for conservation work, handmade papers from European mills, and a range of papers for specific techniques including marbling, bookbinding, and printmaking. These papers are selected for their quality and their suitability for specific professional applications rather than for general art use.

Traditional grounds including chalk gesso, lead white oil grounds, and a range of specialist primers are available for painters who want to prepare their own supports using historical methods. The shop also stocks rabbit skin glue, hide glue, and other traditional sizing materials, along with technical advice on their use.

Conservation Materials

Cornelissen serves the conservation community with a range of conservation materials including consolidants, adhesives, varnishes, and cleaning agents used in the restoration and preservation of paintings, works on paper, and decorative objects. These materials are used by conservators at major museums and private conservation studios throughout the UK and internationally.

The conservation range reflects the shop's long relationship with the professional conservation community and its understanding of the specific requirements of conservation work, including the need for materials with known and documented properties, reversibility, and long-term stability.

The Online Shop

Cornelissen's online shop at cornelissen.com provides access to the company's full range for customers who cannot visit the London store in person. The website is well-organised and informative, with detailed product descriptions and technical information. International shipping is available, and the shop serves customers in Europe, North America, Australia, and beyond.

For customers outside London, the online shop is the primary way to access Cornelissen's unique range of materials. The company's expertise in packing and shipping fragile and specialist materials means that orders arrive safely, and the customer service team is knowledgeable and responsive.

The Experience of Visiting

For anyone who visits London and cares about art materials, a visit to Cornelissen is essential. The shop is located in Bloomsbury, one of London's most culturally rich neighbourhoods, a short walk from the British Museum and surrounded by bookshops, galleries, and institutions. The experience of browsing Cornelissen's shelves, asking the staff about unusual materials, and discovering things you did not know existed is one that serious artists consistently describe as one of the highlights of any visit to London.

The shop's proximity to the British Museum is not coincidental. Bloomsbury has been a centre of London's intellectual and artistic life for centuries, and Cornelissen has been part of that community since 1855. The shop has served generations of artists, writers, and scholars who lived and worked in the neighbourhood, and it continues to serve the community of professionals and enthusiasts who are drawn to this part of London by its cultural density.

The Bottom Line

L. Cornelissen and Son is irreplaceable. No other art supply retailer in the world combines 170 years of continuous trading, a location in the heart of London's cultural district, an unmatched range of specialist and historical materials, and the depth of expertise that comes from generations of serving professional artists, conservators, and gilders. Whether you visit in person or shop online, Cornelissen provides access to materials and knowledge that simply cannot be found anywhere else.