The Ninth Salon Journal · By Sophie, founder · Published 19 August 2026
Buying a present for someone who spends their weekends in museums is harder than it looks: they already have taste, and it is specific. Here are ten ideas that genuinely land, from the most personal to the most classic. Only one of them is ours, and we will say so plainly when we get there.
The most personal idea on this list (and yes, this one is ours): Ninth Salon turns a single photo into an oil portrait (Renaissance, Dutch Golden Age, Belle Époque) while keeping the face unmistakably theirs. Trying it costs nothing, and the result can arrive printed on canvas, ready to hang. The moment they unroll that tube is hard to beat.
A year of unlimited visits. The gift that keeps coming back, one quiet Sunday at a time.
Large-format monographs (Taschen does them beautifully) are a safe bet. Pick the artist they always bring up.
For slow evenings: Artizen, a relaxing puzzle game featuring a hundred-plus masterworks (also from our studio; second and last time we mention ourselves).
Two hours of watercolour or life drawing. Giving a practice often beats giving an object.
Artist-grade paints (Sennelier, Winsor & Newton) rather than student sets: the difference shows in the first wash.
Independent guides run ninety-minute themed visits in most big cities. The same museum becomes a different place.
Numbered prints by living artists start around €60–80 in galleries and online. Original art, for the price of a nice jumper.
Twelve appointments with art a year, delivered to their door.
For the ones who already paint: a folding beechwood easel turns the first sunny day into an excuse to work outdoors.
The best gift for an art lover touches them personally. That is the whole idea behind the painted portrait: not another object, but their own face as a master would have seen it. Try it with a photo: you see the result before deciding anything.