Because of the wide range of colors and textures in paintings, the risk that what you see on-screen will differ subtly from what you eventually hold in your hands is greater than it is with prints or photos. But considering the risk-reward ratio, these sites are still a bet worth making.

PicassoMio

www.picassomio.com
Site Founded: 1999 (gallery opened in 2003).
The Art: The quality on this site — which links thousands of international dealers, galleries, and artists of all styles and levels of renown — is wildly uneven. But if you're patient, you'll find many striking works.
Price Range: $50 and way, way up (to $100,000).
Return Policy: Seven days.
The Site: The sheer volume and variety are either a delight or a headache. A good way to start is to search by price, though works for $150 or less included more than 600 choices. Two brilliant features: “View to Scale” lets you see the work on a wall in a room; “Select Wall Color” shows it against the hue of the wall in your home for which it is destined (or not).

Hang Art

www.hangart.com
Site Founded: 1998 (gallery opened in the same year).
The Art: This San Francisco gallery's site features 70 Bay Area artists with loosely similar styles (semi-abstract compositions).
Price Range: $200 to $12,000 (most are under $3,000).
Return Policy: 30 days.
The Site: It offers search options by artist, subject, size, and color, and a handy "If you like this artist, you may also like…" feature. You can rent works and apply up to half the fee to the purchase price.

Novica

www.novica.com
Site Founded: 1998.
The Art: This site, part-owned by the National Geographic Society, has a vast inventory by artists from far-flung locales, including Brazil, India, and West Africa. Works range from exquisite religious art to contemporary canvases, plus sculptures, jewelry, and textiles.
Price Range: $50 to $6,000 (including more than 400 paintings for less than $200).
Return Policy: 60 days.
The Site: You can search by country or region, then medium (paintings, sculptures, etc.), or by style, subject, or price. One piece came nicely wrapped in handmade paper, but the canvas was poorly stretched and just slightly banged up — though not badly enough for testers to be willing to part with it!

Shown: Komut, by Nitaya Tamwong, 11 13/16 by 15 3/4 inches, $189, from Novica.