We exist to connect independent artists directly with the people who appreciate their work — without the layers of intermediaries, fees, and hidden costs that usually sit between them. We take no commission. Every dollar from every sale goes to the artist who made the piece.
An endowment of individuals.
The gallery is named after Gaius Cilnius Maecenas — a Roman statesman who, two thousand years ago, used his private fortune to support Virgil, Horace, and the other poets of the Augustan age. His name has come down through the languages of Europe as a byword for the patron of the arts: mecenas, mécène, mecenate.
Our wordmark uses the Latin Æ ligature — the literal intertwining of a and e. We chose it as a small, deliberate symbol of the partnership between Artist and Endower that has produced so much of what we now call the canon.
More beauty in the world.
Maecenat is run by people who love art and want to see more of it in the world. We have a vision for a global, modern marketplace that replaces the historically small number of wealthy patrons with a constellation of small endowers. By keeping the platform simple and free of fees, we hope more art finds more homes.
Become a patron of the good, the true, and the beautiful in art.