New York Central Art Supply

They have one of the best selections of art supplies and the best selection of paper! Having said that, some of the people who work there seem to be in a constant bad mood and are not very helpful if you have questions. I actually only had good experiences in the paper department there though. I only go there when I know what I need. If I have questions, then any of the many other art supply stores in Manhattan will be more helpful and friendly.

Not only is the staff extremely knowledgeable and experienced with the materials, they will also know when something might arrive if it's not in stock at the moment. I lived almost next door to Pearl Paint for 15 years but got into the habit of going to New York Central when I had the time. I've had a stack of paper manhandled at Blick by some art school kid who had no clue how to wrap the stuff up properly .... NY Central just provides a different level of service. And if you can't deal with someone being a little grumpy and superior with you just occasionally, you don't belong in the art world. I've found the staff to be the most helpful and professional in the city.

Born and raised New Yorker here I don't know how this store is still in business when you have to deal with snarky ass transplants working in the basement. Sorry to interrupt your own person project, but I thought you guys get paid to work and serve customers not work on your own projects in the dungeon. If you purchase anything in the basement make sure you get it wrapped up before heading up to the cashier, since they assume you like dragging your museum board onto the subway back to your studio. And if you have a sample make sure it's at least 1x1in since it aggravates them when you say other stores can identify the sample regardless of the size. Obviously they don't have a employee of the month because it seems everyone there is out to cut each other's canvas.

I had a nasty run in with the manager of the paper department. I won't go into details, (go to yelp to read the reviews about the employees at this store) but please take care of your sensitive artist self and go somewhere else where people will not treat you badly, because you deserve an art store to be a fun place, not one where people go out of their way to feel superior to you.

This store is sadly going out of business. I have shopped at this store for decades because it is the best that there is. If you want cheap. now you have only cheap- you can go to the Walmart Art Stores Like Blicks and Jerry's where they know nothing. They have the finest paper selection on the planet- including handmade paper from all over the world. Many of you have NO CLUE as to what really good paper is , can't tell laid from wove, handmade from machine made, pigmented paper from dyed, cotton from abaca, so you deserve the cheap paper that is left to you and what your your 'art' probably deserves. So the staff is eccentric, they are knowledgeable and over the decades I have been buying from this wonderful establishment and their unfailingly polite staff. I am totally trashed.

great selection of supplies, and one of the greatest paper selections in nyc. I do prefer Blick arts on bond st. more because the staff is a lot more friendly and helpful there. The staff at Ny Central, especially in the paper department are really full of themselves for some reason. You work at a paper store, why do you think you're better than me? It would be nice if they were more helpful and less snobby...

The only place to get your art supplies, New York Central Art Supply has been serving artist for over a century. The place was founded in 1905 by Benjamin Steinberg and this is its original location. The place is now run by his grandson, Steven Steinberg, who knew some of the finest, up-and-coming artists in the New York art scene of the 1970s and 1980s. They shopped at his place because Steven made (and still makes) a point of getting difficult to find or rare materials and supplies in the shop. Steven's a friendly, old guy now and will talk to you as long as you want—about the stuff he has in the store or about all the guys he knew back in the day. It's a small, frumpy place, with knowledgeable working artists as its staff—and that's the way an art store ought to be.

This is so crazy store that I can believe they still run its business. My friend called me crying and telling me what crazy thing happened to her at the store. The owner of the store yelled at her saying like "why are we suffering from a customer like you" and told her not to buy anything from the store. At that time she was about to pull out 3 papers from a pile of papers. She didnt do anything wrong and she was very unlucky just being a customer at that time when the owner was pissed. I can't understand this nonsense in the industry and the owner should know many of its customers are fashion student who also can be their future customers. I will never ever go there for anything. It is a digital generation nobody has to go to brick and mortar store to buy something. You should learn how to treat your customer in appropriate ways.