Classic British Shops

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L. Cornelissen & Son

A Victorian artists' colourman opposite the British Museum, selling raw pigment by the jar from the original fittings.

Home & craftTrading before 1900

Photo by Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Louis Cornelissen was a Belgian colourman who opened in 1855, and the shop still sells pigments loose - lapis, malachite, earths and lakes - in glass jars along the wall, alongside gums, gold leaf, brushes and the materials for making paint from scratch.

The shopfittings are the originals, and the shop is one of the few places in Europe where an easel painter and a gilder can be supplied from the same counter.

Where
105 Great Russell Street, WC1B 3RY
Nearest station
Tottenham Court Road · 3 min walk

Hours

Monday09:30 – 18:00
Tuesday09:30 – 18:00
Wednesday09:30 – 18:00
Thursday09:30 – 18:00
Friday09:30 – 18:00
Saturday09:30 – 18:00
SundayClosed

Hours from the page that lists them, checked 11 September 2026.

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.

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