MURA · GUIDE

Art on your TV: four ways, what they cost, and what you give up

There are four ways to put art on a TV: buy an art TV with a matte screen and its own art store, add a streaming box such as Apple TV with an art app, use the ambient mode your smart TV already has, or load your own images. This guide compares cost, catalogue and what you give up.

Updated 25 September 2026 · by Jonas Cronfeld, Embova

How do I get art on my TV screen?

Pick one of four routes, depending on whether you are buying a TV or keeping the one you have. An art TV, such as Samsung’s The Frame, Hisense’s CanvasTV or TCL’s NXTFRAME, has a matte screen and an art library built in[1][3][4]. A streaming box, such as an Apple TV 4K, adds an art app to any TV[5]. A smart TV’s ambient mode, such as Google TV’s, shows an art gallery when idle[8]. And any TV with a USB port or a photo app can show images you load yourself[2].

Can you turn a regular TV into an art TV?

Yes, for the art; not for the screen. An Apple TV 4K outputs up to 2160p[5], so on a 4K TV a painting is shown at the panel’s full resolution, and the app supplies the collection. What you do not get is the hardware that makes an art TV look like a canvas: Samsung’s Art Mode adjusts brightness and colour tone to the room and uses a motion sensor to switch the TV on or off[1]; Hisense fits a “Hi-Matte anti-glare display”[3]; TCL a matte screen with a nanocrystal coating[4]. On a glossy TV in a bright room you will see reflections. In a dim room in the evening, the difference is small.

What is the best TV for displaying art?

The three brands that make a dedicated one differ mainly in what the art costs after the TV. Samsung’s Frame comes in sizes from 32 to 65 inches, and the Frame Pro from 65 to 85[2]; its Art Store is a subscription, with a rotating free stream of 30 pieces a month[2]. Hisense’s CanvasTV, in 55 and 65 inches from $999, includes “a curated world of free artistic masterpieces”[3]. TCL’s NXTFRAME A300 Pro, in 55 to 85 inches, ships with “more than 100,000 pre-generated AI artworks” and no subscription[4]. Which is best depends on whether you want museum paintings, a free library, or a very large AI-generated one.

How much does an art TV cost?

From $999 for the 55-inch Hisense CanvasTV at launch[3], and the art on top varies from nothing to $49.99 a year. The table puts the routes side by side, as of 24 September 2026.

What is the best art app for TV?

It depends on whether you want a library or a gallery. Artcast is a library: a “large artwork selection” in channels, free with ads or $4.99 a month for up to 5 TVs[7]. Mura is a gallery: museum masterworks by Monet, van Gogh, Hokusai, Turner, Cézanne, Renoir and Degas and 30 other artists, 1821 to 1927, plus Mura Studio works, 118 in all as of 24 September 2026, shown one at a time with a short story to listen to[11], for $3.99 a month or $24.99 a year on Apple TV and iPhone[6]. Samsung’s Art Store only runs on Samsung TVs[1]. Apple TV itself has no art screen saver, only Aerials, Snoopy, photo slideshows and Portraits[9]; our guide to Apple TV screensaver art covers the workarounds.

Where can I find free art for my TV?

In the free tiers above, and in your own photos. Samsung streams 30 free pieces a month to Frame owners[2], Hisense and TCL include their libraries in the TV[3][4], Artcast has an ad-supported tier[7], and Google TV’s ambient mode is included[8]. Sites such as Free TV Art format public-domain paintings for the Frame[10]. Loading your own images is free on every TV; the cost is your time, and the result is a photo slideshow rather than a curated wall.

What makes Mura different?

Its curation. The museum collection is the names you know: Monet, van Gogh, Hokusai, Hiroshige, Turner, Cézanne, Renoir, Degas, Seurat, Pissarro, Sisley, Sargent, Constable, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Krøyer and the Skagen painters, 82 works from 1821 to 1927 by 37 artists, alongside 36 Mura Studio works created with generative AI and curated by Mura[11]. Nothing is a stock library. Each work is shown alone, with its title, its year and a story to listen to, and the iPhone app is the remote: choose a work on the phone and it appears on the Apple TV. If you own a Samsung Frame and wonder how that compares with its Art Store, read Frame TV art: the Art Store, free art, or an app?.