Animal Crossing: New Horizons art guide: How to find Redd, get art and build out the museum gallery

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Plus, how to spot an Animal Crossing: New Horizons art forgery

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Animal Crossing: New Horizons art is finally here, which means a museum upgrade, and the return of our old friend / foe Redd. Currently the museum only display fossils, bugs and fish, but now there will be a new art gallery wing to unlock and fill with various works of art like paintings and sculptures. 

As for how you'll get hold Animal Crossing: New Horizons art, that'll come from Redd. This fox is an old face for existing Animal Crossing fans, but he's a bit of a scoundrel. He'll sell you art, but some are real and some are fakes, and it's up to you to figure out which ones are which.

This here is a guide on how to get involved with the Animal Crossing: New Horizons art scene, from unlocking the art gallery to finding an interacting with Redd. 

Where to find Redd in Animal Crossing: New Horizons

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Like the other Animal Crossing: New Horizons visitors like Kicks, CJ and Flick and now Leif, Redd will appear on your island at random during the week. However, he won't appear in the plaza like everyone else, but he'll dock up at your 'secret beach' at the top of your island. 

The very first time Redd arrives he'll actually pop over to your Plaza. You'll know that he's arrived as Isabelle will mention a 'suspicious character', and you'll see Redd's logo at the top of your map at your secret beach.

Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Nintendo)

He'll then appear on your plaza if you wander down there. The first time he appears you won't be able to head onto his ship, but only buy directly from him at the plaza. Thankfully, this piece is the real deal. 

After that, he'll appear again at random walking around your island. He'll tell you about his collection, and invite you to come visit his vessel. After that, you'll be able to visit him on his ship and buy an assortment of art items directly. 

(Image credit: Nintendo)

When Redd first appears on your island, head over to meet him at the plaza and he'll offer you a painting. I had the 'common painting' and initially he asks for a lot of money to part with it. Say no, and he'll offer it to you for a fraction of that price. 

Buy it, and then take your newly purchased piece of art over to Blathers at the Animal Crossing: New Horizons museum. There will appear a new dialogue prompt that reads 'I found a piece of art!'. Choose that, and you'll get the option to donate your artwork to the museum. Thankfully, this one isn't a forgery.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

This will prompt Blathers to apply for a museum expansion permit, and you'll get the art gallery wing added after two calendar days. The immediate day after the museum will be closed for renovations, and then the day after that you'll get the art gallery expansion.

How to spot an Animal Crossing: New Horizons art forgery

(Image credit: Nintendo)

When Redd's boat does open for business, you'll be able to peruse his shop and buy works of art including paintings and statues.  However, not all of them are real. Spotting the forgeries are basically like mini-games in themselves, as they basically play out like spot the difference quests. You'll have to look up the real work of art in most cases so you can check if the Animal Crossing version is legit. 

For example, items of clothing may be a different colour to the original, have alternate hairstyles, added tongues or additional details. It's a complicated process that requires careful studying of the real-life source material. 

Complete list of Animal Crossing: New Horizons art

Thanks to Reddit users Accadia, we have what we think is the full list of art Redd has for sale, and over on Reddit they have linked out images for side-by-side comparisons too. 

Thankfully there are some that have no fake version and are safe to buy from the off, which are all marked below.

  • Academic Painting 
  • Amazing Painting
  • Ancient Statue
  • Basic Painting
  • Beautiful Statue
  • Calm Painting (No fake version)
  • Common Painting (No fake version)
  • Detailed Painting
  • Dynamic Painting (No fake version)
  • Familiar Statue (No fake version)
  • Famous Painting
  • Flowery Painting (No fake version)
  • Gallant Statue
  • Glowing Painting (No fake version)
  • Graceful Painting
  • Great Statue (No fake version)
  • Informative Statue
  • Jolly Painting
  • Moody Painting (No fake version)
  • Motherly Statue
  • Moving Painting
  • Mysterious Painting (No fake version)
  • Mystic Statue
  • Nice Painting (No fake version)
  • Perfect Painting (No fake version)
  • Proper Painting (No fake version)
  • Quaint Painting
  • Robust Statue
  • Rock-head Statue
  • Scary Painting
  • Scenic Painting
  • Serene Painting
  • Sinking Painting (No fake version)
  • Solemn Painting
  • Tremendous Statue
  • Twinkling Painting (No fake version)
  • Valiant Statue
  • Warm Painting (No fake version)
  • Warrior Statue
  • Wild Painting Left Half
  • Wild Painting Right Half
  • Wistful Painting
  • Worthy Painting (No fake version)

For more Animal Crossing: New Horizons tips, head over to our full Animal Crossing: New Horizons guide.

Sam Loveridge
Sam Loveridge
Brand Director, GamesRadar+

Sam Loveridge is the Brand Director and former Global Editor-in-Chief of GamesRadar. She joined the team in August 2017. Sam came to GamesRadar after working at TrustedReviews, Digital Spy, and Fandom, following the completion of an MA in Journalism. In her time, she's also had appearances on The Guardian, BBC, and more. Her experience has seen her cover console and PC games, along with gaming hardware, for a decade, and for GamesRadar, she's in charge of the site's overall direction, managing the team, and making sure it's the best it can be. Her gaming passions lie with weird simulation games, big open-world RPGs, and beautifully crafted indies. She plays across all platforms, and specializes in titles like Pokemon, Assassin's Creed, The Sims, and more. Basically, she loves all games that aren't sports or fighting titles! In her spare time, Sam likes to live like Stardew Valley by cooking and baking, growing vegetables, and enjoying life in the countryside.