The 12 Best Drying Racks for Your Artwork: Organize Your Space!

Owning one of the best drying racks is a huge deal for many artists!

Many artists create multiple works simultaneously to sell them online, for exhibitions or conventions, or just for themselves. And they may often face the problem of drying their works without smudging them.

No matter what techniques you work in – painting, linocut or screen printing, drawing with inks, or other liquid mediums – your work needs some time to rest before it can be safely transported or stored. Even works made with dry mediums may need some space to be stored without smudging before the fixative is used on them.

But no one usually has the space to dry their artworks horizontally in ones’ room or studio.

So, what’s the ultimate solution for this?

The answer is – drying racks for artists.

Not the ones used for drying clothes or wet laundry, but the ones meant specifically for artwork!

They are made in all shapes and sizes. I’m sure you’ll find the perfect one for your space!

Drying racks are also widely used in art classrooms, workshops, print and sign shops, art centers, universities, etc.

Ready to have your workspace upgraded?

Let’s check our 12 best drying racks finds:

1. AWT Versa-Rack Drying and Storage Racks

AWT Versa-Rack Drying and Storage Racks
from: Blick Art Materials

This option would be equally perfect for small rooms with limited space and those who want to dry canvases or other thick drawing surfaces. This rack is versatile, lightweight, and very portable, and it can either lay on the table or any other surface or stand up for your items to be stored vertically. After you’re done drying your artwork, you can easily put it away to free the space.

You can choose from two available options – 8 or 13 stationary shelves with 3-inch clearance between them. The first one would be 26 inches tall (or wide – depends on how you place it), and the second one would be 43 inches tall. The rack also features two small casters so that it can be easily moved (while using it both horizontally and vertically) without dragging it around and damaging the surface.

The rack is made of powder-coated metal that is rust-resistant – an important thing while dealing with wet sheets that need drying. It can hold rigid or semi-rigid items, so please note that the shelves don’t have flat surfaces. The rack supports the sheets on their sides.

2. AWT 100-Shelf Portable Drying Rack

AWT 100-Shelf Portable Drying Rack
from: Blick Art Materials

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This rack is a massive and sturdy option with 100 stationary shelves in it – 50 on each side. They can’t be moved or adjusted, and the space between them is one inch, so thick canvases will not fit inside. But it can hold, dry, and store an incredible amount of paper, cardboard, cardstock, and other thin drawing or printing surfaces.

The rack is made of steel and mounted on four 2-inch ball casters, making it look like a massive shopping cart. It’s convenient for moving it around but will only be suitable for medium to large room spaces since it’s double-sided and tall and needs to be placed on the floor. Its width is 19 inches, and it’s about 63 inches tall.

It would probably be the best option for print shops and classrooms, where a huge amount of artworks needs to be dried simultaneously. The room also has to be big enough to have space for a rack like that. It’s not recommended for a home art studio unless a huge number of sheets that need drying go through your hands.

3. Back-To-Back Table Rack

Back-To-Back Table Rack
from: Blick Art Materials

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You can use this rack on the floor or the table (or other flat surfaces) despite its product name. The table usage is for smaller rooms with more limited space. However, the rack itself takes quite a lot of space.

It’s 26 inches wide and 36 inches tall, featuring 60 stationery shelves with approximately 1 inch of space between them. The shelves are located on two sides, so we can’t really label this rack as a compact one. However, it’s great for storing a lot of thin items that need drying. Each shelf is 12 x 16 inches and doesn’t have a surface; the entire rack is just a frame to support the sheets.

The rack is very sturdy and made of top-grade materials, and due to its construction, it won’t tip over. It has no casters to move it around, but if you need to move it with the artwork laying on it, you can easily pick it up at the top.

It’s designed to meet the requirements of modern art classrooms. Therefore it would be a great option for classrooms or workshops where many sheets need to be stored. It will also be nice for a home studio, but only if it’s not small, and you can dedicate some space to this rack without sacrificing it from your working surface. A wide windowsill or a top of a dresser can fit it just fine.

4. Blick StakRak

Blick StakRak
from: Blick Art Materials

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What is this drying rack? Whatever you want it to be! You can make it stationary or buy some casters, you can mount it to the wall or turn it into a floor unit. It can be a smaller, simpler, and cheaper version, or you can buy four or six of them and turn it into a drying skyscraper in your studio.

The custom drying rack consists of simple small 25-shelf pieces, and you can either stop at one if you don’t need more or go all in. Two pieces can be mounted back-to-back, or you can stack them on top of each other, whatever fits your working space and your needs more.

The caster kit contains four plastic 3-inch casters, two locking, and two non-locking ones. They would be a useful addition for your rack if you want to turn it into a tall one that stands on the floor. It will help you move the rack around and not damage the floor, but it won’t be moved around by accident if you lock the casters.

This option can be good for both small spaces and large rooms, as well as for different amounts of drying shelves needed. Unfortunately, it won’t fit canvases or other thick items.

5. Compact 20-Shelf Wall Rack

Compact 20-Shelf Wall Rack
from: Blick Art Materials

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Are you totally out of horizontal space in your studio and can’t place a drying rack on the floor? This wonderfully compact wall rack, that may remind you of a towel rack, but looks way cooler, would be a perfect decision for you. It doesn’t include any hardware in the package, but it’s still very easy to mount and use.

Its only possible downside is that it will stay wherever you mount it, like a shelf, and would have to blend in with your interior. On the other hand, it looks stylish and minimalistic, so we’re sure it won’t bother you at all. It can also be folded while not used, which helps you save the space in the studio, and you won’t accidentally smash your head into the rack.

This rack is meant for thin and light items, not for canvases, but it would do its job perfectly. It’s sturdy, the shelves are made of poly-coated metal, and despite it being just a frame, the shelves don’t support the sheets just on the outside. So don’t be worried that your artwork will fold or bend while drying.

6. Copernicus Spring-Loaded Drying Rack

Copernicus Spring-Loaded Drying Rack
from: Blick Art Materials

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This drying rack is an ideal option for classrooms where small children work. It’s low to the ground, can hold up to 20 sheets of paper or cardboard, and has rounded child-safe corners. It also features small space in the corner of each shelf where you can put stickers with kids’ names on them, and everyone will know where their work is.

The rack is 30 1/5 inches tall, which makes it easily accessible for children, and the shelf size will allow you to store artworks as large as A2 paper format. However, this also makes this rack quite large, which means it will not fit into small spaces. It needs to be placed onto the floor, and it features four locking casters so that it would be easy to move it around or keep it in place.

Its durable design includes two springs so that the artworks will be easy to place and remove. It won’t fit the canvases into it but will be perfect for something thinner. Another thing that makes it perfect for kids is that it features a removable paint-dripping tray at the bottom.

7. Double-Sided Tabletop Rack

Double-Sided Tabletop Rack
from: Blick Art Materials

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Sometimes the best things are the simpler ones, and you don’t have to look too far. Do you need something for limited space so that you can place it onto a tabletop or on top of your dresser? Do you also want your drying rack to hold up to 40 artworks? This option will be an ideal choice for you.

Even though this rack looks pretty simple, it also means that it’s pretty durable, easy to assemble, and easy to use. It stands strong due to its design, and it will be pretty hard for you or anyone else to tip it over by accident. You can easily lift and move it by grabbing it at the top, and you will not disturb the paper on it.

This rack is amazing for limited spaces, as well as for people who need to store and dry a lot of art. It’s child-safe due to its sturdiness and the rounded edges of the shelves, made of poly-coated metal, and looks nice in general. It’s double-sided, but it still feels very compact due to the way it’s constructed.

8. Sax Over-The-Door Drying Rack, 20 Shelves

This lovely little rack is ideal for people who have an extreme shortage of space – probably those who work in the same room where they live and sleep. But hey, nothing is impossible and there’s a solution for everything, even if you’re completely out of horizontal space. You can hang this rack onto your door (and it most likely won’t even stop it from closing), and just take it off and put away after you’re done.

It’s safe to hang it anywhere, since it has rubber bumpers on the front corners of the shelves, and protective shields on the back to keep your door unscratched. It also features two support bars to tilt the shelves slightly backward. This will prevent your artwork from falling off, but if you need it to be strictly horizontally, you can use it without the support bars.

The rack can fit up to 20 pieces in it (which means it has twenty 12 x 18-inch shelves), and it’s sturdy enough to handle it all. It will be equally good for small home studios or larger spaces like print shops or classrooms.

9. Sprogs Art Drying Rack

This drying rack features a really heavy construction, which catches your eyes right away. So if you’re in search of something outstandingly sturdy – this one would be great for you. Its metal frame can endure a lot and still keep the artworks safe and let them dry in peace.

Its design will remind you of a cart due to its four casters and a handle on the back of the entire rack. You can push it around like a cart, it’s very maneuverable, and the casters’ material (which is nylon) will ensure that the floors will stay undamaged. The casters are, unfortunately, non-locking, but that won’t be a big issue when you use this rack.

This rack is a great option for large spaces since it’s quite big, and also is capable of being moved around a lot. It’s 38 inches tall and features 25 shelves with the 7/8 inch gaps between them. The entire structure is very sturdy, and the metal frames of the shelves will support the artwork really nicely without letting it bend inwards.

The shelves on this rack lay flat, and the shape of their front side secures the artwork on the shelves. It also allows you to lift the shelf up a little to place or remove an object without disturbing the other artwork.

10. American Educational Products Drying Rack on Wheels

This mobile drying rack is equally good for large and medium-sized spaces. It won’t be good for small studios or shops, since it’s quite big, double-sided, and required to be placed on the floor. But if space allows you to fit it in, it will be a very nice choice.

The design of the rack is simple, but there’s really not too much to expect from a drying rack. It has four lockable casters to either keep it in place or easily move around the space, between the classrooms, etc. Another notable thing is that it would be very easy to clean from paint and other things due to its plastic coated finish. The rack itself is made of metal and will endure a lot.

The gaps between the shelves are 2 inches tall, but you can also remove every other shelf to be able to dry canvases or other thick drawing surfaces in there. It’s capable of fitting up to A3 paper size. You can lift the shelves up to place your artwork in there easily and safely. The entire rack will be about 4 feet tall, which also makes it easily accessible for kids.

11. Dryden Art and Canvas Keeper Large Floor Model

If you’re interested in some heavy-duty drying racks for keeping and moving canvases, you’ve come to the right place, because this option is for you! This rack model is pretty big and needs to be kept on the floor, but if you’ve got a lot of canvases to dry, store, and transport, it will become your best friend in these matters.

Despite the rack looking really heavy, it’s actually pretty lightweight and made of enameled steel, and it weighs only 16 lbs. when it’s empty. Its design features four smooth-rolling caster wheels and a wide convenient handle for easy maneuverable transportation. The rack can fit 24 standard or 12 gallery-style large canvases on it, and its size is 33 x 25.5 inches (and 30.5 inches tall, including the handle).

The only possible downside of this rack may be the fact that it’s quite big and can’t be folded or easily disassembled in any way. But it can actually be used for storing other objects when you’re not using it for canvases, and its durability totally allows that.

12. Sax Stack-a-Rack Drying Rack

This drying rack would be good for smaller spaces since it’s one-sided, and its dimensions are 21 x 17 x 30 inches. It can be placed on the floor since it has four casters, and the casters can also be locked for extra convenience and safety. But you can also place it on other horizontal surfaces and lock or remove the casters, depending on what your working space is allowing.

The rack has 25 wire shelves with mesh, spaced one inch apart (so, not suitable for canvases), and the shelves are stationary. They are positioned at a small angle, tilting the artworks back so that they won’t fall out of the rack easily. The construction itself is made of powder-coated steel, which makes it durable and nicely-looking.

Another option for this rack is to mount it to a vertical surface, such as a wall, and it has loops on the back for that specific purpose. It may be great for saving space, but it also may cause some inconveniences because it can’t be folded. The design is modular, which means you can buy a few of them and make whatever type of drying rack you like.

There are two most important things to know while choosing a drying rack. The first one is how many works you usually need to be dried at the same time, and the second is how much space you can find for it.

But as you can see, there are options for all sorts of needs, and you can even choose a design that you like more.