A LEADING art publisher is enjoying a “new lease of life” after taking advantage of the digital revolution.

Easyart is the UK’s most popular website for prints and framing, with more than 20,000 visits a day.

To mark its preeminent position in the market, it is rebranding to share the name of parent company King & McGaw.

The company, which employs 70 people in Newhaven, was originally founded as King Publishing by Gyr King in Buckingham Road, Brighton, in 1982.

It went on to merge with US company McGaw and then online art retailer Easyart in 2011.

Up to 65,000 art products are created and sent out each month from its headquarters.

King & McGaw works with some of the world’s most iconic image archives, renowned art galleries and museums and major artists’ estates, including The Andy Warhol Foundation, Royal Horticultural Society, William Morris Gallery, National Gallery, Courtauld Gallery, Tate, V&A, Condé Nast Britain and Penguin Books.

It holds the European licence to reproduce works by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Keith Haring and Mario Testino and provides products to the shops of many of the UK’s foremost art institutions.

Mr King, who sits on the board of Towner Eastbourne alongside broadcaster David Dimbleby, said: “It’s a niche market and we’re very well placed within it.

“We’re having a fairly major push in terms of brand recognition and growing quite rapidly.

“We moved online comparatively early. After all those years in business, the technological quantum leap was greater than any move forward we’ve had.

“It’s really given us a new lease of life.

“Sussex is an enormously prolific area for art and the internet has been very good for local artists who we do a lot of work with.

“The internet and digital revolution has opened so many doors. You have to rethink your business. It’s an extraordinarily interesting time to be around.”

King & McGaw uses “print-on-demand” technology, while skilled craftsmen practise traditional framing techniques. The company also promotes new, home-grown talent by publishing open and limited editions by artists such as Wilma Stone, Hormazd Narielwalla, Simon C Page and Stephen Anthony Davids.

Mr King added: “Changing a brand name is sometimes seen as a bold move, but our reputation is so strong among our prestigious museum partners and with leading artists that we feel it is the right one.

“A new name will help retail customers to understand and appreciate our beautiful products and unique UK craftsmanship.”