Hanging Art     (Back to Top)

The success of hanging artwork in a group is determined by the relationship between the pieces in the arrangement. Some points to consider if a group is to be successful are balanced composition, centerline, eye level, horizontal line, similar ubject and visual balance.

The most appealing way to show framed artwork is to have the horizontal centerline of the artwork at the eye level of the viewer; however, not everyone is the same height, and when people sit down there can be as much as two feet difference in their eye level. Art hung in a living room; dining room or bedroom should be positioned lower on the wall. Where people are most often standing, such as a hallway, artwork should be hung higher on the wall.

If art is hung above eye level people will tend to ignore it. Don’t make people strain. Hang art at an average eye level. It is easier for a tall person to bend down than for a short person to look up.

The simplest arrangement - and the one that can be the most dramatic - is an arrangement of one picture. It can hang over a low sofa, cabinet or chest. However, the artwork should not compete for attention but be the center of attention.

There are a variety of ways to group multiple pictures. One arrangement is to hang the pictures all in a row. Line up the horizontal centerline of each picture in the row. However, beware of pictures with great variations in their horizon line or main horizontal line of interest within a picture. Hanging these pictures so the horizontal lines match up is not the answer. Viewers find pictures with great differences uncomfortable to look at if they are hung side by side. If the pictures have to be hung together, a possible solution would be to hang one above the other. The best solution, however, would be to separate two such pieces by placing them on different walls or at least place something else between them. More