How to Hang a Large Canvas Painting

Gallery Rule

Ideal Height

The "gallery rule" is to display artwork's focal point 57 inches from the floor.

The focal point can be a person's eyes for portraits, the horizon for landscapes or the canvas center for all others.

Why 57 inches (4 feet and 8 inches)? This roughly corresponds to an "eye-level" for most people.

One side note: artworks that are positioned too high are uncomfortable for us to look at. So it's better to hang lower than higher.

Impressive

WHERE TO HANG IN THE ROOM

Sun Exposure. Watercolors, photographs and works on paper do NOT like sun and will fade quickly. Oil paintings and acrylics also fade in direct sunlight, but less so than works on paper.

Humidity. Most paintings will not do well in areas with high humidity or water exposure. With some exceptions:

For bathrooms, aluminum panels or prints are ideal as aluminum doesn't corrode.

For kitchens, paintings with an external protective layer (e.g. glass, acrylic) would do well.

space around artwork

Filling the void

How should artwork match with other items in your room?

A good spot for a large canvas painting will fill a void in your room. It will not feel crowded or too busy. But it will also leave enough visual space around it.

For example, 6 inches is usually enough space between large furniture pieces and your artwork.

Notice the "halo" space around the artwork in the examples below:

Hanging Wire

If your painting already has a hanging wire attached on the back, please skip to the next section...

Otherwise, we'll need to get the following from Amazon ($10-$15 in total):

Two small D-Rings Two small screws, shorter than 3/8'' or 1cm
Metal wire, ideally coated

Then, carefully attach the D-rings approximately 1/3 or less below the top of the painting.

And attach the wire on both sides

OOK

Painting nails

Next step, nails!

Yet, I'd discourage from using regular nails or screws

Instead, these OOK Picture Hanging Hooks are my favorite

They have a very strong nail

They only make small holes in the walls

They look professional on a wall with brass nail support.

They come in a variety of different sizes supporting different artwork weights. The one in the photo supports 30 pounds, and two of them will support 60. Most framed canvas paintings will weigh less than that, exceptions are hardwood frames from Oak for example.

Amazon link