How to Hang a Painting

Gallery Rule

Ideal Height

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

Focal point can be person's eyes for portraits, horizon for landscape or artwork's 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 better lower than higher.

Impressive

WHERE TO HANG IN THE ROOM

Sun Exposure.  Oil paintings and acrylics will do OK in direct sunlight.  While watercolors, photographs and works on paper do NOT like sun and will fade quickly.

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 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 painting will fill a void in your room.  It will not feel crowded or too busy.  But it will also leave enough wall padding around it

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

Notice the "halo" space around the artwork in 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 hanging 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 make small holes in walls

They look professional on a wall with brass nail support.

They come in a variety of different sizes supporting different artwork weights

Amazon link

the simple way

Hangman Kits

Instead of getting individual components like I mentioned above.  An alternative is to get everything you need in a nice kit

I recommend one of these two all-in-one Hangman kits:

Heavy Duty D-Ring kit for about $9 (for one painting)Picture Hanging Hardware Kit for $20 (for multiple paintings)

 

I haven't tried these kits myself but from the looks of it

They are the best option than buying individual components on Amazon

 

Hangman Kits

Happy Hanging!