Question How High to Hang?

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Steven6095

Steven6095

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Feb 14, 2004
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Nicholasville, KY
Granted......they are my pictures and I can hang them as I want, but out of PURE CUROSITY is the some kinda of magic formula to figure out how high to "properly" hang a picture on a wall?

Just thinking out loud.
 
Focal point at eye level.

I ran across something interesting while hanging a picture for a customer. It was a Russian couple, and they asked me to deliver and install after completing the framing. They showed me the wall space, which was completely bare, but instead of having me hang it at eye level, they wanted it about 10 feet off the ground. Whatever.

Anyway, I just finished a spy novel by Robert Littel that takes place in Russia. There's a throwaway comment in the book about Russians preferring to hang their pictures really high up on the wall. I read that comment and a light bulb went off. So if you have any Russian customers asking you to hang pictures for them, you better bring a ladder.
 
To many variables to answer. Depends on the design of the room, effect wanted, height of the ceilings, furnishings, art, etc.

I have even hung artwork on a cathedral ceiling 20' up.
 
It really is in "the eye of the beholder" :icon21:

And of course that varies. As Paul said, focal point at eye level, question is, whose eye level? Will the art work primarily be viewed standing (as in a hallway / gallery, or will it be viewed mostly while seated?
 
HANGEMHIGH.jpg
 
In my store, I did hang most of samples 'eye' level. The few that are hanging higher, do attract more attention for some reason.

I guess it depends on the size of the art and the size of the wall.
 
I wrap all customer work in brown paper. I tell them when they get the art home to use a pencil to trace on the brown paper around the outside of the frame; cut this out and use some masking tape to position the paper on the wall. Move it around and decide how high etc. Works well with groupings. If adding pictures and you run out of brown paper, use old christmas wrap. Customers love this tip and one can measure for the 2 hangers on the paper before putting the nails in the walls.
 
"eye level" has always been suggested to me.....one couple came in..he was 6'5'' and she was 4'11"......so now the question would be which "eye level" to hang them at?????
 
Steven, I asked this same question to Mr. William Parker and he said that even though there are some exceptions 60" up from the floor is where the center of the picture should be. We install alot of art and we use William's advice in most situations. Rob Markoff may advise, his company installs alot of art also. Peace, Mike
 
Centered on 58" high is a museum standard.
1. Measure height of the frame, example say 40"
2. Divide by 2, 20"
3. Add 20" to 58" gives you the height of the frame 78" high.
4. Subtract the distance between the top of the frame and the hangers/wire (say 6 3/4", this gives you the height of the hook 71 1/4".

Do this on any size pieces and they will all be centered on the same horizon. Of course its a general rule, there are no absolutes.
I have used this formula for 20 years, most people hang pictures too high. They should look good if your viewing them standing or sitting, not centered between the couch and the ceiling.

 
with a hook
 
My sister took violin lessons from a lady who was about five
feet tall. My sister is almost as tall as me, so even as a teenager,
she was five ten and growing. This lady's husband was the same
height, and they would have been adorable if not for their
stern and regal bearing. Made them even more adorable in a
way that one could never mention.

He happened to be the conductor of our local symphony,
and when he really got going, his tux and tails would flap
and bring to mind a very energetic penguin. No offense
meant toward diminutive folk, as one of my dearest friends
is only four foot ten. But it sure was cute.

So, she went to their home for violin lessons, and the one
time I stopped by, it was a shock. Their house was wisely
furnished and scaled to the size of smaller people. Low doorways,
low furniture, and every picture was hung at about our
waist height. I felt like a girl Gulliver, but it was just right for
them.
 
how high to hang

usually where the horizon line is--- the horizon line in a landscape would hang at that same level----that is the rule. the horizon line never changes because one person is tall and the other is short. However i have stacked large pictures and had one large canvas hanging two feet from ground under another painting--- it felt right to everyone sitting in the room with huge wall space.
 
we have hung everything at 60" on center at all the galleries/museums ive worked at. the Getty is notorious for hanging theirs higher.
 
It may be an over simplification, but I have always used 60" to the center of the art work. Then it doesn't matter how tall or short you are.

Where did I get 60"? It's corporate policy at a client's corporate office.
 
Just hung a big show at 59" center versus my former 63". For doing so I got a kiss and a thank you from a pretty (and also short) girl! So from now on, it's 59" woohoo.

On exception is that mural sized pieces seem to benefit from being hung a bit high, so long as a significant amount is still below eye level.
 
From way back when ........ according to LJs training manual 60" center of framing is standard. I recently read something by Vivian Kisler who suggested 58". The eye-level theory is a thing of the past--time to update.
 
In the USA, the average male height is 5' 9". Avg female height is 5' 4". Average distance from eye to top of head is about 4". So if you want the average eye height, it would have to be about 5' 2 1/2" or 62 1/2". We hang thousands of pieces of art a year. I feel art is best appreciated at eye level and so do many decorators and designers I work for. However, art is so subjective to the individual that you cannot say positively what is best all around. To put an end to this debate (or start a new one). We always hang in commercial environments 62" to cntr of pic unless we have higer than 9 foot ceilings. Over 9' ceilings and the art starts to look (from a distance) too low and we go to 64" to cntr of pic. I know I will hear a thousand reasons why this is not correct or there are extenuating circumstances. Yes these are all valid points . If you consider furniture placement or fireplace mantles, they can have a bearing on height too. You don't want to crowd another object. When we hang art residentially, I ask the client where they want it. If they cannot decide then I look at their height, their significant other's height and make the call. Yes ceilings and lighting play a role as much as furniture. I also tell them there is no right or wrong decision here. Do what makes you happy. You bought it, you look at it the most, put it where you want it. Of course we will hold it up and move it side to side and hang it crooked if you so request (yes, we have fulfilled that request with cathedral ceilings). I am just glad I don't install pianos!!!
 
I would also add, that many people view the art sitting at a table or couch, so I hanging slightly lower than eye level.
 
I was in a nice restaurant yesterday, and they had a series of pictures hung in boxed sections on the wall. (You know how they use small moulding to make designs on a wall?) Anyway, they were hung at about torso level on me, and I'm average 5'7. While I get what they were trying to do, it just didnt look right. They were low. Your eye just wants to be able to look at it straight on.
 
A while back I helped a customer hang a mural-sized piece centered 14 feet above a marble floor, just below their clerestory windows. A marble floor never looks so hard as from atop a 16 foot ladder. I laugh contemptuously at piddling 5-foot-something centers, hah!
 
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