At what height to hang a frame on the wall.

baachitraka · Jan 16, 2013

I have a frame size of 28x35cm for 20x25cm prints and I personally felt when eye level meets 1/3 of frame from top, is optimum enough but wife disagree...

May I know at what height you guys mount the print...

Whiteymorange · Jan 16, 2013

Standards for this are hard to come by and it is ultimately up to the hanger. In hanging shows for the school gallery where I was director for over 20 years, we would place the center of the image (not the frame) 63 inches from the floor. Some felt that this was too low, others felt it to be too high. "Eye level" is not a constant. If you are 6' 4" tall, you are going to hang the picture much higher with that criteria than if you are a 5' 6". Commercial displays of art (galleries, shops) have to compromise. 63 inches was our compromise. If you hang at home, hang it where you're comfortable and ignore convention.

Peter Simpson · Jan 16, 2013

My preference is centered at my eye level, but I just hung two prints higher, so they would be clear of a lamp on a table in front of them.

I positioned them to the liking of my wife, to whom I defer in matters of home decoration.

jeffreyg · Jan 16, 2013

One thing to consider is how far from the wall will the prints be viewed from and who will be viewing them. Place them so they will accommodate the most viewers. The other thing to consider is how strong is your wife's disagreement. I find that the 63 or 64 inches from the floor to the middle of the image as mentioned above is a comfortable height.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

baachitraka · Jan 16, 2013

Minimum and maximum distance will be 2 and 4 feet.

Worker 11811 · Jan 16, 2013

The way I do it in my house is to put my arm straight out in front of me and touch the wall with the tip of my finger. That's where the center will be.

I'm 6 ft. tall. If I put it at my eye level, everybody hates it. Putting it at my shoulder height seems to be comfortable for most people.

The only time I put things higher is when it is a large room where people are likely to view from a distance. Then I put things head high.
If I have a group of pictures, I place the center of the group at my shoulder height.

AndreasT · Jan 16, 2013

I once showed photos at an exhibition, hung them on the wall which felt right more me. The Artist (painter) running the show told me to hang them lower, much lower, about chest high. Saying what if children or small people come. They want to see the photos too. Afterwards everybody complained about how low the pictures hung, their backs hurting. Maybe chin high?!?

JBrunner · Jan 16, 2013

I was invited in to a house where the family was of short stature, averaging about five feet. I noticed all the pictures appeared to be hung quite low by my standards. I found this amusing. I also had the good sense to keep it to myself.

pdeeh · Jan 16, 2013

Consider lighting in combination with height:

I saw what should have been a lovely exhibition of someone's print collection (including wonderful ones by Bert Hardy and Karsh of Ottawa) ... but the guy who hung the exhibition was 6'6", and while I could have seen the prints OK even from my meagre 5'8", the reflections off the glass meant I couldn't see a thing.

I spoke to him and he hadn't considered either his height or the lighting ...

baachitraka · Jan 16, 2013

I hang two or more frames next to each other, I could not imagine the optimum spacing between them too...

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 16, 2013

To me it depends on population density of the wall - will this be a unique piece on that wall, or will it be one of many? When hanging shows where I have limited linear wallspace, I'll double up and hang two rows of images. I try to keep at least 3-4" between frames horizontally as well as vertically so that pieces meant to be read individually can be, but that's not a hard and fast rule. It also depends on if the images are horizontal, vertical, or a mix of the two.

Jim Jones · Jan 16, 2013

When displaying photos at the local arts & crafts show, I cram framed prints onto panels that span 3 to 7 feet high. At home they hang high enough to clear bookcases and clutter.

Sirius Glass · Jan 16, 2013

There is no standard, but the "best" results are eyelevel based on the family or most people that would be looking at it. If your family has members between 4'8" and 5'6", the photographs in the home would be lower than for a family ranging from 5'9" to 6'6". Neither would be wrong, it is what would be best for each household.

Sirius Glass · Jan 16, 2013

JBrunner said:
I was invited in to a house where the family was of short stature, averaging about five feet. I noticed all the pictures appeared to be hung quite low by my standards. I found this amusing. I also had the good sense to keep it to myself.

There is no standard, but the "best" results are eyelevel based on the family or most people that would be looking at it. If your family has members between 4'8" and 5'6", the photographs in the home would be lower than for a family ranging from 5'9" to 6'6". Neither would be wrong, it is what would be best for each household.

artonpaper · Jan 16, 2013

I frequent the Drawings, Prints and photographs wing at Metropolitan Museum of Art, here in NYC. There is a long passage where the work is hung mostly in a horizontal line. I've noticed they are just slightly above my eye level. I'm short, about 5'6". So maybe if I were about 5'8" - 5'9" they'd be eye level. But anything goes, and let's face it, wives always right, even when they're dead wrong.

papagene · Jan 16, 2013

In my curatorial duties at different galleries, for a general rule of thumb I hang art work with the center line at 57". This can vary due to ceiling height, size of artwork, the works relation to other work near by, etc. There are too many variables and too little info to really recommend at which level.
If this is your own home, I would suggest at eye level.
YMMV

doughowk · Jan 17, 2013

It is alot easier for a tall person to bend down than a short person to stretch up. So I'd suggest going for eye level of a shorter person for gallery hanging.

AgX · Jan 17, 2013

From a practical point of view the photographs should be centered at eye-level of the intended visitor.

But... there are other aspects:

you can arrange them to form relations between several of them, or to relate them to the room.
Dead Link Removed

you can place them a way that the visitor is forced to take a certain position
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KNvwAfuC47U/SiLrsGUPDyI/AAAAAAAAACA/7ajw0B4LRxg/s1600/Villa+de+Bank1.jpg

baachitraka · Jan 17, 2013

May be I put everything on Fibonacci Spiral... ;-)

At what height to hang a frame on the wall.

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baachitraka

At what height to hang a frame on the wall.

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