Museum art curators fulfill many roles, from selecting the artwork for display for a certain collection to ensuring the facility has enough storage to house the pieces chosen for display. One of the most challenging responsibilities for an art museum curator concerns determining the height to hang each work of art.
As an art lover, you have visited art museums in different cities. You have noticed art hanging at several different heights. Although the standard height to hang art is about six feet from the floor, museums hang art as high as a ceiling that secures a gallery picture hanging system. Do you follow the standard rule of hanging art at around six feet, or should you follow the museum height for hanging art?
The answer to the question of what height to hang art at home should follow the museum height rule based on several factors.
Consider several factors for hanging art at home or in a business. The first is the size and design theme of other pieces of art. You should create a balance in design elements and hang paintings and photographs of the same size next to each other to create visual symmetry.
Let’s review other factors that determine museum height for hanging art.
Security Concerns
You should hang each piece above the standard eye-level distance of six feet for more valuable artwork. Hanging artwork higher on a wall deters thieves from trying to steal individual pieces or an entire collection. Consider installing a gallery hanging track system from a ceiling for the most valuable paintings and photographs. Regardless of how high you decide to hang art, you should install a museum picture hanging system with impact-resistant security locking devices.
Close to Light Sources
Museums typically showcase their collections by illuminating them with some light source. Track lighting illuminates paintings and photographs from above, while sconces shine on artwork from the sides and below. If your home or business has installed skylights, you want to hang art as close to the skylights as possible. Sunlight is a much better illumination source than artificial light because it accentuates the colors highlighted in paintings and photographs.
Number of Pieces
Before you decide where to hang art, you must select the pieces to become part of a presentation. If you choose a substantial number of pieces, you might have to display them one above another to present the entire collection. This means that if you follow the six-foot rule for height, some of the art pieces that you have selected must hang higher than six feet for you to space each piece properly. Museums often hang artwork in more than one row or column to space each piece properly and ensure there is enough room for all artwork.
For a home or business, you may not have as much space to display art as the spaces for displaying art at a museum. To account for limited space, you must decide which paintings and photographs must be returned to storage. Since the early 1960s, Duluth-based Walker Display has provided helpful advice for homeowners and business owners that wanted to showcase their fine art collections.
Our extensive experienced team of picture-hanging system experts can help you decide the right museum height for hanging art at your home or business. Our clients include Leipzig Galleries at Harrods, London, McCarty Gallery, and Thomasville Center for the Arts.
Learn more about the correct museum height for hanging art by submitting the short form.