How High to Hang Art

If you’re wondering how high you should hang your new piece of art, you are definitely not alone! This is a question I get all the time when delivering paintings.

When hanging art alone on a wall, a good rule of thumb is that your art should be hung at eye level. In most cases, that puts the piece between 57-60 inches from the floor to the mid point of your painting. (This applies to a gallery wall as well. The center of the gallery should be eye level. More on that in a separate post!) If you’re hanging the piece over a piece of furniture, shoot for 4-7 inches above the top of the furniture.

Here’s the standard formula for getting it just right:

Measure from the floor 57-60” up on your wall. This will be where the center of your painting will be. Make a mark, and then stand back and double check: this should be right around eye level.

Measure your artwork, top to bottom, and then divide by two. Since you’ll most likely be hanging from a wire, you’ll have to factor that in. Gently pull the wire towards the top of the frame and measure the distance from the tightened wire to the top of the piece. Subtract this number from what you got when you divided the piece in half, and then mark that amount above your original mark. This is where your hook will be.

When hanging art above a console or sideboard, the piece will still be at eye level. This usually ends up being about 4-6 inches higher than the table surface.