The Art of Displaying Art

The key to displaying art is buying what you love and surround yourself with it. It doesn't have to be expensive or valuable to provide you with great pleasure on a daily basis.

Prints or portraits should be hung at approximately the eye level of a person standing between 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall. The goal is to be able to enjoy the artwork at a natural level, not to have to be looking up at it.

When creating a display on a large wall, hang artwork close together rather than scattered across the space. Even if hanging pictures over a couch or buffet, don't feel they have to be spaced out over the entire furniture piece. Try to have the pieces equidistant from each other, but centered over the middle third or half of the focal point.

If building a collage over time, start in the center with a cluster of pictures you can gradually fill the wall space around the cluster without having to take pieces down, patch holes and start over. Play with pieces by taping paper templates up on the wall or spreading the art on the floor and shuffling them around until you get the look you want.