Hanging Artwork: How the Pros Do It

Here’s how to hang medium-sized frames equipped with wires:

1. Measure up 60” from the floor - this will be where the center of your picture is. Make a small mark in pencil (A).

2. Measure the height of your frame, halve it, measure that distance up from your mark on the wall, and make another small mark (B). That’s where the top of your frame will be.

3. Okay, this part’s a little tricky. Unless a frame is really small, I never use just one hook. Over time, things hanging on one hook tend to slip left or right. Also, if you’re using two hooks and one fails, the piece won’t come crashing down. Turn the frame around so that you’re looking at the back. Put your level under the wire and lift up on it until the wire is taut. Measure the distance from the top of the frame to the wire.

4. Measure that distance down from (B) and make a third mark (C). Center your level on that mark horizontally, and make two small arrows, one on each corner of the level. Those are where your hooks will go.

5. I have twenty or so different kinds of hooks and fasteners I use, but for the most part, I use the standard frame hooks you can buy at any hardware store (if you’re hanging something extremely heavy or cumbersome, please feel free to ask for adviceI’ll geek out on the subject!). Install the hooks so that they sit precisely on the arrows you drew on the wall- for ultra-precision, lift them up 1/16” before you hammer them in, because they will sink into the drywall slightly.

6. Hang your frame, making sure the wire is on both hooks, then use your level to make sure it’s set perfectly. Now you’re ready to light it, but that’s a topic for another day….

The Pro: Derek Frazier

Curator of Collection & Preparator

11 years of installation experience

Installing thousands of two-dimensional works

From high school work to Rembrandts, from Spanish Renaissance paintings to contemporary sculptures