A canvas of 30 × 40 inches or more is a serious object. It is as tall as a small child and it will hang over a sofa or a bed. People worry about putting one up, and they put it off, and the canvas leans against the wall for six months.
It is a simple job. A stretched canvas is a hollow wooden frame with fabric over it, so it weighs far less than a framed picture or a mirror of the same size. This guide takes you through it.
First, weigh it
Don't guess. Stand on a bathroom scale, note your weight, pick up the canvas and note it again. The difference is the weight of the canvas. Most large canvases come to somewhere between a few pounds and fifteen or so, depending on size.
Every hook and anchor has a weight rating on the packet. Choose fixings rated for at least twice the weight of the piece, and preferably more. The margin covers knocks, slammed doors and the years.
Second, find out what the wall is
Knock on it and push a drawing pin into it somewhere out of sight.
- Drywall, or plasterboard. Sounds hollow. A pin goes in easily. The most common wall in modern homes. It is a sheet of gypsum fixed to upright timber or metal studs.
- Plaster on lath. In older houses. Sounds duller. Hard, and it crumbles. A pin is difficult to push in.
- Brick, block or concrete. Solid. Sounds dead. A pin won't go in at all.
Finding a stud
Behind drywall there are upright studs, usually 16 inches apart from centre to centre, sometimes 24. A screw into a stud is the strongest fixing you can have.
- Use a stud finder. An inexpensive electronic one, or a magnetic one that finds the screws holding the board to the stud.
- Knock. The sound goes from hollow to solid over a stud.
- Look for clues. Sockets and switches are fixed to the side of a stud. Measure 16 inches along from one.
- Check with a thin nail where the hole will be hidden by the canvas.
Studs are rarely where you want the picture to be. That is fine. A large canvas is light enough to hang from good anchors in the board itself.
Choosing the fixing
Into a stud
A wood screw about 2 inches long, driven in at a slight upward angle, with the head left a quarter of an inch out. This will hold far more than any canvas weighs.
Into drywall with no stud
- Angled picture hooks with thin nails. The nail goes in at an angle and uses the board's strength. They are rated by weight and leave very small holes. Good for light and medium pieces.
- Self-drilling anchors. Large threaded plugs that screw straight into the board, with a screw in the centre. Quick and strong enough for most canvases.
- Toggle bolts or snap toggles. A metal bar opens behind the board and spreads the load. The strongest choice for hollow walls.
Avoid the small plastic plugs that come free with many products. They are made for solid walls and pull out of drywall.
Into plaster
Drill a pilot hole first, with masking tape over the spot to stop the plaster chipping. Use a screw long enough to reach the lath or the stud behind, or a toggle. Don't hammer nails into old plaster. It cracks.
Into brick or concrete
Drill with a masonry bit and a hammer drill, fit a wall plug and drive a screw into it. Drill into the brick for strength, or into the mortar if you want an easier repair later.
Adhesive strips
Rated strips can hold a light canvas on smooth, clean, painted walls. They are less reliable on textured paint, in humid or warm rooms, and on anything large. For a big canvas above a bed or a sofa, use a mechanical fixing. See ready-to-hang canvas for renters.
Before you drill
Cables and pipes run inside walls. They usually travel straight up and down, or straight across, from sockets, switches and radiators. Don't drill directly above, below or beside those. Many stud finders also detect live wires. If in doubt, move the hole.
Use two fixing points
For any canvas wider than about 24 inches, use two hooks or screws, set apart by about half to two-thirds of the width of the canvas. Two points share the weight and stop the canvas tilting every time someone walks past. The top bar of the stretcher frame can rest directly on two screws, or you can use the hardware fitted to the back.
Marking the holes
- Decide the height. The centre of the canvas goes at 57 to 60 inches from the floor, or the bottom edge 6 to 10 inches above furniture. See the 57-inch rule.
- Mark the top edge. Have someone hold the canvas in place while you step back and look. Make a light pencil mark at the top centre.
- Measure the drop. On the back of the canvas, measure from the top edge down to the point where it will sit on the screw: the hanger, or the underside of the top bar.
- Mark the fixings. Measure that distance down from your top mark, and out to each side by half the spacing between your two fixings.
- Check with a level. Hold a spirit level across the two marks before you drill.
A trick that saves measuring: stick a strip of painter's tape across the back of the canvas over the two hanging points, and mark them on the tape. Peel the tape off, stick it on the wall with a level, and drill through the marks.
Hanging and levelling
- Lift a large canvas with two people. Hold it by the frame, never by pressing on the fabric.
- Lower it onto the fixings and check that both have caught.
- Put the level on top and adjust.
- Fit rubber bumpers to the bottom corners at the back. They keep the canvas straight, let air pass behind it and protect the wall. Our canvases come with them. See ready to hang explained.
- Press gently on the frame and lift the bottom edge a little. It should stay on its fixings.
Special cases
- Above a bed or a sofa. Use two mechanical fixings and check them once a year. See art over a bed.
- Homes with children or pets, and areas with earthquakes. Use closed hooks or security hangers that lock the canvas to the wall.
- A row of canvases. Hang the middle one first, then work outwards with a level and a spacer cut from card. See building a gallery wall.
- If you would rather not drill. A large canvas can lean on a sideboard, a mantel or the floor. It is a recognised look.
Common mistakes
- One nail in the middle. The canvas will never stay level.
- Too high. The commonest fault of all.
- Free plastic plugs in drywall.
- Not weighing it.
- Measuring from the ceiling. Ceilings are seldom level. Use a spirit level.
- Carrying it by the canvas. Fingers pressed into the back leave dents.
What you need
- Tape measure, pencil, spirit level
- Stud finder
- Drill or screwdriver, and a hammer for picture hooks
- Two fixings rated for at least twice the weight
- Painter's tape
- A second person
If the wall is unusual, or the piece is very large, a handyman will do the job in a few minutes. For choosing the size in the first place, see the canvas size guide and how to measure a wall for art. Browse the canvas art collection.