How to Hang Pictures 
FIGURE I 
This arrangement of four pictures of equal size with equal spaces between 
is a perfectly inoffensive and safe one, but it is too monotonous to have dis¬ 
tinction. 
a dining-room, but it was arranged primarily for 
the display of Oriental china, and the artist’s prob¬ 
lem was to produce an interior which should har¬ 
monize with the contents of the room. Now the 
law of harmony is one of the most important of 
the principles of arrangement. Harmony may 
be roughly defined as that quality which makes 
one object resemble another, so when we try to 
harmonize forms we select those which have some 
quality in common. Thus it is clear that there 
can be harmony of color, of shape, of size and of 
line or direction of line, sometimes called rhythm. 
In arranging pictures, harmony of subject may 
be an added refinement, but as that is more an 
intellectual than a visual harmony it counts for 
comparatively little in arrangement so long as 
there is harmony of size in the forms represented 
in the pictures. Harmony of shape, however, 
demands much consideration; tall or upright forms 
should be in one group, long or horizontal forms 
together. As both the wall space and the pictures 
are presumably rectangular we begin by having one 
element of harmony, similarity of shape. The 
more elements of harmony we can contrive to 
introduce the more repose and distinction shall 
we attain. Perhaps first of all, grouping should 
be made according to the medium of the picture. 
Oils, water-colors, and black-and-whites should, if 
possible, be in separate groups. The character of 
frames in a group should harmonize. Gold frames 
should be together and white or dark frames form a 
separate colony. Then the general tone of pictures 
should be considered: dark ones, light ones, those 
FIGURE 2 
Another treatment of the same form as in Figure i, in which some variety 
and distinction are attained by grouping two of the pictures near together 
and surrounding them with a space wider than the width of one of the pictures. 
This produces the effect of a large central mass with subordinate features on 
either side. The variety in the widths of the background spaces obviates 
the monotony of the grouping in Figure i. 
FIGURE 3 
An arrangement of horizontal and upright motives, with the horizontal 
dominating. 
with warm reds, yellows and browns, those with 
cool silvery greens, blues and grays; these too fall 
into groups each with a dominant characteristic. To 
attain the best effect in arrangement, there must 
always be a dominant quality. When we look 
at a group of pictures, for example, it should at 
once be apparent that it is a composition with 
predominant upright lines, or that horizontal motives 
prevail, that warm or cool color sets the key, or the 
neutrality of photographs and prints. We are 
working for that great sybarite, the eye, which we 
agreed must be soothed and caressed by harmonies 
and easy transitions, and never shocked by violent 
and harsh contrasts and dissimilarities. The dan¬ 
ger of too much harmony, if that can be said to be 
possible, is at the worst, monotony, but even monot¬ 
ony has the element of repose and quiet so desirable 
in an interior. But having once secured a suffi¬ 
cient number of similar elements to ensure harmony 
the final cachet, the highest distinction depends 
on the judicious introduction of minor motives 
for contrast; a horizontal line as a relief to the 
uprights, a little color with prints and photographs, 
but never enough to disturb the dominant note. 
Anything like equal proportions in the elements 
is sure to destroy the unity by making two things 
where the object has been rather to unite all into 
a single unit or mass. This introduction of con¬ 
trasts requires the greatest skill, and the amateur 
would far better accept some monotony than to 
run the risk of disturbing the unity of his composition. 
The desirability of harmony of size has been 
mentioned, but very large pictures can hardly be 
FIGURE 4 
A different and perhaps quieter arrangement of_ the same form, as in 
Figure 3. The grouping of the three similar upright motives produces a stronger 
central feature and reduces the number of changes from one level to another. 
If the character and tone of the upright pictures differed greatly from each 
other the arrangement in Figure 3 would be preferable. 
257 
