Paintings can add personality and style to a room and serve as a centerpiece for conversation with guests. When hanging a painting, it is essential that you take precautions to avoid damaging the picture. Simply hanging a painting with a hammer and nail can cause the canvas to sag and stretch over time, slowly ruining what was once a beautiful work of art. Hanging a painting the proper way will preserve it for a longer period of time, allowing you to display it for years to come.
1 Select a wall for the painting that is away from direct sunlight or intense heat. Heat and sunlight can damage the painting over time by causing the colors to fade or crack, depending on the type of paint used.
2 Turn the painting over. Avoid allowing the painting to lay flat and try not to touch the canvas. Make a mark on each side of the frame, approximately one-quarter of the way down from the top. Make sure the marks line up across from each other.
3 Screw an eye screw into the back of the frame at each mark you made.
4 Measure and cut a piece of woven picture wire that is 8 inches longer than the width of your canvas. Thread three ends of the wire through one of the eye screws. Twist it tightly to secure it into place. Stretch the remaining wire across the back of the canvas and thread it through the other eye screw, with approximately 1 inch of give in the center. Twist the wire around itself securely.
5 Knock on the wall you plan to hang the painting on using your knuckles to locate a stud in the wall behind the drywall. A solid sound behind the wall indicates the presence of a stud. Hanging the painting on a stud will provide more support.
6 Use the hammer to hit the nail into the wall into one of the studs. Hang the painting on the nail in the center of the woven picture wire.
