Tips to Light Artwork Properly

Lighting unlocks something special in already captivating works of art. It reveals the rich texture and layers in paintings. It shows viewers the true colors an artist intended to portray as they created their piece. Because lighting is such a vital part of the art-viewing experience, it’s essential to know the right lighting types and fixtures to use with art. Here’s how to light artwork properly, to make this significant decision easier.

Whether you’re a lighting designer for an art museum or a homeowner wanting to showcase your personal collection, this guide will help. Discover tips for lighting artwork, from what type and size of light fixture to use, how to position it to highlight the artwork and more.

Types of Artwork

To determine how to light artwork, it’s vital to know what type of art will be on display. Different media and materials will interact differently with light. Some surfaces are more reflective than others. The artwork’s textural dimensions will also influence how it looks when illuminated. Work with your client to know which types of artwork they want to display, whether they’re:

• Oil paintings: These artworks are glossy and rich with depth and life. Because of their finish and texture, it can be challenging to light oil paintings. Intense lighting creates specular highlights or bright spots of light on the shiny surface. When illuminating an oil painting, choose the right fixture.
• Acrylic paintings: These have a matte finish unless the artist completes their piece with a glossy varnish or frames it behind glass. An acrylic painting without a frame or glossy finish won’t have the glare and shine problems you’d have with oil paintings. When illuminating an acrylic painting on its own, use LED lights for a glossy or framed painting.
• Watercolor paintings: These artworks typically have a matte finish and a flatter texture. If someone puts a watercolor painting on display, though, they’re most likely putting it behind glass in a frame.
• Prints of photography: Photographic prints or digital art need different lighting depending on their finish. Prints may be matte or glossy and displayed without a frame or in a frame with glass. Select LED luminaires such as track, recessed, spots and picture lights for a versatile lighting option that works with either glossy or matte art displays.

What Types of Light Fixtures Are Best to Light Art?

To know how to illuminate a painting or different works of art, see what types of light fixtures you can choose from. Combine artwork lighting tips with these possible fixtures to create a beautiful display of art and light:

• Track lighting: Track lighting is most suitable for art museum lighting and galleries. If you’re working with a gallery or museum with rotating exhibits, suggest LED track lighting for a versatile solution. Gallery curators can move, add or remove track heads as necessary as the displays change. Adjustable track heads are flexible enough to change with rotating displays and exhibits.
• LED Framing Projector lights, an accessory on a track lighting system, are ideal for focusing on the artwork itself with easy, onboard beam angle adjustment. These sleek, stylish framing luminaires projects a square, rectangular or circular area of LED light with crisp lines to frame or highlight art objects, providing maximum visual impact. Recessed framing projector lights are another popular option. They are built into the ceiling, providing a seamless and minimalist appearance that can blend in with the surrounding decor.
• Ceiling lights: If your client would prefer the art to be the only focus of their display, suggest LED ceiling lights. With these fixtures up and out of the way, visitors can focus on the art. Use lights that mount flush to the ceiling such as an adjustable monopoint or adjustable recessed ones for subtle lighting solutions. Many ceiling light options let you adjust the lighting angle, making them suitable for changing displays.
• Picture lights: These lighting solutions are functional and decorative fixtures. You’ll need to install a picture light for each piece of artwork. The result is intimate lighting that draws the viewer in. Picture lights work well for long-term installations and displays with few pieces in one area. Many of these styles are adjustable for different shapes and sizes.

How Important is Artwork Size?

One of the other essential artwork lighting tips is to consider the artwork’s size when you make lighting recommendations. Art comes in all sizes, and that means lighting solutions for artwork do too. You want to avoid choosing a light that’s too large or small for the art. If a light source is too large, it may shine too much light on the artwork or distract from it. Too small, and you risk illuminating a portion of the artwork rather than the entire piece.

Consider the size of the art especially when using picture lights. These lengths of light will either attach to the frame or mount on the wall above the art. Choose a picture light with a length anywhere from about half to three-quarters the length of the art, including the frame. Use this guide to determine what size picture light you should use based on the width of an artwork’s frame:

• Eight to 14 inches wide: Get a 4 1/2-inch fixture.
• Twelve to 18 inches wide: Get a 5 1/2-inch fixture.
• Sixteen to 24 inches wide: Get a 7- or 9-inch fixture.
• Twenty-five to 37 inches wide: Get a 14 1/2- or 16-inch fixture.
• More than 35 inches wide: Get a 30-inch light.

There is some overlap between what light fixture width you should get for certain frames. If the frame is narrow and the art is larger, opt for the wider light fixture option. For wider frames and smaller pieces of art, you can select the smaller light fixture.

If you aren’t using picture lights, the art’s size is still important. Select a larger light fixture for a big work of art, especially if you’re only using one light to illuminate it. Make sure your client relays the size of the artwork they want to display so you can make the right lighting decisions.

How to Select and Install the Right LED Lighting Fixture

The final tips to light artwork properly are choosing the right lighting fixture and installing it correctly. Make your considerations based on the type of light and intensity to select the right fixture. Install the fixture correctly by considering the best angle to position it for proper illumination.

Type of Lighting to Use for Artwork

When deciding how to light artwork, consider the type of lighting you use, too. LED lights are ideal for bringing out the best in any type of artwork, and they don’t risk damaging the work. LED is particularly well-suited for valuable pieces since it doesn’t emit ultraviolet (UV) or infrared light. Those types of light sources cause damage, like fading, that would alter the artwork’s appearance over time. UV light can also deteriorate materials — like paper and cloth — and media, like ink and paint.

LED lighting doesn’t have the same impact on art that UV and infrared light would have. As a bonus, LED light sources are more energy-efficient than their incandescent counterparts — by up to 75% — and they have a 25-times longer life span.

What Light Intensity to Choose for Artwork

General tips for lighting artwork suggest accenting a piece with lighting that’s three times brighter than the rest of the room. That may involve using dimmer lights in the rest of the space or selecting brighter artwork lights. What your client chooses will depend on the purpose of their space. Galleries and museums prefer to emphasize the artwork, while hotels, restaurants and other businesses may only use the artwork as an illuminated accent.

How to Position Artwork Lighting

The light fixture’s angle significantly impacts the display. Lighting artwork at a 10-degree angle from above or below essentially points the illumination source down at the art, which will create significant shadows that obscure it. Going back too far, around 45 degrees, will have the opposite impact — you risk creating a glare as the light shines on the art too directly. Instead, use a 30-degree angle to minimize glare. If you’re lighting an oil painting or art with texture, subtract 5 degrees from the angle. You’ll accentuate the texture by adding slight shadows but avoid anything extreme that will obscure the art. For larger pieces, angle the light about 35 degrees to bring it back and illuminate more of the artwork.

Other Lighting Qualities to Consider

Other than the intensity of the lighting fixtures, there are additional factors you should consider. These qualities influence how the colors in a work of art will appear to viewers. The eye’s light receptors transmit light to the brain, which receives that information and translates it into color. The wrong type of lighting will skew the perceived colors, showing the viewer art that doesn’t look as the artist intended. Use lighting to help maintain the art’s appearance to the viewer by considering:

• Color temperature: You’ll find LED lighting in various options across the correlated color temperature (CCT) spectrum. Remember that lower numbers in Kelvins (K) signify warmer light that mimics natural or incandescent lighting for ambiance. Select warmer light for artwork since higher numbers mean cooler color temperatures
• Color rendering index (CRI): A light’s CRI refers to its ability to represent color accurately relating to natural light on a scale of zero to 100. A low CRI indicates a light that does not display true color well — it would be challenging to distinguish an artwork’s different hues and shades. A high CRI that is ideally 90, to display art in the best possible light.

Contact WAC for More Artwork Lighting Tips

Whether in a showroom, gallery or home office, artwork needs proper lighting to make it stand out and enliven a space. In most cases, lighting art successfully will mean more than turning on the overhead light in a room. Each piece is unique and deserves its illumination to reflect that. Smart and well-thought-out LED lighting designs help tell an art piece’s story.

When lighting something as potentially fragile as art, you should use the best lighting to protect the art and create an ideal viewing environment. Choosing the right lighting for artwork is important to ensure you’re properly displaying and conserving the art.

If you have any questions about illuminating artwork, WAC is happy to help. We pride ourselves in being there for you every step of the way, from determining your lighting needs to purchasing what you need for your clients. WAC provides LED lighting solutions that combine function and beauty, essential for any client displaying art. For over 35 years, WAC has built long-term relationships with museum owners and curators, artists and related professionals needing cutting-edge technology, and we’re ready to share our knowledge and lighting products with you.

Contact us to learn more about how to light artwork with our quality, long-lasting fixtures.