What to Look For in Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I am frequently asked “What is a Gallery Wrapped Canvas?”

Canvas is becoming quite a popular medium for people to display art and photographic images. For centuries canvas cloth has been one of the preferred substrates artists have used to paint on — particularly true for oils. Canvas cloth comes in a variety of surfaces, from smooth to very rough. The texture or thickness of the canvas determines the visual impact. For instance, art or photos displayed on smooth canvas more closely resemble a photograph. If the canvas is rougher in texture, the effect is more like a painting.

Wrapping a canvas around a frame so that the image bends around the edges and disappears at the wall creates what’s called a Gallery Wrap. Gallery Wraps are available in either 3/4″ or 1- 1/2″ thick frames. The thickness of the frame determines how far the image stands away from the wall, and also contributes to the stiffness of the display. A stiffer frame is less likely to warp with age, so the thicker bars are the safer choice.

The frame for the canvas is made from assembling 4 pieces of wood, called stretcher bars. Since stretcher bars are available in various lengths in 2-inch increments, Gallery Wraps are available in a huge array of sizes, from 8 x 10 inches up to 40 inches wide and 60 inches high. Gallery Wrapped Canvas can either be hung directly on the wall without a frame, or they can be framed.

When selecting a photo for a Gallery-Wrap, remember that several inches of the image will wrap around the frame to the back. To allow for this, don’t zoom and crop your image as much as you would for a framed photo or you may find that the top of heads end up getting chopped off. Most vendors supply tools that enable you so see how much of the image will be lost at each edge.

The canvas itself is printed using archival-quality inks in a high-resolution ink-jet printer. The surface of the canvas is then sealed using either a liquid coating or a thin transparent film. More care must be taken with a liquid coating to ensure a uniform surface and to prevent cracking where the canvas is bent around the frame. Both sealing techniques provide protection against harmful UV rays, but in spite of this, fine canvas should not be mounted in direct sunlight. Canvas is a very durable form of art or photographic display which should resist fading or deterioration and provide a lifetime of distortion-free viewing.

Stretching the canvas is a critical step in ensuring the quality of the finished product. Depending on the manufacturer, the canvas is either hand-stretched over the stretcher bars, or a machine is used to stretch the canvas while a technician staples the canvas to the back of the stretcher bars. The result of a properly-stretched canvas is a firm surface with a drum-like sound if tapped with your fingernail.

The surface texture of the canvas creates an image with more richness and depth than a standard photograph, often resembling an oil painting. A Gallery-Wrapped canvas provides an elegant and enduring personal decor addition to your home or office.

David W. Hill has a long history in the photo finishing industry. With an engineering design degree and an M.B.A, he holds 2 patents in photographic engineering. He is currently Chief Operating Officer at Images-n-Stuff.com — the online source for personalized photo gifts and professionally created digital art.