Paintings Along the Stairs

Follow the diagonal and keep the frames alike.

Center each piece 57 to 60 in (145 to 152 cm) above the tread nose below it.
12 to 24 in (30 to 60 cm) wide each.
Portrait formats climb best.

These paintings are the right shape for the spot (portrait or square) and big enough in real life to hold the wall when printed at that width.

Work out your exact size with the art size calculator

Water Lilies, Claude Monet 16 × 16 in square print (41 × 41 cm), centered 58 in above the stair line. Drawn to scale on a 12 × 8 ft wall.

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Showing 1 to 48 of 1,073 paintings that fit

Painting of a pond seen up close spotted with thickly painted pink and white water lilies and a shadow across the top third of the picture.

Claude Monet Water Lilies, 1906 Art Institute of Chicago

Impressionist painting of two girls on balcony, bright flower hat, knitting basket.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Two Sisters (On the Terrace), 1881 Art Institute of Chicago

Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792), Francisco de Goya, 1787–88, oil on canvas

Francisco de Goya Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga (1784–1792), 1787–88 The Met

Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), Gustav Klimt, 1912–13, oil on canvas

Gustav Klimt Mäda Primavesi (1903–2000), 1912–13 The Met

Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1653, oil on canvas

Rembrandt van Rijn Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, 1653 The Met

View of Toledo, El Greco, ca. 1599–1600, oil on canvas

El Greco View of Toledo, ca. 1599–1600 The Met

Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), Paul Gauguin, 1891, oil on canvas

Paul Gauguin Ia Orana Maria (Hail Mary), 1891 The Met

The Dance Class, Edgar Degas, 1874, oil on canvas

Edgar Degas The Dance Class, 1874 The Met

Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1662, oil on canvas

Johannes Vermeer Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, ca. 1662 The Met

Soap Bubbles, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, ca. 1733–34, oil on canvas

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin Soap Bubbles, ca. 1733–34 The Met

Shown from the elbows up, a young person with pale skin and brown hair wearing a wide, scarlet-red hat sits in front of a tapestry in this vertical portrait painting.

Johannes Vermeer Girl with the Red Hat, c. 1669 National Gallery of Art

From low on a hillside, we look up at a light-skinned woman and boy standing in tall grass against a sunny blue sky in this vertical painting.

Claude Monet Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son, 1875 National Gallery of Art

Shown from the waist up, an older man with pale, peachy skin looks out at us with deep-set, gray eyes under a furrowed brow, in front of a sable-brown background in this vertical portrait painting.

Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait, 1659 National Gallery of Art

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Young Girl Reading, c. 1769 National Gallery of Art

A pale-skinned young girl with blond hair, wearing a blue dress, stands in a garden in this vertical painting. The girl and background are painted with blended strokes, giving the scene and especially the girl a soft look.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir A Girl with a Watering Can, 1876 National Gallery of Art

Young Man and Woman in an Inn, Frans Hals, 1623, oil on canvas

Frans Hals Young Man and Woman in an Inn, 1623 The Met

A woman and two children, all with pale skin and flushed cheeks, sit together in a landscape in this round painting. The woman takes up most of the composition as she sits with her right leg, to our left, tucked under her body.

Raphael The Alba Madonna, c. 1510 National Gallery of Art

Shown from the hips up, a young boy with pale, peachy skin wears a voluminous, black cloak that nearly falls off his shoulders over a rose-pink tunic, with a sword hanging from one hip in this vertical portrait painting.

Titian Ranuccio Farnese, 1541-1542 National Gallery of Art

This square portrait shows the head and shoulders of a young woman in front of a spiky bush that fills much of the background except for a landscape view that extends into the deep distance to our right.

Leonardo da Vinci Ginevra de' Benci [obverse], c. 1474/1478 National Gallery of Art

A young woman in a dark hat and coat with light ruffled collar sits reading a large periodical held up in her gloved hands. Flowers and foliage are suggested behind her.

Édouard Manet Woman Reading, 1880–82 Art Institute of Chicago

Large painting, standing man blue turtleneck, sitting woman with white collar.

Amedeo Modigliani Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz, 1916 Art Institute of Chicago

Dark portrait of an older light-skinned women with dark hair in a black dress and white collar, her hair pinned up. Her face is in partial shadow.

Thomas Eakins Portrait of Mary Adeline Williams, 1899 Art Institute of Chicago

A young girl with medium skin wears a striking dress of black and white stripes with a short lace collar. Behind her is backdrop featuring symbols and native figures. Mangos sit beside her.

Paul Gauguin Merahi metua no Tehamana (Tehamana Has Many Parents or The Ancestors of Tehamana), 1893 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of a placid-looking, light-skinned woman in a maroon dress, seated in a chair with yellow upholstery, hands folded.

Paul Cézanne Madame Cezanne in a Yellow Chair, 1888–90 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of a woman in white with a bonnet perched on an architectural feature painting something to her right, a spouting water fountain, greenery, and a an ornate, low white fence behind her.

John Singer Sargent The Fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy, 1907 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of a red-haired, bearded man with light skin, painted in short brushstrokes and multicolored dots. The background is likewise a mass of small, closely spaced colored dots, these in green, blue, and red-orange.

Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait, 1887 Art Institute of Chicago

A pensive faced woman sits, slightly hunched, holding a book.

Camille Corot Interrupted Reading, c. 1870 Art Institute of Chicago

Still life of geranium plant, fruit, water pitcher, and two cats.

Henri Matisse Still Life with Geranium, 1906 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of bearded, ruddy-faced man in eighteenth century style clothing.

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Portrait of a Man in Costume, c. 1767–68 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of man wearing voluminous black cloak, feathered hat, and gold medallion.

Rembrandt van Rijn Old Man with a Gold Chain, 1631 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of Isabella Brant, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1620–25, oil on wood

Peter Paul Rubens Portrait of Isabella Brant, c. 1620–25 Cleveland Museum of Art

Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson (1716–1806) with a Dog, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, ca. 1769, oil on canvas

Jean-Honoré Fragonard Marie Emilie Coignet de Courson (1716–1806) with a Dog, ca. 1769 The Met

Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler), Vincent van Gogh, 1887, oil on canvas

Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat (obverse: The Potato Peeler), 1887 The Met

Merrymakers at Shrovetide, Frans Hals, ca. 1616–17, oil on canvas

Frans Hals Merrymakers at Shrovetide, ca. 1616–17 The Met

Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560), Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532, oil and gold on oak

Hans Holbein the Younger Hermann von Wedigh III (died 1560), 1532 The Met

Self-Portrait, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1660, oil on canvas

Rembrandt van Rijn Self-Portrait, 1660 The Met

By the Seashore, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1883, oil on canvas

Pierre-Auguste Renoir By the Seashore, 1883 The Met

Juan de Pareja (ca. 1608–1670), Diego Velázquez, 1650, oil on canvas

Diego Velázquez Juan de Pareja (ca. 1608–1670), 1650 The Met

Study of a Young Woman, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1665–67, oil on canvas

Johannes Vermeer Study of a Young Woman, ca. 1665–67 The Met

Joseph-Antoine Moltedo (born 1775), Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, ca. 1810, oil on canvas

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Joseph-Antoine Moltedo (born 1775), ca. 1810 The Met

Madame Roulin and Her Baby, Vincent van Gogh, 1888, oil on canvas

Vincent van Gogh Madame Roulin and Her Baby, 1888 The Met

Portrait of white man dressed in all black with medallion and sword.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Amédée-David, the Comte de Pastoret, 1823–26 Art Institute of Chicago

Painting of mother in blue, purple, and green-stripped dress washing child's feet.

Mary Cassatt The Child's Bath, 1893 Art Institute of Chicago

A young, smiling boy in a ruffled collar, hat, and cumberbun rides outdoors on a brown ram, a small whip held aloft in his hand.

Francisco de Goya Boy on a Ram, 1786–87 Art Institute of Chicago

Large painting of young woman in white dress sitting next to crib.

Jacques-Louis David Madame de Pastoret and Her Son, 1791–92 Art Institute of Chicago

Dark portrait of older woman in black dress with lace collar, flowers.

Gustave Courbet Mère Grégoire, 1855, reworked 1857–59 Art Institute of Chicago

Two girls in acrobatic uniforms stand in an arena, one holds oranges.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando (Francisca and Angelina Wartenberg), 1879 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of the Jester Calabazas, Diego Velázquez, c. 1631–32, oil on canvas

Diego Velázquez Portrait of the Jester Calabazas, c. 1631–32 Cleveland Museum of Art

Rooms with this spot

Hallway & Entryway 456
Staircase 606

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