Staircase Paintings: Portraits and Views That Climb with the Steps

A climbing series: small portraits and landscapes that follow the line of the steps.

The stairwell is the one place where paintings should not hang level with each other. Follow the diagonal of the steps, centering each piece about 57 to 60 in (145 to 152 cm) above the nose of the tread below it, and keep frames and sizes similar so the group reads as a series. Portrait formats and small works, 11×14 to 18×24 in (28×35 to 45×60 cm), suit the rhythm; one large canvas on a landing anchors the whole climb.

Woman Reading, Édouard Manet 16 × 20 in portrait print (41 × 51 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 606 paintings

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

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

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

Painted dark colored portrait of man, hands in prayer.

Rogier van der Weyden Portrait of Jean Gros (recto); Coat of Arms of Jean Gros (verso), 1460–64 Art Institute of Chicago

George Washington, Gilbert Stuart, begun 1795, oil on canvas

Gilbert Stuart George Washington, begun 1795 The Met

Portrait of a Young Man, Agnolo Bronzino, 1530s, oil on wood

Agnolo Bronzino Portrait of a Young Man, 1530s The Met

Portrait of a Carthusian, Petrus Christus, 1446, oil on oak

Petrus Christus Portrait of a Carthusian, 1446 The Met

Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, Fra Filippo Lippi, ca. 1440, tempera on wood

Fra Filippo Lippi Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement, ca. 1440 The Met

Francesco d'Este (born ca. 1429, died after 1486), Rogier van der Weyden, ca. 1460, oil on wood

Rogier van der Weyden Francesco d'Este (born ca. 1429, died after 1486), ca. 1460 The Met

Bashi-Bazouk, Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1868–69, oil on canvas

Jean-Léon Gérôme Bashi-Bazouk, 1868–69 The Met

Burgomaster Jan van Duren (1613–1687), Gerard ter Borch, ca. 1666–67, oil on canvas

Gerard ter Borch Burgomaster Jan van Duren (1613–1687), ca. 1666–67 The Met

Margaretha van Haexbergen (1614–1676), Gerard ter Borch, ca. 1666–67, oil on canvas

Gerard ter Borch Margaretha van Haexbergen (1614–1676), ca. 1666–67 The Met

Portrait of a light-skinned woman with dark curly hair and to her right a small, blond child. Both are elegantly dressed, the woman in a dark, short-sleeved dress with gathered bodice and the child in a short-sleeved white dress.

Joshua Johnson Elizabeth Grant Bankson Beatty (Mrs. James Beatty) and Her Daughter Susan, c. 1805 Art Institute of Chicago

Portrait of man, black coat, white collar, hand in book.

Ammi Phillips Cornelius Allerton, 1821–22 Art Institute of Chicago

Mrs. Mayer and Daughter, Ammi Phillips, 1835–40, oil on canvas

Ammi Phillips Mrs. Mayer and Daughter, 1835–40 The Met

Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, Jacometto, ca. 1485–95, oil on wood; (verso: oil and gold on wood)

Jacometto Portrait of a Woman, Possibly a Nun of San Secondo; (verso) Scene in Grisaille, ca. 1485–95 The Met

Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck, Jacometto, ca. 1485–95, oil on wood; verso: oil and gold on wood

Jacometto Portrait of Alvise Contarini(?); (verso) A Tethered Roebuck, ca. 1485–95 The Met

Portrait of a Man, possibly Matteo di Sebastiano di Bernardino Gozzadini, Unknown artist, 1494(?), tempera on wood

Unknown artist Portrait of a Man, possibly Matteo di Sebastiano di Bernardino Gozzadini, 1494(?) The Met

Portrait of a Woman, possibly Ginevra d'Antonio Lupari Gozzadini, Unknown artist, 1494?, tempera on wood

Unknown artist Portrait of a Woman, possibly Ginevra d'Antonio Lupari Gozzadini, 1494? The Met

Margaret of Austria, Jean Hey,, ca. 1490, oil on oak panel

Jean Hey, Margaret of Austria, ca. 1490 The Met

Emma Van Name, Joshua Johnson, ca. 1805, oil on canvasPainting

Joshua Johnson Emma Van Name, ca. 1805 The Met

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

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

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

Collections for the staircase

Guides

Hallway & Entryway 366 shared
Apartment & Dorm 360 shared
Guest Room 75 shared
Dining Room 71 shared

Collections for the staircase

Guides

Rooms that share paintings