About The Hanging Wall

The Hanging Wall is a site of writing about Australian painting and the people who look at it. It is for anyone who has stood in a gallery wondering what they are meant to be seeing, walked past a commercial gallery and not quite gone in, or bought a first original work and then stood in the hallway holding it, unsure where the hook should go.

What hangs here

The notes are arranged in seven rooms:

• Looking closely: how to spend real time with one painting, from brushwork to colour to the label on the wall.
• Gallery-going: commercial and public galleries, openings, prizes and room sheets.
• First works: budgets, editions, certificates and the questions to ask before paying for anything.
• Framing and care: mat board, glazing, hanging heights, light, heat and humidity.
• Australian painting: painters, movements and prizes, told plainly.
• Books and learning: art books, exhibition catalogues and courses.
• Living with art: small rooms, children, gifts and road trips.

There is also a longer essay on John Olsen, a set of short artist notes and a guide to visiting exhibitions in Sydney.

Who writes it

Five writers share the wall. Lachlan Pryor looks after landscape painting and the mid-century generation. Mei-Ling Stroud writes about galleries, prizes and photography. Fenella Garrick covers framing, hanging and care. Jasper Quayle writes for people buying their first work. Ottilie Ellwood writes about slow looking, art history and books. Their pages are under Viewers.

How the artist notes are researched

The artist notes are written from public sources: artists' own websites, state and national gallery collection pages, prize pages and reputable newspapers and magazines. The sources used are listed at the foot of each note. The notes describe the work in the writers' own words and never reproduce artworks; the photographs on the site are of rooms, tools and light, not of anyone's paintings.

The Hanging Wall does not sell, value, authenticate or represent artworks or artists, and it has no gallery, stockroom or price list. Nothing here is financial advice: people buy art because they want to live with it, and that is the only reason the site ever gives.

Partner links

A few pages carry clearly labelled partner links, for example to a bookseller or an online course. If you buy or enrol through one of them, the site may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Partner links are marked as advertisements, they never change what a note recommends, and they only appear where they fit the subject of the page. The privacy policy explains the cookies those links can set.

Corrections and letters

Spotted a wrong date, a misspelt name or a claim that needs a source? Please write. Corrections are made quickly and without fuss. The contact page has a form, or write to viewing@timolsengallery.com.