Canvas Sizes: Standard Dimensions, Ratios and Depths

Standard canvas sizes chart

Canvas sizes are usually quoted height × width for portrait, but stretched canvas works either way round. Sizes are the front face; the depth adds to the overall measurement on the wall.

30 × 40 30 × 40 in24 × 36 24 × 36 in16 × 20 16 × 20 in8 × 10 8 × 10 in

Canvas sizes grouped by ratio

Canvases in the same ratio family are scaled copies of each other. A composition, a photo crop or a digital file made for one size prints on any other size in its family without cropping. Moving between families always loses part of the image.

11 × 14 and 20 × 24 sit outside the main families. They are popular painting sizes but awkward for photo prints, which lose about 15% (11 × 14) or 20% (20 × 24) of a 3:2 image's length. Cropping figures for each print size are in the photo print sizes guide.

Canvas depth: standard vs gallery profile

The depth of the stretcher bars changes how the canvas looks on the wall and whether it can be framed.

Large canvases (over about 36 in on a side) need a cross brace in the middle of the stretcher to stay flat and square. Most ready-made large canvases include one; check before buying a cheap 36 × 48.

Canvas prints: wrap allowance and resolution

When a photo or design is printed on canvas, the edges have to be dealt with. Each option needs a different file.

• Gallery wrap (image wrap): the image continues around the sides. The visible front is smaller than the file by the bar depth on each edge, so keep faces and text at least 2 in (5 cm) from the edge on a 1.5 in deep canvas.
• Mirror wrap: the shop reflects the outer strip of the image onto the sides, so the full image stays on the front.
• Color or white edge: the sides are a solid color and the image fills the front only.

For a gallery wrap, the file must cover the front, the two sides and a strip folded behind the bars to staple. On a 1.5 in canvas that is roughly 2 to 2.5 in extra on each edge, so a 16 × 20 in canvas needs a file of about 20 × 24 to 21 × 25 in. Shops supply templates; use theirs, since bar depths and fold allowances differ.

Canvas texture hides fine detail, so 150 DPI at final size is the usual target and 100 DPI is acceptable for large canvases seen from across a room. A 12 MP phone photo (4032 × 3024 px) meets 150 DPI up to about 20 × 27 in. The poster print-file guide explains how viewing distance sets the resolution you need.

French canvas sizes (Figure, Paysage, Marine)

European art suppliers still sell canvases in the numbered French system. Each number has three shapes with the same long side: Figure (F) is the squarest, Paysage (P, landscape) is longer, and Marine (M, seascape) is the longest. Sizes are in cm, long side first.

The system dates from the 19th century, when Paris color merchants standardized stretchers; frames for these sizes are still stocked in France and Belgium. Many European shops also sell plain metric sizes such as 30 × 40, 40 × 50, 50 × 70 and 60 × 80 cm.

Choosing a canvas size for a wall

• Above a sofa: aim for about two thirds of the sofa width. An 84 in sofa suits a canvas around 55 to 60 in wide, such as a 40 × 60 in landscape canvas, or two 24 × 36 in portrait canvases (24 in wide each) with a 4 to 6 in gap.
• Above a bed: a queen headboard is about 60 to 64 in wide, so the two-thirds guide points to about 40 to 43 in of art: a 30 × 40 in landscape canvas, or a 12 × 36 in panoramic for a lower, wider look.
• Small walls and shelves: 8 × 10 to 11 × 14 in, often in groups.

Placement heights, spacing for groups and sizing for other furniture are covered in the wall art size guide. Poster-format prints and their frames are on the poster sizes page, and frames for canvas panels are in picture frame sizes.

Frequently asked questions