Colour, daylight and artificial light

The first mistake is to think about light before you think about the work. A painting that glows under the gallery’s track lights can look flat and dead in your living room. A sculpture that reads beautifully in daylight can turn into a black silhouette against a bright window. So start with the work and the room, then test scale, colour, light and viewing distance, in that order.

the material below is independent. It is not the former TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre and it is not the James Wallace Arts Trust. For current operations, contact the Trust or Auckland Council directly.

Start with the work and the room

The first decision is not about the bulb. It is about the object and the architecture it will occupy.

Assess the work itself

Ask what the piece demands:

• Does it have a fixed top or bottom? Paintings, photographs and most works on paper usually do. Sculpture and some contemporary installation work may not.
• Is it reflective? Glass, Perspex, polished metal, or glossy paint will behave differently under daylight and spotlights.
• Is it sensitive to light? Works on paper, textiles, and many photographs fade faster than oil or acrylic on canvas.
• Is it culturally sensitive? Some Māori and Pacific works carry protocols about who may view them, where they may be shown, and how they should be handled. Never assume a work is purely decorative; ask the gallery or artist about tikanga (protocols) before installing it.

Then answer the core question: How do you light and place the work so it reads correctly and survives the room? Use this sequence: start with the work and the room, then test scale, colour, light and viewing distance.

The room comes first

Before considering any artwork, map the room’s light. Walk the space at three times of day: morning, midday, and evening. Note where direct sun falls, where the light is diffuse, and where artificial sources create pools of glare. The single most common display mistake is hanging a work opposite a window that receives direct afternoon sun. The UV in that light will fade pigments over time, and the contrast between bright glass and dark wall makes the work hard to read.

The Pah Homestead, the historic mansion in Hillsborough, Auckland, that housed the former Wallace Arts Centre, is a useful example of how architecture shapes display. Its high ceilings and large sash windows create strong directional light that changes hour by hour. In such a space, a work hung on a north-facing wall (in the southern hemisphere) receives more consistent daylight than one on the south side, which gets cooler, more stable light. The same logic applies in a modern living room: the orientation of the window, not the brightness of the room, is the first variable to control.

Colour, daylight and artificial light

Daylight is not constant. Its colour temperature changes across the day and across seasons. A work that looks crisp and balanced at noon can look flat and yellow by late afternoon. The scientific basis is the correlated colour temperature (CCT) of the light source, measured in kelvin (K). The International Commission on Illumination (CIE) publishes the standard illuminant D65 for average daylight, which is why most colour-critical viewing conditions assume 6500 K (CIE, 2004).

The practical consequence for viewing art is that a work’s apparent colour changes with the light source. A painting that looks balanced in a north-facing room at 2 pm can look yellow under a tungsten bulb and bluish under a 4000 K fluorescent tube. If you are choosing or hanging art, make your final judgement in the same light you will live with, not in the gallery’s spotlights.

Glare

Direct sunlight on glass or varnish creates a bright patch that hides the surface; diffuse daylight from a north-facing window in the Southern Hemisphere is the most stable, glare-free option. A simple rule: if you can see the light source reflected in the glass, you are too close or the angle is wrong. Move the work, tilt it slightly, or shift the light source until the reflection disappears from your standing position.

UV exposure

Ultraviolet radiation causes fading and yellowing. The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa’s preventive conservation guidelines (2021) recommend that light-sensitive works receive no more than 50 lux for works on paper and 200 lux for oil paintings, and that ultraviolet radiation be kept below 75 microwatts per lumen. These are benchmarks, not legal limits, but they are the closest thing to a national standard for display lighting. The single most useful rule is: never hang a work on a wall that receives direct sunlight at any point of the day, and if you do, use UV-filtering acrylic glazing and keep the work out of the sun’s path during peak hours.

How to read colour under mixed light

Colour temperature and the 3-step rule

A work’s apparent colour shifts with the light source. To judge it accurately, view it under the light you will use at home, then check it beside a known white surface, and finally step back to your intended viewing distance. This sequence exposes colour casts that a single glance under gallery spots will hide.

Metamerism: why a colour changes between rooms

Metamerism is the phenomenon where two colours match under one light source but not under another. A painting’s deep blue can look identical to the sofa’s fabric in the showroom and then clash at home because the two materials reflect light differently under your warmer bulbs. The fix is not a better bulb; it is testing the work in the room where it will live, under the actual light you use in the evening.

A practical checklist for placing and lighting a work

• Walk the room at morning, midday and evening. Mark where direct sun hits the walls.
• Identify the room’s strongest light source. Is it a window, a glass door, or a bank of downlights?
• Place the work on a wall that never receives direct sun. In the Southern Hemisphere, a north-facing wall is often the safest.
• If the work is behind glass, stand where you would normally view it. Shift the work or the light until you cannot see the light source reflected in the glass.
• For works on paper or textiles, use UV-filtering glazing and keep the piece away from bright daylight paths.
• Ask about tikanga before installing Māori or Pacific works. Contact the gallery or artist if you are unsure.

What is not covered here

the material below does not cover electrical safety, hardwiring, circuit load calculations, or building-code compliance. It does not address security lighting, emergency egress lighting, or the installation of light fixtures. For those topics, consult a licensed electrician or a registered building professional.

Sources

• Auckland Council, “Pah Homestead and Monte Cecilia Park,” 2021.
• Te Papa Tongarewa, “Māori art: a guide to protocols,” 2023.
• Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, “Collection Policy,” 2022.
• Creative New Zealand, “Arts Funding Strategy,” 2023.
• “Lighting the Way: A Guide to Museum Lighting” (Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2019).
• “A Guide to Lighting for Art and Heritage” (National Services Te Paerangi, 2019).
• “UV and Light Damage to Artwork” (Conservation Wiki, AICCM, 2021).