Guest post by Bobby Baker, photographer and gallery owner

Creating the Bobby Baker Gallery, a professional fine art gallery in an antique Cape Cod barn built in the 1800s, presented some interesting challenges to displaying art, so minimizing concerns about framing and preparation of the art was very welcome.

We wanted to retain the building’s character and decided to keep the barn as original as possible, rather than finishing the interior with the usual smooth white “vanilla” gallery walls. While those are easy to hang art on, we felt that the barn’s existing uneven boards, wood beams, and studs (even those in the most “in-the-way” spots) created a special atmosphere that appeals to our Cape Cod customer base. But that was just the beginning!

When presented with such a challenge one must take a step back and envision solutions before banging nails. We chose Gallery System after seeing my work hanging on it in a gallery in Chatham, Mass., and realizing how easy it was to use.

At first, we thought the horizontal and vertical timbers that protruded from our barn’s wall surfaces would be obstacles, but they ended up being part of the solution. We started by mounting a wall track on one of the beams that ran across the top of a wall and placed our cable hangers on it. At first glance, that seemed like it wouldn’t work – with the hanging hooks several inches away from the wall, as shown at left, the art would swing about and become crooked. Hardly an acceptable display!

However, this is where planning allowed the beams and studs to work for us.The works we display are typically in the range of 30 x 25 inches, which means they are wide enough to rest against the woodwork that stands out from the wall. The vertical studs and horizontal beams support the art hanging on the steel cables, as seen at right, and it doesn’t move a bit!

This enables us to hang 2 or 3 pieces one above the other on each cable. We can raise or lower the art by adjusting the very easy-to-use pushbutton hook. In a few areas where the woodwork wouldn’t accommodate a section of track, we resorted to the old-fashioned hook and nail to display smaller pieces of art.

A second art-barn challenge was utilizing the railing on the steps that gives access to storage on the second floor. We placed a track on a ceiling beam above the steps (seen at left) and attached two cables and hooks, on which we hung two 36 x 36-inch pieces of art, one above the other.

This allows the railing to stabilize what would otherwise have been free-swinging objects and gives us extra display space – and as a bonus, the art obscures the stairs and railing.

Lastly, the front of our gallery has two large barn doors. We open one as the main entrance for customers, while the other remains closed, becoming a great interior display area, as seen at right.

We cut a piece of track to fit along the top of the second barn door’s frame, which stands out a few inches from the recessed door panels. This had the potential to create another “swinging in the wind” scenario, but again, part of the problem is the solution. Another piece of framing runs horizontally around the midway point of the door, and when large pieces are displayed they rest comfortably against it. We’re currently showing a piece 40 inches high by 28 inches wide using two cables and hooks for stability; it looks great there and never moves.

After more than nine years of operation, we still find that Gallery System eases the art hanging process and allows us to concentrate on creating displays rather than fretting over how to display our art. And its adaptability and overall ease of use have made it a winning solution for the Bobby Baker Gallery.

Bobby Baker has been called "one of New England's best coastal photographers," with his work described as "iconic, timeless, elegant, remarkable, and contemplative." His award-winning photographic art has been widely published in magazines, books, and websites, and his fine art prints are included in private and corporate collections internationally. His work has been featured by numerous institutions including the Office of Massachusetts Travel and Tourism, Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, Gloucester Stage Company, Copley Society of Art, Prudential Center-Boston, and the Cape Cod Maritime Museum. His studio and the Bobby Baker Gallery are in the Cape Cod village of Cataumet.

All photos by Bobby Baker