Eagle Symbolism in Art

What does an eagle symbolize in art?

An eagle stands for sovereignty, vision and renewal. Sovereignty, because Rome made the eagle its legionary standard and the bird passed to every power that claimed Rome's inheritance: the Holy Roman Empire, the tsars, Napoleon. Vision, because the eagle hunts from a height and sees what the ground cannot. Renewal, because medieval bestiaries held that an aging eagle flew toward the sun and dived into water to be made young, an idea older than the bestiaries: a psalm speaks of youth renewed like the eagle's.

Christian art gave the eagle to Saint John the Evangelist, which is why church lecterns are so often carved as an eagle with the Bible open on its back. Greek myth gave it to Zeus.

What does the bald eagle mean, and what is a double-headed eagle?

The bald eagle means American liberty, because the United States put it on its Great Seal in 1782. The bird holds an olive branch in one talon and arrows in the other. The species lives only in North America, so the image is unambiguous in a way the generic heraldic eagle is not.

A double-headed eagle has two heads facing left and right. It comes from the ancient Near East and became the emblem of the Byzantine emperors, whose empire faced Europe and Asia at once. Albania's flag still carries one, a black double-headed eagle on red. In art it is always frontal and symmetrical, and it reads as authority rather than nature.

Many Native American nations hold the eagle sacred and give its feathers as an honor for courage. That is a living religious practice, not a decorative motif, so a respectful eagle canvas shows the living bird.

Which eagle picture says freedom, and which says a nation?

A bald eagle in flight reads as freedom and sight; an eagle on a flag reads as a state or a nation. The table pairs each kind of picture with its reading, the wall it suits and the layout to look for.

Check the title first. A large share of the eagle pieces in the store are flags: Mexico's eagle on a cactus, the white eagle of Poland, the Eagle of Saladin on Egypt's flag, the bald eagle on the North Dakota and Iowa flags. They sit in Flag Wall Art, while Eagle Wall Art holds the wildlife pictures. Neither is the wrong choice. They are different things to hang.

How does a bald eagle in flight look as a single canvas?

A single canvas lets the bird fill the frame, which is where an eagle picture is strongest. Bald Eagle Over Ocean at Sunset shows a large eagle with wings spread over a pale sea and sky. Bald Eagle Flying Before Full Moon sets an eagle against a large full moon on a dark night sky, the darkest of the group. Eagle Flying at Sunrise is a silhouette across a white sun on an orange and yellow sky, the most graphic of the three and the easiest to place in a modern room.

Each comes as a 1 Piece in 24 x 16, 36 x 24 and 48 x 32 inches, and 48 x 32 is the widest single horizontal canvas. Over a sofa, aim for about two thirds of its width and leave 6 to 8 inches between the sofa back and the bottom edge, as our sofa wall art size guide explains. A bald eagle suits a den, an office or a large Living Room Wall Art wall. For the silhouette against portrait choice across every bird, see our bird wall art guide.

What does a panoramic eagle do above a desk or a headboard?

A panoramic eagle turns a wide, low wall into one long horizon. Bald Eagle Over Rippling Water Panoramic shows an eagle with wings spread over lavender water, cropped wide so the wingspan runs sideways. A single panoramic canvas runs 36 x 12, 48 x 16 or 60 x 20 inches, and a three piece panoramic set reaches 73 x 24 overall.

Above a 60 inch desk, our office wall decor guide puts the art at about two thirds of the desk's width, roughly 40 inches, with at least 6 inches of clearance above a monitor. The 36 x 12 sits 4 inches under that figure and the 48 x 16 sits 8 over. Above a king bed at 76 inches, aim for 48 to 52 inches wide, which the 48 x 16 meets. Browse Panoramic Wall Art for the shape and Office Wall Art for the room.

Pro tip: Measure the clearance above your monitor or headboard before you choose between the 36 x 12 and the 48 x 16. The shallow height is what lets a panoramic fit on a wall where a 24 x 16 single would crowd the furniture.

Is a vertical eagle canvas better for a narrow wall?

Yes, when the wall is taller than it is wide: beside a door, between two windows or in a hallway. Eagle Flying at Sunrise Vertical turns the sunrise silhouette into a tall picture, with the eagle above a white sun. This piece lists a single vertical at 12 x 24, 16 x 32, 20 x 40, 24 x 48 and 30 x 60 inches, and a three panel vertical set at 12 x 25, 18 x 37 and 24 x 49.

On a tall wall, put the center 57 to 60 inches from the floor. Our guide to vertical wall art for tall walls covers the walls a vertical piece is for, and Vertical Wall Art holds the range.

Can a multi panel eagle set work in a big room?

Yes, and it suits a wall that a single canvas would leave looking empty. Bald Eagle Soaring Over Rocky Peaks comes as a 3 Horizontal set at up to 49 x 32 inches or a 5 Star set at up to 82 x 42 inches overall, which is larger than any single canvas. The eagle is small in this picture, a dark shape above granite peaks and blue sky, so the set reads as a mountain landscape with a bird in it.

That is worth knowing before you choose. If the bird is the point, pick a single canvas where it fills the frame. If the wall is the point, a five panel star set carries a den or an open plan living area, and our multi panel canvas sizes guide shows what each format spans. Our multi panel versus single canvas guide covers when to use one or the other.

Watch out: Two pieces can both say bald eagle in the title and look nothing alike. In Bald Eagle Over Ocean at Sunset the bird fills the frame; in Bald Eagle Soaring Over Rocky Peaks it is a small shape in a big landscape. Open the picture and judge the size of the bird, not just the title.

What does an eagle on a flag look like on a wall?

It looks like the flag at full size, with the eagle as its emblem. North Dakota Flag with Bald Eagle shows a bald eagle with wings spread on a blue field under a sunburst. Iowa State Flag with Eagle and Banner carries an eagle holding a banner, and Poland Flag with White Eagle Emblem sets a crowned white eagle on a red shield. Mexican Flag with Eagle on Cactus, Egypt Flag with Eagle of Saladin and Albanian Flag with Double-headed Eagle put a national emblem at the center.

Flags follow the horizontal layouts. The North Dakota and Mexican pieces come as a 1 Piece in 24 x 16, 36 x 24 and 48 x 32 inches, and the North Dakota piece also comes as 3 Horizontal and 5 Star sets, up to 82 x 42 inches overall. A flag suits a den, an office or any wall where a flag belongs, and our American flag wall art guide covers the sizing problem a striped flag creates. Flag Wall Art holds the full range.

What size and hanging height suit an eagle canvas?

Size it to the furniture, then hang it from the furniture. Over a sofa or a bed the gap above the furniture sets the height. On a bare wall the center goes 57 to 60 inches from the floor, as our 57 and 60 inch hanging guide sets out.

The center lands well above the 57 to 60 inch rule, and that is correct. Above a bed, the gap wins, because the art needs to belong to the furniture.

• Whether you want the wildlife eagle or the flag eagle, and which collection holds it.
• The wall width and the furniture width, measured in inches.
• The center height: 57 to 60 inches on a bare wall, 6 to 8 inches above a sofa back, 6 to 10 inches above a headboard.
• How big the bird is in the picture, as well as the layout.
• Two fixings on anything wider than 30 inches, so the canvas cannot rotate out of level.