Art Encyclopedia - Easel

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Easel
In art an easel is an upright support used for resting a painting or drawing surface on it in order for the artist to work on the surface. Easels are also used to display artworks. Easels are known to have been in use since the time of the ancient Egyptians.

The two most common designs for easels are tripod designs and h-frame designs. The tripod design is based on three legs with crossbars to make the easel stable. It usually has a mechanism that allows for the vertical adjustment of the working plane. H-frame designs are based on right angles with all posts parallel to each other and a rectangular base. The main portion
of the easel consists of two vertical posts with a horizontal crossbar support.