Alt text is not a miniature artist statement. It is not a list of keywords, and it is not a test of whether language can replace seeing. It is a practical bridge: a short description that gives a blind or low-vision visitor access to the information an image carries.
For artists, the challenge is especially sharp. An artwork can hold color, texture, gesture, space, symbolism and ambiguity at once. A useful description must choose what matters without pretending to exhaust the work.
Start with the image’s job
Before describing anything, ask why the image is present. A photograph of a painting in an online portfolio is informative; the artwork is the point. A cropped detail may be there to show surface or technique. A logo that links to a shop is functional. A repeated flourish that adds no information may be decorative.
The World Wide Web Consortium recommends a null alt attribute for purely decorative images so screen readers can skip them. This is different from omitting alt text entirely, which can cause a device to announce an unhelpful filename.
Lead with the essential visual fact
Cooper Hewitt’s guidelines define alt text as a short visual description that gives a general sense of an image. Begin with what a visitor most needs to understand: the subject, action, composition or dominant relationship.
“Abstract painting” is usually too thin. “Large abstract painting with a red vertical form interrupting layered blue fields” gives structure without becoming an essay. If the work is figurative, identify the central figure or event before moving to secondary detail.
Do not begin with “image of” or “picture of” unless the fact that it is a photograph, screenshot or reproduction matters. Assistive technology already announces that an image is present.
Describe what is visible before explaining what it means
Artists know the intentions behind their work, which can make interpretation feel inseparable from description. Keep the first sentence anchored in visible evidence. Then add interpretive information only when it helps the reader understand what can be seen.
For example, “A woman bends over a table beneath a suspended circle of light” is visual. “A ritual of grief” is interpretive. If grief is central to the work and supported by the title or context, it may belong in a longer description or caption—but it should not erase the scene.
Name identity with care
Race, gender, disability, age and body type can be visually and culturally relevant, but they should not be guessed. Use information the artist or subject has made available, and apply it consistently. If identity is named for one person in a series, ask why it is absent for another.
Color also deserves precision. “Blue” may be enough for a small social post; “deep ultramarine field crossed by pale turquoise lines” may be necessary when color carries the composition.
Separate alt text from a long description
A complex installation, multi-panel work or diagram may not fit into one concise phrase. Use short alt text to establish the essential content, then provide a longer description nearby or through an accessible link. The long version can move through the work spatially, explain scale and materials, and identify relationships among elements.
Do not repeat a caption word for word. A caption may supply title, date, medium and credit; alt text should add the visual information the caption does not.
Test it aloud
Read the description without looking at the image. Does the order make sense? Does the opening carry the most important information? Have you added interpretation that the image cannot support? Could a shorter phrase do the same job?
When possible, ask blind and low-vision users to test the result. Accessibility is not completed by following a formula; it improves through use and feedback.
A good description does not flatten a work. It makes a deliberate entrance into it—clear enough to orient the reader, specific enough to preserve character and modest enough to leave the artwork larger than the sentence.