The pinnacle of Yayoi Kusama's success is the art installation "Narcissus Garden" where she staged stage 1,500 mass-produced plastic silver globes on the lawn outside the Italian Pavilion. View pictures and read the symbolism behind...

"The Stonebreakers" by Gustave Courbet seems to lack the basics of art (things like a composition that selects and organizes, aerial perspective and finish) and as a result, it feels more "real". View a picture and read a description in...

The photograph "The Steerage" by Alfred Stieglitz would become one of the most important in the history of photography. View the picture and read the story behind the photograph.

Cezanne returns to the motif of Mont Sainte-Victoire throughout his career, resulting in an incredibly varied series of works. View examples of his artwork and read descriptions of his style in this essay.

Mary Cassatt's motivation in making her prints was to make her art more accessible for a large audience. She believed that everyone, regardless of income or social position, should be able to experience art and to own works they enjoy....

From around 1912, goldfish became a recurring subject in the work of Henri Matisse. They appear in no less than nine of his paintings, as well as in his drawings and prints. View examples and read why he chose this particular motif.

Have you ever wondered what came before Photoshop? After the First World War, artists in Germany and the Soviet Union began to experiment with photomontage, the process of making a composite image by juxtaposing or mounting two or more...

Edvard Munch's "The Scream" is one of the most iconic human figures in the history of Western art. Since The Scream's first appearance, many critics and scholars have attempted to determine the exact scene depicted, as well as...

In "The Gare Saint-Lazare, the Auteuil Line" Monet shows his keen interest in light, color, and paint handling. This painting has been singled out as among the most impressive paintings of Impressionism. View this picture and read about...

The story behind the creation of "Object", an ordinary cup, spoon, and saucer wrapped evocatively in gazelle fur, has been told so many times its importance in modernist history transcends the fact it might be of dubious authenticity....

Andy Warhol's iconic Marilyn Monroe Diptych invites the viewer to consider the consequences of the increasing role of mass media images in our everyday lives. View pictures and read about his techniques and influences in this essay.

Eugene Delacroix is said to be the most representative painter of French romanticism. In his painting, "Liberty Leading the People" Delacroix completed what has become both a defining image of French romanticism and one of the most...

The Sullivan, Carson, Pirie, Scott Building in Chicago is an important example of early Chicago skyscraper architecture, and can also be seen as a fascinating indicator of the relationship between architecture and commerce. View pictures...

A unit in AP European History focuses on the transition toward a more scientific mindset in early modern Europe as a result of the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. Check out the lesson plans, videos, slideshows to enhance...

Take a virtual tour of the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, and learn about the history of writing in ancient civilizations, the invention of paper, the spread to Europe, the impact it had, how paper is made, the evolution of...

Ornate edible architecture and sculptures were often created for celebrations in the cities and courts of early modern Europe. The Edible Monument is an exhibition of the ephemeral art created for these festivals.

Learning module with unit guide, PowerPoint presentations and primary sources from which students study the formation of constitutional governments that developed in England and the Netherlands in early modern Europe.

The most recent ice age peaked between 24,000 and 21,000 years ago, when vast ice sheets covered North America and northern Europe, and mountain ranges like Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro and South America's Andes were encased in glaciers. At...

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (1208 - August 4, 1265), was the principal leader of the baronial opposition to King Henry III of England. After the rebellion of 1263-1264, de Montfort became de facto ruler of England and called...

A map of England and Wales in AD 550, after the departure of the Romans (AD 410) and during the migration of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from Europe. The map is color-coded to show the territories of the native Britons or Welsh,...