Portraits as Keys to History: Nathaniel Hurd, portraiture, identity

Reflection is a wonderful way to understand yourself as a learner or as an artist. Kids write a one-paragraph analysis of their own self-portrait. They focus on style, character traits, and self characterization.

A great cross-curricular project for any art classroom, this activity encourages young artists to consider color, pattern, texture, shape and line in their depiction of a historical figure. After researching a historical figure of their...

Useful teaching strategies abound in this inspirational, informative video! Walk step by step through one teacher's two-part lesson in her special education/ELL class as they develop text analysis skills by first beginning with analyzing...

Explore heritage and identity through an examination of art and a related project. The featured art, related to the African diaspora, includes several types of art created by different artists. Pupils consider their own backgrounds and...

Students examine how portraits can tell us more about people of the past than just what they looked like. They compare three portraits of U.S. Presidents, analyze portraits of Americans from the Revolutionary War, and write a report on...

High schoolers define genre in the visual arts, particularly in Western painting and explain the differences between subject and genre. The genre of a variety of works of art is identified.

Students first explore the power of the visual image to convey a message by examining the portrait of George Washington on American dollar bills. They next use, 'Prolific Chinese Painter Is Anonymous No More,' to explore a famous...

Visual literacy can be experienced in many different ways. Learners discuss the times, graphic art, and cultural significance of activism in art as they explore artist and Black Panther, Emory Douglas. This is a discussion-based lesson...

Exhibition of portraits of fourteen vice presidents who later became president tells the stories of their careers in pictures and words. Includes videos of taped interviews with four former vice presidents. [Exhibition opening: January...

Students observe and compare 18th century British portraits with those made by John Singleton Copley. By conducting research they explore the cultural climate of the portraits in order to write a historically accurate story.