American Art (5)

Winslow Homer

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Winslow Homer’s Snap the Whip and learn what his paintings tell us about American life in the 1800s; Describe how highlights and shadows give form and how converging lines show distance; Discuss how complementary colors and diagonal lines create a feeling of action and tension; Draw detailed apples in four stages of being eaten; Color realistic apples, blending oil pastels and showing highlights, shadows, and cast shadows.

Faith Ringgold

In this lesson the student will: Analyze the double story in Ringgold’s quilt Dancing at the Louvre and learn about the significance of quilts in American history; Learn how symbolic colors and designs were used in quilts as codes for the Underground Railroad; Identify the diagonal lines and geometric patterns in Ringgold’s quilt; Describe the use of flip, slide, and turn patterns; Draw the flying geese and hourglass quilt patterns; Create paper quilts, using symmetrical and balanced patterns.

Copley and Stuart

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Copley’s Boy with a Squirrel and Stuart’s George Washington and discuss how they captured the personalities of their subjects; Identify textures, attributes, and expressions that tell about people; Compare the style and techniques of the two artists; Describe techniques of shading used to create the illusion of form; Draw facial features in proportion; Create portraits, using charcoal and techniques that show form and personality.

William Harnett

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Harnett’s My Gems, identifying the elements of trompe l’oeil painting and how it appeals to our senses; Identify the textures and clues that tell when this painting was made; Describe how this painting tells us about life in 19th-century America; Draw and transform 2-D objects into 3-D objects, using charcoal; Paint trompe l’oeil still lifes, using highlights, shadows, and cast shadows to show form.

Andy Warhol

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Warhol’s 100 Cans and learn why he painted a series of objects; Identify elements of Pop Art style and how they reflect consumerism; Describe the way the elements of art and principles of design are used in Warhol’s art; Sketch graphic images and icons; Print and mount a series of icons representing popular culture.

Claes Oldenburg

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Oldenburg’s Two Cheeseburgers, with Everything and learn about Oldenburg’s Pop Art sculptures; Identify how color adds to the realistic interpretation of an everyday object; Describe how Oldenburg conveys humor through his art; Sketch food; Create sculptures of food and present sculpture in mixed media place settings.

Colonial Limner Artists

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Young Boy with a Dog and learn about portraits painted by Limner artists; Describe attributes that tell about the boy and the historical period in which he lived; Identify the characteristics of the stylized figure painted with muted colors; Sketch figures in proportion; Draw figures in a period setting, using one-point perspective; Paint colonial figures with attributes, using muted colors.

William H. Bradley

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Bradley’s Victor Bicycles poster and discuss how art can be used to influence buyers; Identify how Bradley used the principles of design to create an appealing composition; Describe how the image uses contrast and repetition to send a message; Design posters advertising vehicles; Create balanced compositions using design principles.

Frederic Remington

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Remington’s The Apache and learn about his iconic depictions of the American West; Identify how line creates a feeling of movement; Describe how Remington arranged his composition to convey an attitude, or point of view, about the subject; Draw horses in proportion, showing movement; Paint landscapes with horses in perspective, using watercolor techniques.

Jacob Lawrence

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Lawrence’s The Studio and learn about his Expressionistic style, which shows the lifestyle of his African-American community; Identify the vanishing point and converging orthogonal lines; Describe Lawrence’s use of color, line, and perspective; Draw interiors of rooms, using one-point perspective with a vanishing point; Create and color rooms with realistic objects in a one-point perspective drawing.

John James Audubon

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Audubon’s Wild Turkey and learn how he observed and painted pictures of birds in their natural habitat; Identify the techniques he used to make birds appear realistic; Describe the use of patterns to create texture; Sketch birds, using basic geometric shapes; Color realistic birds, using chalk pastels, blending in highlights and shadows to show form.

Helen Frankenthaler

In this lesson the student will: Analyze Frankenthaler’s Blue Atmosphere and learn about Color Field painting; Identify how colors create mood; Describe the balance and flow of the painting; Experiment with different techniques for adding paint to wet paper; Create non-objective watercolor compositions by bleeding colors on wet surfaces.