Collection-Based Teaching Manuals
African American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago
Introduce your students to 19th- and 20th-century African American art in the Art Institute's collection from works by Henry Ossawa Tanner to Kerry James Marshall's mural-sized paintings. This manual includes reproductions of 20 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and works on paper, as well as maps, classroom activities, and a comprehensive timeline. Grades 6–12. (20 slides) $30.
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Art of the Ancient Mediterranean World: Egypt, Greece, Italy
Uncover the world of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Italy through 20 works from the Art Institute's Classical collection. This extensive manual includes historical essays, discussion questions, classroom applications, self-guides to the Art Institute, language sections, a glossary, bibliography, and related Web sites. Available with either slides or transparencies. Grades 5–12. (20 slides or transparencies) $35
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Arts of Africa
Discover the history and cultures of specific regions of Africa through 20 art works from the Art Institute's collection. Materials include an extensive essay, a thematic and geographic index, maps, a pronunciation guide, reproducible activity sheets, and African proverbs. Grades 5–12 (20 slides) $30
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The Arts of the Ancient Americas
Written in Spanish and English, this manual includes essays on cultures of the ancient Americas, discussion of 20 objects in the museum's collection, and lesson plans written by teachers. The manual contains reproducible maps, timelines, and illustrations. Grades 6–12. (20 slides) $30
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Impressionism/Postimpressionism
Introduce your students to the Art Institute's celebrated collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist art. An essay discusses the historical and social milieu of this revolutionary movement. Grades 4–12. (20 slides) $30.
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Mexicanidad
Examine eight images of Mexican Art from ancient times to the present from The Art Institute of Chicago's collection. The art of Mexico is a starting point for exploring Mexican cultural history. Bilingual, informative text, discussion questions, classroom activities, glossary and bibliography accompany the slides. Grades 6-12. (8 slides) $15
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Van Gogh and Gauguin
This packet explores the relationship between Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin through 11 images executed before, during, and after their brief but explosive time in Arles in 1888. The seven slides feature works in the Art Institute's permanent collection. Grades 6–12. (7 slides, 4 postcards) $15
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Theme-Based Teaching Manuals
ABCs of Art: A Guide for Early-Childhood Educators
This guide is designed specifically for early-childhood educators and their students. ABCs of Art invites teachers to use the Art Institute as a learning environment beyond the walls of the traditional school. Grades pre-K–3 (12 color posters) $30
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Art on the Move
Explore the theme of travel and motion in art. The packet surveys the history of transportation: movement on land, water, and, ultimately, lifting off, soaring through the sky. Nine works of art from the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago represent a cross-section of cultures and times. Grades 1–8. (9 slides) $10
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Exploration and the Cosmos
Let art take you on a journey through space! This manual explores concepts of space travel as depicted in the collection of the Art Institute, from 17th-century Italian sculpture to 20th-century African American painting. Use this manual to blend art and science in the classroom or as a thematic tour of the museum's permanent collection. Grades 6–12. (14 slides) $20
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Faces, Places, and Inner Spaces
Based on an interactive and educational exhibition currently on view at the Art Institute, this manual explores the Art Institute's diverse collection through 11 works that relate to the themes of faces, places, and inner spaces. Includes interdisciplinary classroom applications, modifications for English language learners and students with special needs, maps, self-guides to the collection, a glossary, and bibliographies for teachers and students. Grades 1–6 (11 transparencies) $25
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Hero, Hawk, and Open Hand: American Indian Art of the Ancient Midwest and South
This teacher resource explores the art, culture, history, and geography of pre-Columbian Native American societies in what is now the Midwest and Southern regions of the United States, between 3000 B.C. and A.D. 1500. This guide contains 15 color reproductions, color maps, classroom applications, historical information, and a complementary DVD. Grades 4-12. $30
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Many Faces: Modern Portraits and Identities
Transparencies accompany a text that explores issues of identity. The range of portraiture includes an early daguerreotype of the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Impressionist portraits, and portraits by 19th- and 20th-century American and European painters and photographers from Julia Margaret Cameron to Irving Penn. Grades 5–12. (10 transparencies) $25.
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Self, Family, and Community
Explore the fundamentals of the social studies curriculum-the character and responsibilities of self, family, and community-through works in the Art Institute's collection. Grades 1–3. (9 slides) $15
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Poster Packets
African
Mask (Mukenga), late 19th–mid-20th century, Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The Mukenga mask honors men important to the royal household. Its materials relate to rank, status, and leadership. The use of leopard and monkey fur, parrot feathers, and forms borrowed from the chameleon and elephant serve as visual metaphors for the characteristics of the animals and by extension, of Kuba rulers. $12
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African American
Romare Bearden
Return of Odysseus (Homage to Pintoricchio and Benin), 1971. The image represents the long-awaited return of Odysseus, which is the climax of the epic poem the Odyssey by Greek poet Homer. Bearden's use of collage gives a modern look to this ancient tale. $12
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Walter W. Ellison
Train Station, 1936. Ellison portrayed a train station in his native Georgia and commented on the racial climate in the United States in the 1930s. White Southerners board trains for vacation destinations, while African Americans journey north to seek jobs during the Great Migration of rural blacks to urban centers such as Detroit and Chicago. $12
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Kerry James Marshall
Many Mansions, 1994. Our eyes are first drawn to the sign above the colorful flower garden, announcing the eight towers of Chicago 's Stateway Gardens projects seen in the distance. Marshall combined the real and the ideal to portray the residents' efforts to preserve their community. $12
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Archibald J. Motley, Jr
Self-Portrait, c. 1920. This painting depicts the dignified, Chicago-based artist. The traditional composition and lively colors that hint of his future Bronzeville paintings offer a glimpse into the complexity of Motley himself. $12
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Charles White
Harvest Talk, 1953. White depicted the dignity of rural labor with two powerful figures. The contours of scythe, hat brims, and forearms echo the curves of the horizon and clouds, portraying these workers in harmony with the landscape. $12
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American
George Bellows
Love of Winter, 1914. In this work we see a lively crowd skating on a frozen pond in Central Park. Bellows skillfully contrasted the background of the composition, an expanse of blue-gray hills and trees, with the boldly colored and vigorously rendered figures in the fore and middle grounds. $12
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Thomas Cole
Distant View of Niagara Falls, 1830. This landscape painting portrays a uniquely American scene: The sugar maples with their red autumn leaves, two Native Americans gazing in reverence, and the powerful falls, one of the world's natural wonders. $12
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Theresa Zett Smith
Bedcover with Cigar or Tobacco Box Rectangles, 1913. This striking quilt was made with pieces of fabric called "top sheets" used to line cigar and tobacco boxes. These top sheets include 108 colorful designs and pictures, including flags from around the world. $12
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Winslow Homer
The Herring Net, 1885. Homer captures the conflict between man and nature in his depiction of two fishermen hauling in a herring net amidst a stormy and powerful seascape. $12
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Attributed to John Quidor
Rip Van Winkle, 1829. Based on Washington Irving's character from the 1820 story, Rip is a hunter and trapper living near the Catskill Mountains in New York. This painting highlights Rip's return to his post-Revolutionary War hometown after a mysterious 20-year sleep. $12
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Ancient American
Seated Male Storyteller Figure, c. 100 B.C.–A.D. 250, Mexico, West Central Region, Jalisco, Ameca style. This handmade sculpture's energetic gestures and lively facial expression suggest a strong and vibrant personality. Unearthed from an ancient tomb, the figure represents a timeless recording of history, legends, and myths. $12
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Ancient Egyptian
Mummy Case of Paankhenamun, Third Intermediate period, Dynasty 22, c. 945–715 B.C., Egypt. This colorful mummy case was made for the doorkeeper from the temple of Amun and is decorated with a variety of images associated with rebirth, including the scarab beetle, the hawk-headed god Horus, and a winged solar deity. $12
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Asian
Camel with Rider
Tang dynasty, first half of 8th century, Chinese. This ceramic sculpture of a camel and rider is an example of a type of mingqi (pronounced ming-chee), or tomb figure. During the Tang Dynasty whenever a rich or powerful person died they were buried with clay objects depicting people, animals, and fantastic creatures. $12
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Dancing Ganesha, 10th century, India, Uttar Pradesh. This sculpture of Ganesha, Hinduism's Lord of Beginnings and Remover of Obstacles, posed mid-dance, is sure to amuse with his oversized elephant head and rotund belly. $12
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Japanese Interior, Traditional, Thorne Miniature Room. This is the main room of a traditional Japanese home, complete with alcoves to display art, tatami mats, and a writing desk. Sliding doors lead to a Japanese garden, considered a form of art and an integral part of the home's beauty. $12
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Screens of Southern Barbarians, 1568–1603, Japan. This screen portrays a ship arriving in Japan from Portugal with European merchants in pantaloons and broad-brimmed hats bearing exotic products. The Japanese, in long, flowing patterned robes and sandals, are on the shore picnicking and curiously watching the arrival of the Portuguese. $12
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Thangka of Bhaishajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha
14th century, Tibet. This colorful thangka , or scroll painting, represents the Buddha as the master of medicine and teacher of healers. As the patron deity of Tibetan medicine, he is a healer of both the body and spirit. Not only is this painting rich in meaning, it is a beautiful aesthetic achievement, and the harmonious use of bold, vibrant colors is characteristic of Tibetan art. $12
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Tosa Mitsouki
Flowering Cherry with Poem Slips, Edo period, c. 1675, Japanese. This screen celebrates the Japanese tradition of viewing cherry blossoms to mark the arrival of spring. The tree's blossoms and hanging poem slips create an elegant design against the gold of the silk. $12
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European
Bernardo Martorell, Spanish.
Saint George Killing the Dragon, 1430/35. This painting features the famous medieval legend of Saint George, who saved a princess about to be sacrificed to the dragon threatening her father's kingdom. $12
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Three-Quarter Field Armor from a Garniture, 1570–80, Italy. This suit of ceremonial armor includes more than 22 pieces that could be mixed for parade and sporting tournaments. Students will learn about the production and functions of armor and about the role of the knight in 16th-century Europe. $12
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Impressionism/Postimpressionism
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, French.
Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando), 1887–88. Thinly and rapidly painted, this picture has the confident, improvisational quality of a drawing. Its subject is the Circus Fernando, one of the first permanent circuses in Paris, which provided rich inspiration to many artists, both before and after Toulouse-Lautrec portrayed it. $12
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Modern and Contemporary
Ivan Albright, American.
Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida,1929–30. To render this haunting portrait, Albright used a precise painting technique that encourages viewers to look at all the details that convey Ida's persona, such as clothing, accessories, and setting. $12
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Peter Blume, American.
The Rock, 1948. Looming in the center of the painting is a monumental rock, fractured yet enduring, a powerful symbol of humanity's tenacity and capacity to survive. Men and women struggle to go on living and rebuilding in this postwar scene of destruction. $12
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Joseph Cornell, American.
Untitled, 1957. A wonderful example of the many shadow boxes Cornell created in his lifetime, this box combines whimsical found objects including a wooden bird, a ball, bingo chips, stamps, and newspaper clippings. $12
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Philip Guston, American.
Green Sea, 1976. "I wanted to tell stories!" This is how painter Philip Guston explained the radical transformation of his paintings from delicate abstractions early in his career to surreal, apocalyptic narratives later on. The works executed in the last decade or so of his life depict a world populated by hooded figures, disembodied body parts, clocks, light bulbs, and various tools and materials found in a painter's studio. $12
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Doris Lee, American.
Thanksgiving, 1935. Celebrating the joys of family ties, this composition shows a bustling group of women and children preparing the annual feast in a traditional rural kitchen. $12
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René Magritte, Belgian.
Time Transfixed, 1938. This well-known work depicts a steam train emerging from a fireplace. Magritte's realistic portrayals of images that do not seem to belong together align him with the French Surrealists. $12
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Pablo Picasso, Spanish.
Portrait of Sylvette David, 1954. While living in the small town of Vallauris on the southern coast of France, Spanish artist Pablo Picasso encountered a young woman named Sylvette David. Her stunning features fascinated Picasso so much that over the course of the next three months, he composed more than 40 paintings and drawings in a range of styles. In this particular image of Sylvette, her features are greatly distorted as Picasso began to examine her facial features and characteristics as closely and specifically as possible. $12
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Videos
American Visions: African American Perspectives in Art
This video includes work by African American artists represented in the Art Institute's collection, from contemporary Chicagoans Kerry James Marshall and Richard Hunt to Henry Ossawa Tanner, whose work entered the collection in 1906. Hosted by ABC-7 news anchor Hosea Sanders, this video places works by these artists in the context of their cultural milieu, including music, poetry, and historical film footage. Grades 6–12. (20 minutes) $10.
Watch video introduction.
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What Do You See? A Teaching Video
An essential teaching tool for educators who understand the importance of incorporating art into the curriculum. Renowned art educator Philip Yenawine demonstrates a mode of inquiry designed to help students observe, analyze, and interpret art, emphasizing observation and critical thinking. In the galleries of the Art Institute, Yenawine demonstrates this teaching method with sixth-grade and high-school students. (28 minutes) $15
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