Educator Resources

This teaching packet includes an essay, discussion questions, activity ideas, a glossary, and images of three photographs from Dawoud Bey’s first significant body of work.

This ceramic sculpture of a camel and rider is an example of a type of mingqi, 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

Thinly and rapidly painted, Equestrienne (At the Cirque Fernando) (1887-88) has the confident, improvisational quality of a drawing. Its subject is the Circus Fernando, one of the first permanent circuses in Paris.

The works executed in the last decade or so of Philip Guston's 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.

With its pulsating strands and slashes of bright color, this work evokes memories of bustling cities that Mitchell recalled from her travels in the American Midwest.

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.

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.

Charles Wilbert 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.

Adriaen van Ostade's Merrymakers in an Inn illustrates peasants of multi-generations celebrating a joyous event in a spacious and picturesque interior.

This painting depicts the dignified, Chicago-based artist Archibald J. Motley, Jr. The traditional composition and lively colors that hint of his future Bronzeville paintings offer a glimpse into the complexity of Motley himself.

In Many Mansions, Kerry James Marshall combined the real and the ideal to portray the residents' efforts to preserve their community.

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.

This figure of Shukongojin looks down from his rock-like pedestal, imposing both a sense of awe and curiosity about the target of his aggressive presence.

The Mukenga mask honors men important to the royal household. Its materials relate to rank, status, and leadership.

This screen portrays a ship arriving in Japan from Portugal with European merchants in pantaloons and broad-brimmed hats bearing exotic products.