Art History || Instructional Resources: The Amon Carter Museum: Paintings That Tell a Story

National Art Education Association

Instructional Resources: The Amon Carter Museum: Paintings That Tell a StoryAuthor(s): Allison PerkinsSource: Art Education, Vol. 46, No. 2, Art History (Mar., 1993), pp. 25-33Published by: National Art Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3193373 .

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INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES

The Amon Carter Museum: Paintings That Tell a Story

William M. I laamtt, Ease, 1887. Oil on canvas, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas.

Art Education/March 1993 25



The Amon Carter Museum:

Paininngs That Tell a Story

Allison Perkins

Introduction This instructional resource focuses on the way in which an artist tells a story through painted images. The looking exercises and discussion questions will assist you and your students in learning how to "read" these paintings, and further develop perceptual skills for looking at works of art, whether in the classroom or in an art museum. These instructional strategies offer different methods for looking at each reproduction; they can also be applied and used with other reproductions that you may have in your classroom. Please feel free to adapt the questions and proce- dures to suit yourteaching environment and students' interests and ages.

Harnett's Still Life: Objects That Tell a Story

William M. Harnett, Ease, 1887 Oil on canvas, 48 x 52 3/4 in. (121.9 x 134 cm.)

Goal: To introduce students to William M. Harnett's still-life painting, Ease, as a representation of late nineteenth-century interests, hobbies, and values.

Objectives: Students will

1. Understand still-life painting, 2. Identify the interests of the person represented

by the objects in the painting Ease, and compare late

nineteenth-century values with their own contemporary values,

3. Develop perception skills, 4. As a group, create and sketch a still-life.

Background: William Hamett (1848-1892) became the master of trompe-l'oeil, or "fool the eye", painting in late nineteenth-century America. Trained as a silver engraver in 1865, Harnett later studied art in Philadelphia and New York. By 1875 he devoted his time exclusively to still-life painting, creating innovative compositions that one critic called "a wonder and a puzzle." Hamett's still lifes are puzzles which, when pieced together, uncover a wealth of information about the artist, his patrons, and American society in the last quarter of the nineteenth century.

James T. Abbe, an envelope manufacturer, com- missioned the painting Ease; the envelope at the center of the composition is an obvious nod toward the commercial products of Abbe's factory in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Harnett also incorporated objects that represent Abbe's other interests: a newspaper symbolizes his second business, while the well-worn books, sheet music, and musical instruments further define Abbe as a man of learning and productive leisure. Harnett's expressed desire "to make the composition tell a story" resulted in images that mirrored American life, tastes, and values during the late nineteenth-century's Gilded Age. His celebration of cherished old objects reveals his fascination with the past and its comforting values.

26 Art Education/March 1993



Discussion and Activities: 1. Look at this reproduction with your students for

fifteen seconds, put it aside, and ask them to list the different objects they saw in the painting. Ask the following questions to stimulate responses:

What kinds of things are depicted in the painting? How many objects did you see? How are they arranged? Which object looked closest to you? Which one appeared farthest away? Were there any objects that you could imagine hearing or smelling?

Make sure the students come to a consensus about their observations; give them an opportunity to discuss and share varying points of view. Did everyone see the same things? Next, show them the reproduction again and compare it to their observations. Did they see everything? Do these objects have anything in common? Could they be divided into different categories? What do these objects tell us about the person who owned them? Are they old or new? Do you have things like these? How are your things different?

2. A still-life painting is an arrangement of inani- mate objects. It often includes books, papers, musical instruments, mugs, pipes, fruit, and even dead animals all overlapped and arranged on a table or on a flat surface like a door. Discuss the concept of a still- life painting with your students. How does William Harnett use light, shadow, and overlapping forms to create the illusion of space? Does the placement of the objects make a difference?

3. Ask each student to bring an object from home and use the objects to set up still lifes throughout the classroom. Have the students participate in the shared process of arranging and then drawing the still life. Discuss with your students the objects that they chose to represent their interests and hobbies. How are their objects different from Mr. Abbe's? How are their objects a reflection of the time and culture in which they live?

4. This sensory game is a good introductory exercise that will stimulate discussion among young el- ementary students. In four to five cloth bags, approxi- mately 8 x 10" in size, place an object that has a similar texture to something depicted in Ease. For instance, use a piece of carpet, a newspaper, an embossed metal object, a piece of leather, a flower petal, a leaf, or other objects that simulate textures that can be observed in the painting. Give each student a chance to feel the obiect in each baa without looking inside. Ask the student to describe, in detail, the texture that she/he feels without naming the

object. Based on the description, ask the other students to identify an object in the painting with a similar texture.

Bibliography

Bolger, Doreen, Marc Simpson, and John Wilmerding, eds. William M. Hamett. New York: Amon Carter Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1992.

The Hunter's Return: A Landscape That Tells a Story

Thomas Cole, The Hunter's Return, 1845

Oil on canvas 40 1/8 x 60 1/2 in (101.9 x 153.7 cm.)

Goal: To decode the underlying message in the narrative elements of Thomas Cole's painting The Hunter's Return


1. Describe the physical characteristics of the painting.

2. Identify and discuss the narrative elements of the painting.

3. Compare contemporary cultural attitudes toward the natural landscape with those in mid- nineteenth-century America.

4. Draw a landscape.

Background Thomas Cole (1801-1848) immigrated to the United States from England at age seventeen. He trained briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts but managed to establish his artistic career and reputation through the works he completed after his first trip to the Hudson River Valley. Known for impart- ing a religious or moral message through his landscape paintings, Cole had his vision of the American landscape shaped by the period in which he painted. During the early to mid-1 800s, the United States was a newly settled nation which many still viewed as a "new Eden" and a wild, exotic land waiting to be tamed and settled. Thomas Cole, however, was an advocate of persons living harmoniously in the new land.

This landscape painting is the ideal setting for a complex narrative that places humankind in the con- text of nature. The setting is a late afternoon in




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autumn, and Cole presents the viewer with a background of resplendent foliage, mountains, waterfalls, and a lake - all representing an American Garden of Eden. The log cabin and the crops in the garden are carefully placed in this picturesque scene. Yet in the foreground, he positions raw tree stumps and fallen logs as a reminder of civilization's intrusion on nature. The Hunter's Return, in its representation of an idyllic New England scene with a family coexisting peace- fully with nature, embodies Thomas Cole's personal values with a moralizing message. There also may be an autobiographical element in the theme of return in this painting. Cole frequently went on sketching trips to the White Mountains and on business trips to New York City. He always enjoyed the happy reunion with his family when he returned home to Catskill, New York.

Discussion and Activities: 1. Show your students the reproduction of The

Hunter's Return, and ask them to describe Thomas Cole's landscape. Describe the different characteristics of the terrain: mountains, lake, trees, waterfall, stream. How many people do you see in the painting? Describe the people: What are they doing? What time of year is it?

2. Have your students think about what they see. What clues are in the painting to indicate the season? What kind of house is depicted in the painting? Does this look like a real place? Do people live like this today? How is it different? Is this what it is like when your parents come home?

3. Have a discussion about landscape in your classroom, and ask your students to describe the landscape in their own community. How do they fit into the landscape? Ask them to describe an ideal landscape; how does it differ from the landscape in their community? Talk about variations of landscape painting: seascape, cityscape.

4. Share some background information about Thomas Cole and his philosophy regarding human beings and nature, and ask the following questions to stimulate further dialogue. Are these people respectful of the land and the environment? How does Cole illustrate this in the painting? This painting was painted over 100 years ago; did these people have the same concerns we have today about recycling? Why or why not? Are we respectful of the American landscape today?

5. After viewing the reproduction, discuss the pos- sible relationships and concerns between the people depicted in The Hunter's Return. Assign a different

character to each student and ask them to develop a dialogue among the people.

6. Ask your students to make a drawing of a landscape that includes an underlying message about environmental awareness.

Bibliography

Ayres, Linda, et al. American Paintings: Selections from the Amon Carter Museum. Fort Worth: Amon Carter Museum, 1986.

Biagell, Matthew. Thomas Cole. New York: Watson-Guptill Publi- cations, 1981.

Parson Weems' Fable: A Story Within a Story

Grant Wood, Parson Weems' Fable, 1939

Oil on canvas, 38 3/8 x 50 1/8 in. (97.5 x 127.3 cm.)

Goal: To engage students in the process of "reading" Parson Weems' Fable and discovering the story within a story.


1. Analyze the composition to gain an understanding of Grant Wood's painting style,

2. Learn about Parson Weems' fable and its impact on American folklore,

3. Discuss American myths and portray a contemporary myth through a drawing or writing exercise.

Background: Parson Weems' Fablewas painted in response to the debunking of traditional American myths that took place in the post-Depression era. Grant Wood de- pictedthe legendary cherry tree story inwhich George Washington declared to his father, "I cannot tell a lie." A painter and printmaker of the regionalist move- ment, Grant Wood wanted to preserve an element of traditional American folklore. He did so by depicting Parson Mason Locke Weems' story from the fifth edition of his biography, Life of George Washington (1806).

Grant Wood cleverly depicts a scene within a scene by placing the creator of the myth in the foreground, on the right side of the composition. Parson Weems carefully draws the curtain aside to

30 Art Education/March 1993



reveal the most dramatic moment of the story. Atense series of gestures lead the viewers eyes from one figure to another. The curtain and the bent trunk of the cherry tree both echo and frame the tension of the moment of truth. Dark ominous clouds on the distant horizon seem to reinforce the disappointment and anger of father Washington as he gestures for the hatchet. Grant Wood chooses not to depict the proud, forgiving father, but instead the stern and purposeful one. The scene is full of whimsical details, such as borrowing the image of George Washington from Gilbert Stuart's portrait and placing it on the young boy's body. Elements of the composition such as the dangling cherries on the tree and the buttons on the Parson's coat are repeated throughout the painting.

In Parson Weems' Fable Grant Wood strove to "help reawaken interest in the cherry tree and other bits of American folklore that are too good to lose." He continued: "In our present unsettled times, when democracy is threatened on all sides, the preserva- tion of our folklore is more important than is generally realized."

Discussion and Activities: 1. Ask your students to carefully observe and

describe everything that they see in the painting. Parson Weems' Fable. How many people do you see in the painting? What shapes and lines are repeated throughout the painting? What kinds of colors do you see? What time of year is it?

2. Analyze the elements of the painting.Why is the man who is holding the curtain looking at us and pointing? Why are the figures different sizes? How else does the artist create a sense of space and depth in the painting? Do you know what story is being told here? Why did the artist place an old man's face on a young boy' s body?

3. Discuss the concept of a myth or fable: a traditional story supposedly based on historical events that imparts an idea about heroes or heroines,super- natural beings, and animals, or explains a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. Is the story about George Washington true? How do we know? Does it matter if a myth is true? What are some contemporary myths,heros,or heroines? (Magic Johnson, the space

'Grant Wood, 'Statement from Grant Wood concerning his painting 'Parson Weems' Fable'," Jan. 2, 1940, quoted in Linda Ayres, etal., American Paintings: Selections from theAmon Carter Museum (Birmingham, Alabama: Oxmoor House, Inc., 1986), p. 109.

shuttle Challenger, Madonna, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

4. Ask your students to write a story about a contemporary myth, about a hero or heroine. After they have written the story, have them illustrate its different components.

Bibliography

Ayres, Linda, et al. American Paintings: Selections from the Amon Carter Museum Collection.Birmingham, Alabama: Oxmoor House, Inc., 1986.

Corn, Wanda. Grant Wood: The Regionalist Vision. Minneapolis: The Minneapolis Institute of Art, 1983.

The Medicine Man: A Heroic Figure of the West

Charles M. Russell The Medicine Man, 1908

Oil on canvas, 30 x 48 1/8" (cm?)

Goal: To introduce students to Charles M. Russell's painting The Medicine Man and its contribution to their understanding of the myth of the American West.

Objectives: Students will:

1. Analyze the composition of The Medicine Man, 2. Compare Russell's portrayal of the heroic native

American Indian with Grant Wood's painting of George Washington in Parson Weems' Fable,

3. Compare two artists' viewpoints on the taming of the New Land: Russell's The Medicine Man and Cole's The Hunter's Return,

4. Write their own story based on what they observe in the painting.

Background: Charles Russell described The Medicine Man in a letter of 1911 to Willis Sharpe Kilmer, who purchased the painting from a gallery in New York. "The Medi- cine Man'l consider one of the best pieces of my work and these few words may give you some idea of the meaning of the picture," Russell wrote.

The medicine man among the Plains Indians often had more to do with the movements of his people than the chief and he is supposed to have the power to




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Charles M. Russell. The Medicine Man, 1908. Oil on canvas, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas.



speak with the spirits and the animals. This painting represents a band of Blackfeet Indians with the Medi- cine Man in the foreground. The landscape was taken from a sketch I made on Loan [sic] Tree Creek in the Judith Basin and I remember when this was game country. The mountain range in the background is the Highwood with Haystac [sic] and Steamboat Buttes to the right. The Blackfeet once claimed all country from Saskatchewan south to the Yellowstone and one of their favorite hunting grounds was the Judith Basin. This country today is fenced and settled by ranchmen and farmers with nothing but a few deep worn trails where once walked the buffalo but I am glad Mr. Kilmer I knew it before nature's enemy the white man invaded and marred its beauty.

In The Medicine Man, Russell depicts the proud leader on a pinto horse guiding the rest of the tribe to their fall hunting grounds. He is wearing an antelope horn medicine pendant around his neck, and he carries in his right hand a crooked lance trimmed with a scalplock and feathers. (A crooked lance, rather than a straight lance, indicates a high office such as a chief or medicine man.) Russell claimed that "where the head man stuck his lance in the ground is where the women put their lodges."

Russell's depictions of American Indians were painted with a great deal of sensitivity and understanding. His inscription in a book for a friend reads: "The red man was the true American ... Their god was the sun, their church all outdoors/Their only book was nature and they knew all its pages." Russell saw the history of the early West fading into legend and knew instinctively that it would be remembered and celebrated mostly through romance. In Russell's best work, the viewer seems to live in his time and travel the trails with him.

Russell was a master storyteller in both words and pictures, and his paintings are records of the spirit of the West that he witnessed, experienced, and inter- preted firsthand at the turn of the century. Without the aid of formal artistic training, Russell was influenced by the environment around him; he was a keen observer of life. At the young age of sixteen, he left his family in St. Louis to move to the Judith Basin in Montana. His observations of western life took the form of watercolors, drawings, paintings, sculpture, illustrated letters, and endless tall tales and stories.

happening in this painting? What are the people doing? How are they dressed? What kinds of lines do you see in the painting (straight, diagonal, parallel)? Describe the different colors you see. Name the different shapes you see. How has the artist put all these elements together? How has he created a sense of perspective?

2. Review the other paintings represented in these instructional resources and the stories associated with each one. Ask your students if there is a story in this painting. Use the following questions to stimulate the beginning of a story: Where have these people come from? Why are they leaving? Where are they going?

3. Ask your students to write a story based on what they see in this painting. Tell them to outline their story with the following components: an introduction,the development of actiondialogue, a climax for the story, a conclusion.

4. Compare the myths of the medicine man and George Washington that have been discussed in the instructional resources. Did the artists' environments have an effect on their portrayal of their subjects? What part of the stories did the artists choose to represent?

5. Compare The Hunter's Return with The Medi- cine Man. How did each artist portray the concept of "man versus nature?" Why did Russell call the white man "nature's enemy?"

Bibliography

Dippie, Brain W. WordPainter: The Letters of Charles M. Russell. Fort Worth: Amon Carter Museum, 1993.

Renner, Frederic G. Charles M. Russell: Paintings, Drawings, and Sculpture in the Amon Carter Museum. New York: Harry N.

Abrams in association with the Amon Carter Museum, 1974.

Allison Perkins is Education Director, Amon Carter Mu- seum, Fort Worth, Texas.

Discussion and Activities: 1. Ask your students the following questions to

encourage discussion about the painting. What is




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