E D U C ATO R G U I D E

This Educators

Guide was

designed for

use in

conjunction

with field trips

to the New

York Accents

exhibition, or

for use as a

stand‐alone

classroom

resource. The

materials

included here

contain

curriculum

connections

aligned with

Common Core

and Georgia

Professional

Standards for

5th grade

Visual Arts,

Language Arts,

and Social

Studies, but are

adaptable for

use at other

grade levels.

Brooklyn Bridge in Winter, Childe Hassam, 1904. I Love Liberty, Roy Lichtenstein,

1982.

The New York Accents exhibition brings together a wide variety of works that

demonstrates the Telfair‟s, and Savannah‟s, various connections to New York

over the last 200 years. Though the cities seem vastly different—a sprawling

Northern metropolis and a relatively quiet Southern burg—the cities have long

shared a love of art and culture, each city housing some of the country‟s oldest

major museums. The story begins with the Telfair family, who often visited and

bought decorative arts from New York and other northern hubs. Over the years

the relationship grew, with the development of the Telfair‟s Savannah Art Club

in the 1920s, attracting New York artists, and with prominent members of the

art community like Gari Melchers and Kirk Varnedoe maintaining strong ties to

both cities. The artworks collected here, whether depicting the New York,

made there, or created by artists working in its schools and studios, each

convey an aspect of the special connection these two historic cities share.

While items like teapots and sofas may seem like just „stuff,‟ these items can

tell us a lot about the people who made and used them. Just as Egyptian

artifacts tell us about the daily lives of ancient Egyptians, these 19th century

objects can give us clues to life in Savannah in the 1800s. Both the items

themselves (like a chocolate pot) and how they looked (the style that was

popular) gives us information about what people valued at the time.

Sofa, Unknown Maker, c. 1810-1815, Mahogany, modern upholstery. Pitcher (creamer), Boyce & Jones, c. 1825-

1830, silver.

Items like the ones you see above, and others in this exhibition, are

significant not only for how they look but where they came from.

These pieces were chosen for this exhibition because they have a

connection to New York. In the 19th century many pieces of

decorative art were made in New York and other northern cities at

the time while few were made in the South.

Ask students to consider what this fact implies about the economy

of cities like New York versus southern cities like Savannah.

Historical events, like the opening of the Erie Canal, played a part

in nortern cities‟ commercial viability. Why else would decorative

arts not have been made in the South? What was different about its

economy? Consider, also, the implications of these differences a

few decades later, during the Civil War.

English Language Arts Common Core Georgia Performance Standards

ELACC5RI7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

ELACC5SL4: Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

ELACC5SL5: Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies

SS4G2 The student will describe how physical systems affect human systems.

c. Explain how the physical geography of the New England, Mid-Atlantic, andSouthern colonies helped determine economic activities practiced therein

Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Arts

VA5CU.2 Views and discusses selected artworks.

c. Discusses how social events inspire art from a given time period.

The decoration you see in 19th century art has actually been transmitted over thousands of years.

In the 1800s Napoleon was in power in France and looking to expand his empire. He wanted his

rule to embody ideas of great civilizations of the past, such as ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt

(where he also began a military campaign). Architecture, like the Arc de Triomphe, was built in the

neo-classical style, to resemble buildings of those societies. This trend continued in other areas as

well, including painting, sculpture and decorative arts like furniture, silver and ceramics. In France

this phase was known as the Empire style, although when it became popular in England it was

known as the Regency style. British designers, like Duncan Phyfe, began to come to America,

bringing these decorative elements with them. Thus ancient styles became popular again.

Explain to students the importance of cultural artifacts and what they have historically been able to

tell us about civilizations. A wonderful example and resources is the „A History of the World in 100

Objects‟ series (see Resource section); if possible listen to one or more 15-minute podcasts with

students to get an idea of what objects can tell us.

Have students create their own „History of Savannah..‟ series by creating a few-minute presentation

on an object from a certain time period. For objects and further resources the Georgia Historical

Society is a great place to start (see Resource section; limiting searches to objects will prove useful).

Encourage students to answer certain questions in creating their presentation, including the usual 5

W‟s but also several „hows,‟ such as: How was this object made? How did it make it to Savannah?

How was it used? How did it survive for so many years? How is it used today, if at all?

Adapted from Rebecca Zurier‟s Picturing the

City: Urban Realism and the Ashcan School,

p.2-6. See Resources page for full reference.

In the history of American art, scenes of everyday life had [prior to

1900] usually depicted rural subjects, or the elegant drawing rooms

of well-to-do households. The few artists who had depicted urban life

in the industrial age usually allowed viewers to look down upon their

subjects visually, socially and morally.

By the turn of the century (1900), serious art usually meant American

Impressionism that transformed urban scenes into tranquil landscapes

seen from a distance.

Nobody had seen an urban culture quite like the one that emerged in

the modern city during the “transformation of American culture” in

the Progressive Era (1895-1917). By the time Ashcan School painters

came to New York, it was the largest city in America and second only

to London in the world. Its numbers had grown rapidly; between

1890 and 1910 the population nearly doubled, mainly through

immigration. Of these almost five million people, more than 78%

were foreign born or the children of immigrants. The characteristics

that made New York different from most other American places—

having financial networks that connected it to cities around the world

and serving as a hub for fashion and the arts—made it emblematic of

the modern metropolis. New York was a city of strangers and

extremes of wealth and poverty. Immigrants, women and other

populations that used to stay in one defined space now competed

among one another for power and visibility in public life.

The city‟s diverse population, commerce and changing morals

proved to be subjects of fascination for the Ashcan School artists.

They were committed to creating modern, urban views that would

show „real life‟ among the city‟s many images. What was it like to live

through the changes so vividly revealed in their paintings? How did

the city change when women, the working class, and ethnic groups

claimed visibility as citizens? Their artwork assumes the viewpoint of

an observer or journalist, a city resident who shares space with the

people depicted while viewing them—on the street, at a park, in a

restaurant or from a nearby window.

▪How was the

Ashcan School

different from

other art that came

before it?

▪What events and

changes occurred

between 1895 and

1917 that caused it

to be known as the

Progressive Era?

▪According to this

excerpt, and from

what you know

about this period,

how was New York

(and other big

cities) changing

during this era?

Think about work,

private life and

culture.

▪There are some

questions in the

last paragraph.

Think about how

these artists might

have answered.

What about you?

Georgia Performance Standards for Social Studies

SS5H3 The student will describe how life changed in America at the turn of the century.

d. Describe the reasons people emigrated to the United States, from where they emigrated, and where they settled.

Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Arts

VA5CU.1 Investigates and discovers personal relationship to community, culture, and the world through creating and studying art.

VA5CU.2 Views and discusses selected artworks.

c. Discusses how social events inspire art from a given time period.

Brooklyn Bridge in Winter, Childe Hassam, 1904.

The Calico Sellers, Jerome Myers, 1909.

Having begun to study the Progressive Era and the turn of the 20th century in

America, have students read the essay at left and discuss the questions.

Discuss the notion that art is a product of its time and draw upon other

examples students may be familiar with (such as art of ancient Greece that

emphasized order and balance, or contemporary art which uses technology)

Having discussed the Ashcan School and how it was different from art that

came before it (like American Impressionism), ask students to compare and

contrast the images above. They both depict New York City in the same era,

but how are the images different? Do they tell different stories about the city?

Extensions: Have students create a work of art they feel represents changing

urban life at the turn of the century. Alternately, allow students to write a

response describing the scene in this or other Ashcan School paintings.

Ave

nu

e o

f th

e A

llie

s, C

hild

e H

assa

m,

191

7.

Se

lf P

ort

rait

, C

hu

ck C

lose

, 2

002

.

Repeating elements in art can convey harmony, show movement or create interest. Each of the

artworks below, all from the New York Accents exhibition, use repetition in a different way.

Consider how and why each of these images represents the idea of repetition and which, in

your opinion, best embodies the concept.

Tim

efr

ame

, D

anie

l Sh

iffm

an,

20

02

.

This painting, like that of many Impressionists,

was one of a series. Hassam created more

than thirty such paintings, all with the theme

of flags lining a busy Fifth Avenue.

Chuck Close also experimented with

variations on a theme. He created numerous

self-portraits in different styles and media.

This one is made of up of a grid of squares

with areas of color inside.

Daniel Shiffman also works with a grid to

capture the human form. In his work a web

camera captures images of people and

displays them one after the other in

patterns that move throughout the screen.

The individual forms are moving, but so are

the patterns made by the changing

images.

Georgia Performance Standards for Visual Arts

VA5MC.3 Selects and uses subject matter, symbols, and/or ideas to communicate meaning.

a. Generates different viewpoints for making and interpreting a visual image.

b. Develops visual images by combining or modifying open-ended themes/topics in unique and innovative ways.

VA5MC.1 Engages in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas.

a. Creates a series of thumbnail sketches to alter visual images (e.g., magnifying, reducing, repeating or combining them in a variety of ways) to change how they are perceived and interpreted.

VA5PR.1 Creates artworks based on personal experience and selected themes.

a. Interprets visually the big ideas and broad themes in open-ended ways that resonate with personal meaning

c. Communicates values, opinions, or personal insights through an original work of art.

With your students, consider the examples of repetition in the online exhibition slideshow above.

For further explanations and examples of concepts like repetition, pattern and rhythm, see the

Resources section.

Now that you have an idea of the range repetition can produce, ask students to explore the

theme of repetition. (This can be done with a number of techniques and media, like printing or

making molds.) Allow students to explore various means of repetition using different media.

Once students have explored various processes, ask them to create one finished work that

employs some aspect of repetition but also embodies a particular theme (this could be student-

driven or could relate to another area of study, such as the Industrial Revolution or the life cycle).

Foster a discussion of students‟ work and how they compare to one another. Exhibit them!

Consider the three images on the left. Each embodies the idea of repetition

but in a slightly different way. These three works were brought together

because of their shared connection to New York. How could the idea of

repetition be used to convey another theme?

Repetition itself can even be a theme. Take a look at this exhibition, entitled

Multiplicity, organized by the Smithsonian‟s American Art Museum: http://

americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/multiplicity/

These examples should give some idea of the range of concepts an idea like

repetition or multiplicity can produce. Apply the notion of multiplicity to

another theme to see what you can come up with.

“Look for

echoes.

Sometimes the

same shape or

direction will

echo through

the picture.”

- Robert Henri

In this section you will find resources referred to in earlier materials as well as additional

references materials for you and your students.

A History of the World in 100 Objects

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/a_history_of_the_world.aspx

The above site, part of the British Museum, offers a guide to each of the objects featured on the program. Objects are organized chronologically by theme.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/

At the BBC site you can listen to the 15-minute podcasts (audio files) that describe each of the objects and their significance.

Georgia Historical Society

http://www.georgiahistory.com/containers/2

The Georgia Historical Society has a wealth of artifacts and documents that explore the history of the state.

http://georgiahistory.pastperfect-online.com/37659cgi/mweb.exe?request=ks

This link goes to their searchable archive. If you or your students are searching for objects, filter the search on the right to limit it to only objects.

Brooklyn Museum 19th Century Decorative Arts Collection

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/onview/

location/2147483616/

The Brooklyn Museum has vast holdings in decorative arts accompanied by a searchable database. Students might find objects similar to theirs and discover more about the origins of like objects.

Picturing the City: Urban Vision and the Ashcan School, by Rebecca Zurier

http://books.google.com/books/about/Picturing_the_City.html?

id=MSaGxzpm7TYC

While this book is academic and geared toward adults, the introduction (available to read online through Google Books) should give teachers some background information on the time and conditions in which the Ashcan School painters were working. It is also the source for the above excerpt.

Seeing America: Jerome Myer‟s Sunday Morning

http://mag.rochester.edu/seeingAmerica/pdfs/35.pdf

This pdf offers a simple-to-understand guide to Jerome Myers as well as typical Ashcan School style, providing context in the form of contemporary photographs and the work of other artists.

Smarthistory: Bellows‟ Pennsylvania Station Excavation

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Ashcan-School.html

Smarthistory is a wonderful resource that presents art history for a novice audience. With short essays and videos, like this one, visitors can learn the basics of art historical movements (in this case, George Bellows and the Ashcan School).

Multiplicity, an Exhibition from the Smithsonian American Art Museum

http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/online/multiplicity/

Even though this exhibition has come down, you can still see images from it. Each of the works exemplifies the theme of multiplicity and is accompanied by a short explanation. A great tool, particularly for further visual examples of the concept of repetition.

Sophia: Repetition, Pattern and Rhythm

http://www.sophia.org/design-in-art-repetition-pattern-and-rhythm-tutorial

Sophia.org is a site that offers teachers free tools to enhance their lessons. This explanation of the related phenomena of repetition, pattern and rhythm is easy to follow and offers multiple visual examples from a wide range of sources.

Flyeschool: Repetition, Rhythm and Pattern

http://flyeschool.com/content/repetition-rhythm-and-pattern

This site is the personal blog of a high school art teacher. It covers a number of the same themes as the site directly above but with different visual examples. Flye also includes references that bridge the gap between art and math and science.

The Educators Guide will prepare you for tour content, but what about tour procedures?

Keep things running smoothly with this list.

Don‟t worry, we will go over these again on your arrival, but it does help if students have heard them from you first. Explore with your eyes, not your hands. Telfair Museums was created in order to share art and knowledge. We take special care of the art in our collections so that it can be shared for a long, long time. Even the gentlest touches can add up to harmful results. Point with your words, not your finger. Even if you know not to touch, if you point too closely to a part of a painting or sculpture, you might accidentally touch it. Instead of pointing, describe what you want to point out using words like “in the center,” “at the bottom,” “next to the corner,” “to the right,” “above,” and “below.” Walk and move carefully. Follow your docent. Take your time, watch where you are going, and hold onto handrails while using the stairs.

Listen carefully, raise your hand, speak clearly but quietly. The museum is a place for thinking and learning. The same rules that make learning easier in a classroom are used here too.

Eating, drinking, and chewing gum are not allowed. Photography is not allowed.

Our docents are dedicated volunteers. Your prompt notification regarding cancellations or late arrival helps prevent mismanagement of the time they so generously donate.

To cancel a tour, please call 912.790.8827 If you will be more than 10 minutes late, or are cancelling the day of the tour, please inform the Telfair Academy museum receptionist at 912.790.8871 or the Jepson Center receptionist at 912.790.8800.

Before you enter the museum/get off the bus, divide into groups with an adult in each. When you check in at the admission desk, please provide the number of students and chaperones to the front desk staff and check backpacks, lunches, and jackets.

Stay with the group you have been assigned to. Maintain discipline without interrupting the docent. Proximal control works great! Bathroom Breaks: Academy bathrooms are located in the basement level. There is a bathroom on the third floor in the touring area, but its use during tours interferes with

student attentiveness. Reserve it for emergency use only.

Please let us know about your experience. We are constantly evaluating and improving our programs. Your observations and ideas are a valuable resource. Please share them at 912.790.8827.

Jerry Siegel‟s photographic portraits of southern visual artists compose a highly personal survey of some of the most interesting inhabitants of

our region. An Alabama native, Siegel has spent the last 17 years traveling the area to capture the likenesses of both well-known and

emerging artists in their familiar settings. Facing South assembles approximately 50 black-and-white and color portraits of Siegel‟s

subjects. Expressive, intimate, and evocative, Siegel‟s body of work offers sensitive insights into the region‟s creative soul.

Act/Natural presents approximately forty photographs from the permanent collection that explore the ways in which photographers utilize both candid and staged compositions to create portraits of individuals, pairs, and groups. The staged photographs in the exhibition invite the viewer to consider how the subjects wish to present themselves to camera, as well as how the photographers utilize the medium to reinforce or subvert the subjects‟ self-image. Meanwhile, the candid images in the exhibition capture unstudied snippets of everyday life, revealing the interconnectedness or, in some cases, the isolation of their subjects.

Showcasing a selection of everyday treasures from the Huntington Museum of Art‟s Touma Collection, Allure of the Near East features over 70 objects from a broad geographical area including the Middle East, Turkey, Indian

sub-continent, North Africa, and Europe and range in date from the 1st through the early 20th centuries. Various media showcase the region,

including metalwork, glass, ceramics, arms and armor, scientific instruments, textiles, furniture, books, and manuscripts. These items

represent Pre-Roman, Roman, Greek, Islamic, Christian and Jewish civilizations.

Spanish Sojourns will be the first exhibition to explore the Spanish paintings of Robert Henri. Widely celebrated as both an artist and a teacher, Henri also played a pivotal role in the history of American art as one of the key organizers of the progressive 1908 exhibition of the Eight, and throughout his career championed the realistic portrayal of contemporary life. Spain and its people held a particular fascination for Henri, who was attracted to the nation‟s sunny climate, ancient culture, and spirited citizens. Henri‟s Spanish portraits also reflect his admiration for the great Spanish masters Diego Velasquez and Francisco Goya, whose works he studied closely.

As an educator, you are eligible for a special membership rate.

Our $35 Educator‟s Membership entitles you to all of the following:

Unlimited free admission to the Telfair Museums three sites

[Telfair Academy, Jepson Center for the Arts, and Owens Thomas House]

Invitations to special members-only events and lectures

Discounted art classes

10% discount at the Telfair Museums‟ stores

Eligibility to join museum member groups

A one-time use guest pass

It pays to join! Visit www.telfair.org or call 912.790.8866