Curriculum Activities

This teacher’s curriculum guide includes lesson ideas to accompany the 15 works from The School District of Philadelphia Art Collection on view in the exhibition Decorated, Displayed, Discovered: Celebrating the Region’s School Art Collections.

July 8, 2017—January 7, 2018 Fred Beans Gallery

Looking Questions:

 What do you see in this painting? Describe all the details you can find.  Identify what you see in the foreground, middleground and background.  Where is the horizon line?  Describe the brushstrokes in the painting.  How would you describe the light in this painting?  What time of day is it? Explain.  What season is it? How do you know?  How does this painting make you feel? Why? John Folinsbee (1892-1972), Canal Bridge, c. 1923, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia About the Artwork: Walter Emerson Baum helped acquire this painting for the Woodrow Wilson Middle School in May 1946, as well as a work by Harry Leith-Ross, a good friend of Folinsbee’s who shared a studio with him during their time in Woodstock, NY. Baum frequently attended auctions and gallery exhibitions on behalf of Principal Dudley and received a commission. Keeping to his usual budget, Dudley paid $300 for each painting. Later, he commissioned framemaker and craftsman Frederick Harer to create the frames for each of the works. Canal Bridge was painted earlier in Folinsbee’s career, when he employed more impressionistic elements, including brighter colors, looser brushwork, and capturing the effects of light on the landscape. This Bucks County scene was a setting typical of the Pennsylvania Impres- sionist artists in the area with whom Folinsbee met and worked, including Edward Redfield, Daniel Garber, Robert Spencer, and William Lathrop. The viewer is drawn into this quiet autumn location by the curve of the tree-lined towpath. In the distance, one can see the bridge over the canal, and below, with their handler, a pair of mules pulling a barge that is most likely carrying anthracite coal. For more information on John Folinsbee, visit the Michener’s Bucks County Artists’ Database. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org

Pre-Visit Activities:  Look at the work of John Folinsbee on the Bucks County Artists’ Database. Learn about his style and subject matter. Explore his stylistic changes that happened later in his life.  Compare landscapes by different Pennsylvania Impressionist artists found in the exhibition including: John Folinsbee, Walter Baum, Walter Schofield, Theodore Dillaway, Antonio Martino, and Henry Snell. How are their approaches similar or different?  Artists would often go out to paint en plein air, or “in the open air” to capture their environment. Often, these areas were very close to where they lived. Create some sketches of your neighborhood. What details can you include in your drawing? As a class, discuss your similarities and differences of what is in each of your neighborhoods.  Discuss the elements of a landscape including: horizon line, foreground, middleground and background. Explore how the location of the horizon line changes the perspective in the work.

Gallery Activities:  Weather Reporting Activity Sheet: Write a weather report in response to one of the works in the exhibition. What season is it? How do you know? What kinds of activities would you do during this time of year?  Instagram Activity Sheet: Choose a work of art in the exhibit. Sketch the artwork on your activity sheet and write a creative caption along with relevant hashtags to explain your composition.  Using Your Senses: If you could walk into one of the landscapes in the exhibition, which one would it be? What would you hear? See? Taste? Smell? Feel? Describe this experience in a short paragraph.

Post-Visit Activities:  Impressionistic Landscape: Create a painting in the impressionistic style using Canal Bridge as inspiration. Combine tempera paints with flour to create a thick impasto texture.  Transportation Systems: Explore the importance of the canal at the turn of the 20th century and its relation to the transportation of coal in the region. How have transportation systems changed along with the use of our natural resources? Write an essay of your findings.  Before and After: This painting was created in the 1920s. How would this landscape look today? Draw a version of this place and include the changes that may have happened over the years in your composition. How is it different or similar?  Favorite places: Think of a favorite place—a vacation spot, your backyard, a sports field, or somewhere where you go to think. Create a drawing of this place. What details would you include? Or maybe this place is imaginary. What is it like? Write a short descrip- tion to accompany your work.  Point of View: Change the position of where you are standing in this landscape. Recreate what you might see from this new perspective.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org John Folinsbee (1892-1972), Canal Bridge, c. 1923, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia.

Looking Questions:  What do you see in this painting? Describe all the details you can find.  Identify what you see in the foreground, middleground and background.  Where is the horizon line?  Describe the brushstrokes in the painting.  How would you describe the light in this painting?  What time of day is it? Explain.  What season is it? How do you know?  Where are we positioned in this painting?  How does this painting make you feel? Why? Walter Baum (1884-1956), The Brook, (also known as The Brook, Winter), c. 1930, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia.

About the Artwork:

This painting by Walter Baum was one of the first acquisitions of the Woodrow Wilson Middle School collection in Philadelphia. In the spring of 1931, the school had accumulated several hundred dollars. Principal Charles Dudley and his faculty decided that an appropriate way to spend this money was to purchase an oil painting, because they believed “it would last as long as the school itself” and would “always be not only an inspiration to the pupils who passed through our corridors daily, but also… an object of permanent beauty to enhance the cold and austere walls of our building.” The choice of this painting brought the artist and the staff “much commendation.”

Walter Baum had a long standing friendship with Principal Charles Dudley and worked closely with him to obtain works for the school’s collection. Baum would advise Dudley on artists to reach out to and often visited galleries on behalf of Dudley to purchase works of art, often receiving a commission himself. By 1941, the school had acquired 32 oil paintings and eight watercolors. By the end of Dudley’s retirement in 1950, the school had grown a collection of over 70 works.

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Pre-Visit Activities:  Write a letter to a friend describing this landscape to them. What details would you include?  Look at the work of Walter Baum on the Michener’s Bucks County Artists’ Database. What kinds of facts can you find out about this artist?  Explore atmospheric perspective in landscape paintings. What is this technique? How is Baum using it? What other techniques do artists use to create depth? Create a painting demonstrating this technique.  Baum would paint the rural areas of Bucks, Montgomery, Lehigh and Berks Counties. He also traveled to the suburb of Manayunk, PA, later in his career. What are the characteristics of this suburb of Philadelphia? Compare this painting to a work of Manayunk found in the exhibit which is part of the collection of the Souderton Area School District. Find this example at: learnmichener.org. How are they similar? Different? Which landscape would you rather visit? Why?

Post-Visit Activities:  Point of View: Imagine you are in the middle of the stream or looking at this landscape from above –what would you see? How would the landscape be different? Draw or paint this scene using the medium of your choice.  Principal Charles Dudley would often request frames to be made for the works in the collection at Woodrow Wilson Middle School, often commissioning craftsman Frederick Harer. If you were to create a frame for this painting, what would it look like? Draw this frame and its design. How large would the painting become if you were to add the dimensions of the frame to its overall size? Optional: create this frame in three dimensions using mixed media materials. To learn more about Frederick Harer, visit the Michener’s Bucks County Artists’ Database.  Create a landscape painting or drawing using one-point perspective.  Is there movement depicted in this work? What movement do you see? Create a landscape depicting movement using a medium of your choice.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Walter Baum (1884-1956), The Brook, (also known as The Brook, Winter), c. 1930, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia.

Looking Questions:  What do you see in this painting? Identify all the details.  Describe what you find in the foreground, middleground and background.  Where is the focal point?  What do you notice between the two dogs?  If you could add or take away something in this painting, what would it be?  If you could tell a story about the characters in the landscape, what would it be?  Do you find this work unusual? Why or why not? Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), A Horse and Two Dogs in a Landscape, 1891, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia About the Artwork: This work was one of the earliest created works in the Woodrow Wilson Middle School collection, although it was first noted to be in the collection in 1941. Henry Ossawa Tanner is recognized as the foremost African American painter at the turn of the century, receiving his training at the Pennsylva- nia Academy of the Fine Arts with Thomas Eakins. When he was accepted at the Academy in 1880 at the age of 21, he was the only African American out of two hundred students who was accepted. Tanner lived in the Philadelphia area until 1889, when he moved to Atlanta. Due to the prejudices Tanner encountered in the United States, he emigrated to France in 1891 where he lived for the rest of his life, with periodic visits back to the US.

This painting was created while Tanner was studying at the Académie Julian in France. Just behind the right of the large dog, there is a faint figure of which Tanner decided to only leave a slight impression. It is believed that this figure is a petit savoyard, or a young gypsy boy who roamed the streets begging and performing.

Principal Charles Dudley would often visit galleries in New York, and had a longstanding professional relationship with Edwin Barrie of Grand Central Galleries, who represented Tanner. Dudley may have acquired A Horse and Two Dogs in a Landscape through this gallery and perhaps with Walter Emerson Baum’s assistance after Tanner’s death in 1937.

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Pre-Visit Activities:  Learn more about the artist Henry Ossawa Tanner by researching him online. What can you learn about this artist and his other work?  Look at the work by Tanner’s teacher, Thomas Eakins, and compare it to this work by Tanner. How are they similar? Different? Can you see any influences with Eakins’ work on the work of Tanner? Explain.  Visit the Google Art Project to view works by Tanner in the collection of the Michener Art Museum. Discuss these works in terms of Tanner’s career and how they compare to the work in the exhibition.  Tanner’s father was a prominent minister and his mother a former slave who escaped the South through the Underground Railroad. Research the Underground Railroad and its significance in history during the early-to-mid 19th century.  Tanner would often create studies for his work prior to making his final composition. Create a series of studies of the figure or quick gestural sketches. This sketch could be the full figure or a part of the figure such as a face or a hand. Use charcoal or pencil as your medium.

Gallery Activities:  Tell a Story Activity Sheet: Using the clues in the painting as your guide, develop a short story, including the setting, plot and characters.  Instagram Activity Sheet: Choose a work of art in the exhibit. Sketch the artwork on your activity sheet and write a creative caption along with relevant hashtags to explain your composition.  Using Your Senses: If you could walk into one of the landscapes in the exhibition, which one would it be? What would you hear? See? Taste? Smell? Feel? Describe this experience in a short paragraph.

Post-Visit Activities:  Create a landscape including your favorite animals. What would you include? Where would the setting be for your animals? Do they live inside or outside? Use the medium of your choice.  Soon after Tanner arrived in Paris, he created two other notable works called The Banjo Lesson in 1893 and The Thankful Poor in 1894. Look at these works online and compare them to this work in the exhibition. How are they similar? Different?  Explore other significant African American artists featured in the exhibition including Dox Thrash and Laura Wheeler Waring. How do their work and styles compare to Tanner? Write an essay on your findings.  Opacity and Transparency: Using the slight impression of the figure in this landscape as inspiration, create a composition using the idea of layering and transparency. Use materials such as paint, rice paper, and tissue paper to create different effects. Additional option: Create a still life composition using transparent objects, such as a vase or a bottle. Combine other more opaque objects for contrast. Be sure to set up a light source.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859-1937), A Horse and Two Dogs in a Landscape, 1891, oil on canvas, The School District of

Looking Questions:

 What do you see in this painting?  Based on the visual clues, who do you think this person is?  Describe the light in this work. What effect does it create with the portrait?  What do you think the personality is of this man? Explain your answer.  Is this a man you would want to get to know? Why or why not?  If he could say something, what would it be?

About the Artwork:

This painting features the Woodrow Wilson Middle School’s first Principal, Charles Dudley, who held Alice Kent Stoddard (1883-1976), Portrait of Charles the position from 1928 to 1950, and was the Dudley, 1948, oil on canvas, The School District of district’s most active school administrator in Philadelphia promoting the collecting of artworks. Dudley made large efforts in obtaining artwork for the school by reaching out to artist’s directly, visiting galleries in Philadelphia in New York, and writing gallery owners who managed the work of well-known artists. Dudley maintained strict rules in the acquisition of artwork—the size of the painting could be no smaller than 32” x 40” inches and the cost of the work could be no more than $300. Dudley was a strict bargainer and kept to these parameters. In addition, he would hire craftsmen like framemaker Frederick Harer to create frames for the paintings.

As a favored portraitist of Philadelphia’s prominent dignitaries and elite families, Alice Kent Stoddard was an ideal artist to paint Dudley’s portrait. She was a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where she studied under Cecilia Beaux and William Merritt Chase, as well as the Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and De- sign). In 1948, she married artist Joseph Pearson, and lived in Newtown, Pennsylvania, for many years until his death in 1961. This portrait was commissioned by Dudley in 1948 and hung in the school’s grand entrance known as “The Marble Hall” for decades. In 1949, Stoddard borrowed it to include in her exhibition of 20 paintings in the Philadelphia Artist’s Gallery at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org

Pre-Visit Activities:  Learn more about the artist Alice Kent Stoddard by researching her online. What other subjects did she paint?  Create a self portrait that provides details about yourself to let viewers know more about you. What will you include?  Stoddard painted a mural for the entrance of the Pennsylvania Building for the Sesquicentennial Ex- position in Philadelphia in 1926. Research more about this event. Why did the event take place? Why was the Sesquicentennial Exposition important to America’s history?

Gallery Activities:  Find a work by Fern Coppedge, an female artist who was working during the same time period of Stoddard. Compare their styles. Whose artwork do you prefer? Why?  Say What Activity Sheet: If this person could talk, what do you think they would say? Or if you could ask a question to the subject of the work, what would you ask?  Find works by other women artists in the galleries, such as the portrait Sink or Swim, created by a contemporary artist, Mavis Smith. How do they compare to the work of Stoddard’s?  Pick a work of art from the collection of Woodrow Wilson Middle School in the exhibition that you would select to hang in your home. Why did you select it? Write a short paragraph explaining your choice.

Post-Visit Activities:  Curate an Exhibit: Principal Charles Dudley carefully selected work for his collection at his school. He was very particular with the artists he chose, the subject matter and style of their work, the size of the paintings and their frames, and how they were lit. Most of the work in the collection were landscape paintings and some portraits. Dudley exhibited the work in certain locations of the school and hung them with individual lights to showcase them. These responsibilities are very similar to how a curator would work in a museum. If you were to set up an exhibition of artwork, how would you design it? What artwork would you include? On a piece of paper, sketch out an area of your school where you would curate an exhibit. Present your proposal to your classmates.  Written Response: In 1929, Principal Dudley began to publish the Patriot Newsletter for Woodrow Wilson Middle School. This newsletter featured highlights of events happening in the school, a list of the artwork that had been recently acquired for the school, along with student work including short stories, puzzles, and writings in response to works in the collection. Select a work of art that you saw in the exhibition. Write a poem, short story, or an essay about the work as to why you like it.  Letter writing: Pretend you are a principal of a school who is trying to create an art collection. Select an artist that interests you. Your goal is to convince that artist why it would be important to donate their work to your collection. Write a convincing letter stating your case.  Chiaroscuro Portrait: The light used in this portrait could be considered similar to the Renaissance technique of chiaroscuro, which is a technique that uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to create a dramatic effect. Create a portrait using paints or charcoal to create this strong effect of light and dark.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Alice Kent Stoddard (1883-1976), Portrait of Charles Dudley, 1948, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia.

Looking Questions:

 What do you see in this painting? Describe all the details you can find.  Discuss what elements you see in the foreground, middleground, and background.  How would you describe the space or depth in this work?  What time of day is it? What season is it? Explain your answer.  The title of the work is called Broadcasting. Why do you think Thrash titled it this way? If you Dox Thrash (1893-1965), Broadcasting, (also known as Backyard, Philadel- could change the title, what would phia), late 1930’s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia you name it?  If you could walk into this painting, what sounds would you hear? Explain your experience using your five senses.

About the Artwork:

This work was originally in the Woodrow Wilson Middle School and was most likely acquired after 1939. Thrash, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1926, was known for his significant tech- nical achievements in printmaking as well as his depictions of urban life, which included his imagery of backyards near his apartment in North Philadelphia, and his portraits and figures. This painting most likely features the neighborhood where Thrash was living at the time which was at 2409 Columbia Avenue (now Cecil B. Moore Avenue).

Thrash was included in a 1939 exhibition at The School District of Philadelphia’s headquarters in celebration of National Negro History Week and this work was likely acquired as a result. At the time, Thrash was considered a leading African American artist and a leader in the medium of his invention, carborundum printmaking, for which he received positive reviews nationally.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org

Pre-Visit Activities:  Learn more about the artist Dox Thrash by researching him online. What other subjects did he paint? What other materials did he use to create his work? Thrash was included in an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2001. Download the educational packet that was part of the exhibition to learn more about him.  In 1937, Thrash began to work in the Fine Print Workshop for the Federal Arts Project (FAP). Learn more about this project and what impact it had in history. What contributions did Thrash make to the FAP? Present your findings to the class.  The title of this work is called Broadcasting. What does this word mean? Why do you think the artist chose it for this work? Explain.

Gallery Activities:  Thumbnail sketch: Select a part of this painting that you find interesting and create a small thumbnail sketch of it. Why did you select this part of the work?  Tell a Story: Two figures in the painting appear to be having a conversation as another figure at the right corner of the painting looks on. What do you think they are talking about? Why? Write a short story about this conversation.

Post-Visit Activities:  Printmaking: Thrash was the leading artist who is recognized for inventing the carborundum printmaking technique. Learn more about this type of printmaking and the other artists that worked with him in this process. Then, create a print of your own using the monoprint, collo- graph or linoleum printing method inspired by his carborundum prints.  Urban environments: Create a cityscape using the techniques of overlapping and linear perspective. Use photographs of different cities to help you in creating your drawing.  Artist Connections: Paul Keene is an artist represented in the exhibition who worked with Thrash in the Fine Print Workshop, a division of the Federal Arts Project. Look at the work, Or- pheus Series on the Bucks County Intermediate Unit’s website and compare them. What is similar? What is different? What messages do you think each artist is trying to say with his work?  Artist Connections: Allan Randall Freelon began teaching in the Philadelphia public schools in 1919. His talent as a teacher and an artist soon earned him an appointment as a supervisor of art instruction for the school district and he worked there until 1960. He was also a colleague and friend to Thrash. Explore Freelon’s work, Number One Broad Street at the Chicago Institute of Art. How does his work compare to Thrash’s?  Logo and Poster Design: When Thrash first arrived in Philadelphia, he began to design business logos and posters and became successful as a commercial artist. Working in groups, create a new logo for your school. What would it be? Then, create an advertising campaign about your school’s art collection designing a series of three posters. Present your logo and poster campaign to the class. As a class, vote on the most successful designs. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Dox Thrash (1893-1965), Broadcasting, (also known as Backyard, Philadelphia), late 1930’s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia

Looking Questions:

 What do you see in this painting? Describe all the details.  Describe the light that you see in this painting. Where is it coming from?  What time of day is this? Explain.  How would you describe the artist’s use of color?  If you could tell a story about what you see in this work, what would it be?

George Pearse Ennis (1884-1936), Incoming Fleet, 1930s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia About the Artwork:

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, George Pearse Ennis was a well-known early-twentieth century American artist, who painted landscapes and seascapes, and created murals and stained-glass windows. He acquired an international reputation for his watercolors. From the 1920s on- ward, he spent time in Maine, eventually making the small fishing town of Eastport his permanent home. It was here he captured many views of the area, including harbor scenes and fish- ermen as shown in this work. He founded the Eastport School of Art in 1922 and, ten years later, founded the George Pearse Ennis School of Painting in New York City. Ennis also exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where Principal Charles Dudley of Woodrow Wilson Middle School first saw his work. In October of 1935, Dudley reached out to Ennis to discuss his work as a potential addition to the middle school’s collection. Ennis brought six paintings to the school in Spring 1936 for consideration. After correspondence and negotia- tion, Dudley was able to secure Incoming Fleet for the school in May 1936 at a cost of $150. Ennis noted, “This picture has quite a history as it has been shown in all the National Exhibi- tions [sic] in America and also in Venice, Italy.” Sadly, Ennis died later that year in August in a car crash in Utica, New York.

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Pre-Visit Activities:  Learn more about the artist George Pearse Ennis by researching him online. What information can you find out about this artist?  Look up Eastport, Maine on a map. What characteristics can you find out about this town? If you were to travel to this town, what would your travel itinerary look like for a five day trip? Write up this itinerary also including other areas to visit that could be found in the surrounding area.

Gallery Activities:  Tell a Story: Write a short story about what is happening in this painting. Think about the setting, plot and characters that you will include.  Exploring Seascapes: Find other seascapes in the exhibition, such as the work by Henry Snell, Loading at Low Tide, also found in the collection of the Woodrow Wilson Middle School. What are the similarities and differences?  Memory Game: Look at this work for 10 seconds then turn around. Write down all you remem- ber that you saw. Turn around and look at it again. What did you include? What did you miss?

Post-Visit Activities:  Critical Analysis: In 1936, Principal Dudley asked Ennis to bring a dozen or so works to Wood- row Wilson Middle School to select to purchase for the school’s collection. In this letter, Dudley suggested that Ennis not bring snow scenes unless they were “particularly outstanding”. This can be inferred that all of the work Ennis needed to bring had to fulfill Dudley’s definition of high quality. Do you think this painting is “particularly outstanding”? Write a thoughtful critical analysis of this painting explaining your reasons why or why not.  Compare and Contrast: Ennis created a version of this painting in watercolor, called Home Port, found in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Discuss the similarities and differences of this work with the painting, Incoming Fleet.  Journal Writing: Give a name to the large boat found in the foreground of this painting. Write a journal entry from a stowaway or a passenger on the boat that tells of his or her life at sea.  Changing Seasons: Recreate this painting if it took place on a rainy day. How would the colors, light and environment change? Use a medium of your choice.  Travel: How long to do you think it would have taken Ennis to travel to Philadelphia to visit Woodrow Wilson Middle school? Calculate out this mileage and map out the directions if you were to visit by car. What other forms of transportation would Ennis used during the 1930s?  Watercolor Painting: Experiment with the medium of watercolor. How is it different than tempera or acrylic paints? Create a seascape using watercolor and look to photographs of different beaches and ports for inspiration.  Reflections: Create a painting focusing on reflections in water using tempera or acrylic paints.  Geography Connections: Research the geographical characteristics of Eastport, Maine. What features can you discover? Present your findings to the class. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org George Pearse Ennis (1884-1936), Incoming Fleet, 1930s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia

Looking Questions:  Describe the details of the frame.  How do you think it was created based on its details?  This frame belongs to the Portrait of Charles Dudley featured in the exhibition. Do you think it matches the portrait? Why or why not?  Do you think another frame style would suit Charles Dudley’s portrait? Why or why not?

 Can a frame be considered a work of art in and of itself? Explain. About the Artist: Craftsperson Frederick Harer (1879-1948) often was commissioned to create frames for the paintings in the collection of the Woodrow Middle School. Dudley felt that the frames were just as important as the artworks themselves. This frame was built and designed for the Portrait of Charles Dudley by Alice Kent Stoddard. It is made out of wood and gilded with gold leaf.

A painter, sculptor, etcher, and craftsman, Frederick Harer was best known as a gifted frame maker. He learned to craft wood while working for his father, a successful furniture maker. He crafted various exquisite pieces of furniture, as well as sculptures of wood and stone which reflect a great sensitivity for woodland animal life. Harer's work as a frame maker was influenced by his extensive travels, especially to Spain and the West Indies. Harer used extraordinarily creative techniques and methods to produce his frames. He designed the frame surface by punching patterns onto it with nails, and also by using stencils, incising, and matte. Finally, he gilded and burnished the surfaces. Harer produced frames for many artists of the New Hope School, including Edward Redfield and Daniel Garber. His frames subsequently inspired the work of Ben Badura and Francis Coll. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org

Pre-Visit Activities:

 Learn more about the craftsperson Frederick Harer by visiting the Michener Art Museum’s Bucks County Artists’ Database.  Learning the technique of applying gold leaf is a detailed process that takes a lot of patience. Learn more about this technique by viewing videos on YouTube.  When choosing a frame for a photo or a picture, nowadays we venture to the local frame store. Obtaining the frame is rather quick because molding is made in mass quantities in factories and then shipped. Frames created by Harer and other craftspeople were slowly and carefully hand carved, gilded and built to fit the needs of the painter. These frame makers were part of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which was a movement that rebelled against the mass production of the decorative arts, made possible by the machines of the Industrial Revolution. Research more about these movements in history and find out what impacts they made.

Gallery Activities:

 Look at the variety of frames found on the artworks in the exhibition. Can you find any other frames by Frederick Harer? Look in the Byers Gallery featuring works from the Michener’s permanent collection that feature frames by Harer.  Harer was also an accomplished furniture maker. View his Desk and his Side Chair in the Hankin Gallery. How would you describe the style of these works compared to his frames?

Post-Visit Activities:

 Create a Frame: How does a frame compliment an artwork? Select an artwork that you have created in class and create a frame to go with it. How will you design it? Consider the color, design and size and how it will work with the artwork you have created. Use a variety of materials such as cardboard, paper, paint, and any embellishments you find such as found objects to create your frame.  Apprentice: Often times artists have apprentices that work with them in the studio to learn the craft of the master. Ben Badura (1896-1986) was one such artist who learned from Harer. Learn more about his work on the Michener’s Bucks County Artists’ Database.  Create a Viewfinder: When you “frame” or “crop” an object, you include a certain amount of information. This process can be done by using your camera for example. You can focus in on a close-up view of an object or include lots of information by standing far away. Create a “frame” using a piece of matte board or poster board, no larger than 4”x 4”. Hold it up to an object to “frame it”. Stand close or far away from it. What do you see? How do the views change? On a separate sheet of paper, draw three different views of this object using your “frame” as a viewfinder. Select one of these views for a final composition using a medium of your choice. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Looking Questions:  What do you see in this painting?  Where is the focal point? What elements in the painting draw your eyes to this area?  How would you describe the light in this work?  Describe the brushstrokes. What effect does it create?  If this woman could say something, what would she say?  How do you think this woman feels? Why?  How do you feel when you look at this work?  Do you think the artist is conveying a mes- sage with this work? Why or why not? Alice Kent Stoddard (1883-1976), Girl with the Cat, 1935, oil on About the Artwork: canvas, The School District of Philadelphia. Girl with the Cat was one of two works by Stoddard in the Woodrow Wilson Middle School’s collection. Principal Charles Dudley purchased the work on July 16, 1946 for $250. Stoddard created numerous paintings of wealthy families, including women and children. Stoddard often included animals or family pets in her portraits particularly with children because she believed it relaxed them while they needed to focus on the boring and difficult task of sitting still. Stoddard indicated in her correspondence that the work had been seen “at the Academy in Philadelphia, the Academy of Design in New York, The Chicago Art Institute, San Francis- co and Dallas Texas and other places [sic],” and featured a cat she cared for with a fellow art student. This art student was one of her favorite models of the 1930s, 25 year old Inez Renninger and her cat named Tinker. There are 730 portraits known to have been painted by Stoddard and 50 of them included animals. Out of the 50 portraits, 27 of them included cats.

This subject of a young girl with a cat appealed to educators who adopted the methods of Picture Study and Schoolroom Decoration for young students. These kinds of images were considered “story pictures” that could be used teach universal values such as family love, respect, animals, and kind- ness. Images of animals in art were a “prolific source of story material,” according to Estelle May Hurll, a leading advocate of Picture Study.

Basic portraits of adults that were not historical or religious in nature were considered less appropriate, unless they depicted a values-based story or could help the child use their imagina- tion to tell a story. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Alice Kent Stoddard (1883-1976), Girl with the Cat, 1935, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia. Looking Questions:  Describe what you see in this painting. Make a list of all of details.  Where are we positioned in the painting? What is the perspective?  Is there a focal point? Explain.  How is the artist creating depth?  How would you describe the brushstrokes?  Describe the light in this work.  What time of day is it? What is the season? Explain your answers.  Do you think this artist painted this work quickly or slowly? Why?

 If you could tell a story about the Walter Elmer Schofield (1867-1944), The Bridge Inn, c. 1920s, oil on people who live in this town, what canvas, The School District of Philadelphia would it be?

About the Artwork:

This work originally hung in the Woodrow Wilson Middle School. As Principal Charles Dudley would typically do, he wrote a letter in 1935 to Walter Schofield soliciting a work for the collection: “As you may infer the money which we use to purchase paintings consists of profits on small plays or entertainments given in school and is extremely hard to raise. I feel, howev- er, it is worthwhile for an artist to have his pictures in a school as a sort of advertisements to the further generation or to the parents and other visitors who may see them.” Through correspondence with Schofield and then his manager Erwin Barrie, Dudley stated that Schofield’s prices were much too high for his budget of $300 and that the offered, small works did not meet his exacting standards in quality.

The Bridge Inn was ultimately given to Woodrow Wilson Middle School by Walter Emerson Baum. After Schofield’s death in 1944, Baum assisted the family in placing his work in local collections, which most likely was the reason for this acquisition.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Walter Elmer Schofield (1867-1944), The Bridge Inn, c. 1920s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia Looking Questions:

 Describe what you see in this painting.  Where are we positioned in the painting? What is the perspective?  Is there a focal point? Explain.  How would you describe the brushstrokes?  Describe the light in this work.  What time of day is it? What is the season? Explain your answers.  Using your five senses, describe what you would experience if you Theodore M. Dillaway (1874 - 1953), Sunlit Bridge, Bowman’s Hill Park, New Hope, PA, c. 1942, oil on board, The School District of walked into this painting. Philadelphia About the Artwork:

In addition to serving as art department chair of The School District of Philadelphia from 1924 -1941, Theodore Dillaway was also an active oil painter and printmaker. His style of painting was realistic and impressionistic. The School District of Philadelphia’s art collection contains three of his works; this painting hung at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Dillaway painted and exhibited throughout his career in education administration. His early training was in New England, followed by studying etching with Stephen Parrish, one of the most highly recognized American printmaker in the 1880s, and later instruction at the Académie Delecluse in Paris.

Dillaway painted the landscapes of Bucks County and Maine and loved the outdoors as a fish- erman and hunter. He took special trips during summers with students, one year guiding an “Art Appreciation Tour” of sites in Italy, Germany, France, and England. He lived in Lumber- ville, Pennsylvania, for a period of time but eventually declared he couldn’t live there any longer because it was “impossible to heat the house” and he couldn’t find any rentals in the area. He subsequently moved to the small town of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, located approximately 110 miles southeast of Erie on the Allegheny River. This painting was created after Dillaway retired from The School District of Philadelphia and depicts a bridge found in Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Theodore M. Dillaway (1874 - 1953), Sunlit Bridge, Bowman’s Hill Park, New Hope, PA, c. 1942, oil on board, The School District of Philadelphia Looking Questions:

 Describe what you see in this painting.  What do you see in the foreground, middleground and background?  Where is the focal point? What elements in the work draw your eye to this location?  What season is it? What time of day is it? Explain.  Where is the horizon line?  Where are we positioned in the painting?  If you could walk into this painting, William Lester Stevens (1888-1969), Old New England Tavern, 1934, what would the experience be like? oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia Explain it using your five senses.

About the Artwork:

In March 1944, at Theodore Dillaway’s, recommendation, Principal Charles Dudley of Wood- row Wilson Middle School arranged an exhibition at the school of twelve paintings by W. Lester Stevens, an Impressionist artist from Springfield, Massachusetts. Although the artist was not from the Philadelphia area, Stevens’ work was highly regarded to acquire for schoolroom decoration.

After votes submitted by the teachers were tallied, five paintings in the exhibition, including Old New England Tavern, were purchased at a greatly reduced cost. Stevens described it as a painting of 18th century New England and indicated that it was some of his best work since 1927. Dudley was particularly interested in Stevens’ large paintings as the substantial sizes of the paintings were important as he acquired works for the school’s collection. Stevens subsequently assisted Principal Dudley in recommending other artists to the school’s collection during Dudley’s tenure.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org William Lester Stevens (1888-1969), Old New England Tavern, 1934, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia Looking Questions:

 Describe what you see in this painting.  What do you see in the foreground, middleground and background?  Where is the focal point? What elements in the work draw your eye to this location?  What season is it? What time of day is it? Explain.  Where are we positioned in the painting?  If you could walk into this painting, what would the Walter Baum (1884-1956), Canal Near Point Pleasant, n.d., oil on canvas, The experience be like? Explain it School District of Philadelphia. using your five senses.

About the Artwork: Exploring the rural areas of the region was one of Baum’s favorite activities. He drew much inspiration from the landscapes of Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, and Lehigh Counties. Working in the tradition of colleagues such as Redfield and Garber, Baum would drive around until a scene caught his eye. He would then set up his easel and work en plein air (French, meaning “in the open air”). Baum worked quickly at capturing his impression of the scene. This work is one example of Baum’s renderings of the village of Point Pleasant near New Hope. This painting originally hung in the Woodrow Wilson Middle School; it was noted as part of the collection in the school’s fall 1935 newsletter, and was one of twelve Baums owned by the school. The work is in its original frame, created by the noted frame maker and craftsman Frederick Harer.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Walter Baum (1884-1956), Canal Near Point Pleasant, n.d., oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia. Looking Questions:

 Describe what you see in this painting.  What do you see in the foreground, middleground and background?  What season is it? What time of day is it? Explain.  How would you describe the light and the shadows in the work?  Where are we positioned in the painting?  If you could walk into this painting, what would the experience be like? Explain it using Antonio Martino (1902-1988), Delaware Valley, c. 1931, The School District your five senses. of Philadelphia About the Artwork:

Antonio Martino was one of seven sons born to Italian immigrants. All of his brothers became artists, but Antonio and his brother Giovanni received the most notable recognition. This impressionist landscape of the Delaware Valley was one of five paintings by Antonio Martino in The School District of Philadelphia’s collection, two of which were part of the collection of Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Because they were close friends of Walter Emerson Baum, it is of no surprise that Antonio and Giovanni were among the artists whose work became part of the district’s collection. Antonio’s work is also found in the Pennridge School District collection.

Antonio displayed interest in art at a very early age, particularly sculpture, most likely due to his father being a stonecutter. At 13, he began taking art classes at the Graphic Sketch Club, now the Fleisher Art Memorial and continued his studies at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art (now the University of the Arts). At the age of 21, he received a bronze medal at the 1926 Sesquicentennial, the youngest painter in the U.S. to win such a prize.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Antonio Martino (1902-1988), Delaware Valley, c. 1931, The School District of Philadelphia Looking Questions:

 What do you see in this painting? Describe all the details.  What do you see in the foreground, middleground and background?  What time of day is this? Explain.  If you could walk into this painting, what would the experience be like? Explain it using your five senses.  If you could tell a story about what you see in this work, what would it be?  If you could give this work a new Henry Snell (1858-1943), Loading at Low Tide, c. 1946, The School District title, what would it be? Why? of Philadelphia About the Artwork: This marine painting most likely depicts Snell’s native Cornwall, England, and is one of three paintings that artist Walter Emerson Baum assisted Principal Charles Dudley in purchasing for the Woodrow Wilson Middle School collection in 1946. Later, Dudley commissioned Bucks County craftsman and framemaker Frederick Harer to frame the three Snell works that were acquired.

Snell was an renowned landscape artist specializing in marine paintings and was part of the New Hope School of landscape painters. He painted many American subjects, though he became known for his St. Ives dock scenes of Cornwall, England. From 1899 to 1943, Snell was a beloved instructor at the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, now the Moore College of Art and Design. He often brought students to St. Ives to paint in the summer.

Eleven years after Dudley retired, this painting was featured in the 1961 Woodrow Wilson newsletter, The Patriot, in a special issue, “Art in Our School,” which featured student writings in response to the work on the halls. The newsletter demonstrated the pride of the school’s students and staff and their involvement in the arts. The culture of the school and value for the arts in a child’s education as espoused by Dudley continued to flourish in his absence. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Henry Snell (1858-1943), Loading at Low Tide, c. 1946, The School District of Philadelphia Looking Questions:  What do you see in this work? Describe all the details.  Do you see anything recogniza- ble in this work? Explain.  Is there a focal point in this painting? Explain your answer.  How would you describe the colors?  How does the painting make you feel? What elements in the painting make you feel this way?  Imagine this painting much bigger than it actually is. Would it change your experience of it? Franz Kline (1910-1962), Abstraction, n.d., oil on canvas, The School District Why or why not? of Philadelphia  What do you think the artist is trying to say? Explain. About the Artwork:

This painting originally was located in Gilbert Spruance Elementary School in the Northeast region of The School District of Philadelphia. Franz Kline was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylva- nia and graduated in 1930 from Girard College in Philadelphia (a home and school for orphan boys from 1884-1984) before studying in Boston and London. Kline then moved to New York City, where he spent most of his adult life. He did return to the Philadelphia area from 1953- 1954 to teach drawing and painting at the Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art (now University of the Arts).

The Philadelphia Museum and School of Industrial Art occasionally had exhibitions at schools in The School District of Philadelphia, so the acquisition may have occurred during the year Kline was teaching locally. Though brief, during his time in Philadelphia, Kline was experienc- ing a pivotal moment in his career; having work in a number of exhibitions with key abstract expressionists including Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, and Mark Rothko. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Pre-Visit Activities:  Learn more about the movement of Abstract Expressionism by researching it online or going to the library. Who were other key abstract expressionists that worked during the same time period as Franz Kline? Create a presentation for your class.  Explore other works by Franz Kline by looking online at the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. What can you find out about this artist? What was he well-known for? Summarize your findings in a one page essay.  Some abstract expressionist artists like Jackson Pollock would play jazz music while creating their work. Select three or four music pieces and play them one by one. During the time each piece is playing, create an small abstract work using tempera paints. When finished, look at each piece and see how they relate to the music you listened to. Do you see any similarities? How do the works compare to each other?  Kline didn’t start to work in abstraction until later in his career. His friendship with abstract expressionist artist Willem de Kooning helped him pursue this method of painting. Kline borrowed an enlarger from De Kooning that projected Kline’s drawings onto a wall to see them in a larger scale. He was amazed at how some parts of the work became abstract. Create a viewfinder with an index card—fold the card in half, cut out a square in the middle and then open it back up. Use this viewfinder to zoom in on an image of a magazine, newspaper or photo. Draw the image that you see in your viewfinder and see what abstract images you create.

Gallery Activities:  Compare an abstract artwork in the exhibit such as The Farm by Joseph Meierhans with the work by Franz Kline. How are they similar? Different? Describe them in terms of colors, lines, shapes and movement.  Find an abstract sculpture in the galleries. Describe the work using the elements of art.  If you could hear sounds in the painting, what would they be? Write these sounds down on a piece of paper. Use them in creating a sound poem that is five lines in length.

Post-Visit Activities:  Franz Kline used collage elements such as torn paper in creating his work, Abstraction.Other artists such as Jackson Pollock also combined additional materials in their work, including buttons, nails, coins, magazines and newspaper clippings. Create a collage that features a state of mind or emotion that you might be feeling. Think about your subject, composition, and style.  Abstract expressionists were very interested in creating certain emotions with their work. They would use the gesture of their brushes and colors to evoke these moods or feelings. Consider how you could create an entirely abstract drawing about an emotion. How would you use lines, shapes, and colors to express feelings such as happiness, sadness, anger, excitement, or frustra- tion? Pick two emotions and create abstract drawings to represent them. Don’t draw any specific objects in your composition. Think about how you will apply your paints and what textures you might have. Compare the drawings when they are done. How are they similar? Different? Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Franz Kline (1910-1962), Abstraction, n.d., oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia

Looking Questions:

 Describe what you see in this painting.  What do you see in the foreground, middleground and background?  What season is it? Explain your answer.  This house was located near Cheney College (now University) where Waring taught art for many years. Do you think this landscape looks the same or different today? Why or why not?  Who do you think lives in this house? If you could tell a story about this work, what would it be?  How do you feel when you look at this Laura Wheeler Waring (1887-1948), House Near Cheyney, 1920- work? Why? 1940s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia

About the Artwork:

House Near Cheyney hung in the Laura W. Waring School on Green Street in Philadelphia that opened in September of 1957 and was named in honor of the artist. It is one of five works by Waring in The School District of Philadelphia’s collection.

Originally from Hartford, Connecticut, artist and later art educator Waring studied at the Pennsylva- nia Academy of the Fine Arts from 1910-1914 and later led the art and music departments at Cheyney State Teachers College, now Cheyney University, from the 1920s until her death in 1948. Waring grew up in a time during which few African American women attended school, but she completed college and was awarded a prestigious Cresson Traveling Scholarship, resulting in the first of many trips to Europe. She was known as “a quiet but forceful voice” among painters of the Harlem Renaissance with her “realistic and serene portraits of African Americans.” A passionate teacher and an inspiration to many young artists, she devoted time to making educational posters of her work that traveled to schools all over the country.

This painting was likely created during her time at Cheyney, where she made a significant contribu- tion toward making art education available to African American students. In 1928, she was part of the country’s first African American art exhibit presented by the Harmon Foundation, one the first foundations to give national recognition to the achievements of African Americans.

Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Pre-Visit Activities:  Explore the work of Laura Wheeler Waring online at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. What can you learn more about her and her work?  In 1928, Waring was part of the country’s first African American art exhibit presented by the Harmon Foundation, one the first foundations to give national recognition to the achievements of African Americans. Learn more about the Harmon Foundation and its contributions. Who were other artists that the Foundation highlighted? Write a one page essay on your findings.  What was the Harlem Renaissance? Do research on this artistic, social and cultural explosion in the 1920s and 1930s. Report your findings to the class.  Research Waring’s involvement in the civil rights movement during her lifetime. Present your findings in a one page essay.  Research the history of Cheyney University, one of the nation’s first institutions of higher learning for African Americans established in 1937. What can you learn more about it?

Gallery Activities:  Compare this work with New England Tavern by Lester Stevens found in the exhibit. Discuss their similarities and differences.  Find other autumn landscapes in the exhibition and compare their similarities and differences to the work by Waring. This could include Canal Bridge by John Folinsbee and Country Road to Bucks County by Joseph Crilley.  Tell a Story: Write a short story about what is happening in this painting. Think about the setting, plot and characters that you will include.

Post-Visit Activities:  A historical marker in Philadelphia for Waring is located on 756 N. 43rd St.. Map out the distance it would be from your location for you to visit it.  Look up some of Waring’s famous portraits including W.E.B Du Bois, Marion Anderson, and James Weldon Johnson on the website of the National Portrait Gallery. Pick one of them and write a report on the subject’s accomplishments.  Create a portrait of someone you admire and respect for their accomplishments. This could be a friend, family member, or a famous person. Write a short essay explaining why you picked them.  Tell a short story about the people who live in the house in Waring’s painting. Who are the characters? What is the setting and plot of your story?  In her painting, Waring depicts a solitary house set on farmland, originally owned by Quaker farmer. Create a series of drawings of buildings that are set in different landscapes such as a city, a desert and in a mountainous region. How would houses be constructed to fit their environment?  If you could interview Waring today, what kinds of things would you ask her? Write 5-8 questions and discuss them as a class. Download a copy of this activity on Learn with the Michener: www.LearnMichener.org Laura Wheeler Waring (1887-1948), House Near Cheyney, 1920-1940s, oil on canvas, The School District of Philadelphia