Creator: Metropolitan Museum of Art | visit site
Grade Range: 8 - 11
Take your art students on a virtual tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art with this impressive retrospective highlighting the work of Childe Hassam, one of America’s leading impressionist artists. More than 120 oil paintings, watercolors, pastels and prints are featured, depicting nostalgic views of well-known sites across America and Europe. Details of each image can be explored with the click of a mouse, and descriptive captions are provided for each work. A lengthy chronology of Hassam’s life is included along with an excerpt from a delightful silent film (produced by the Met in 1932) about the artist. Portions of this site would be quite at home in an American history class! Be sure to investigate the "Family Feature" link which offers an interactive "Meet the Artist" activity, timeline, and several "Closer Look" activities designed for younger students.
In the Classroom
Use this site as an introductory activity on the interactive whiteboard to impressionism in the US. The images on the site are excellent representations of impressionism and can be used as examples to help students characterize it. <br><br> Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them compare and contrast what they note about impressionism to other styles that have been studied before in class. Use an online tool such as Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (<a href="/single.cfm?id=9413">reviewed here</a>). Have students print out their diagrams OR display their findings on the interactive whiteboard to their peers.
At Home