A is for ART
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
We created this online guide to introduce you and your children (or grandchildren) to selected
works of art at the Figge Art Museum. You can use this guide at home and at the museum.
At home:
If you are planning a trip to the Figge, preview the featured works of art. If your family isn’t
able to visit the Figge, you can still enjoy viewing and discussing the artworks with your child.
For each letter of the alphabet, the guide introduces one or two works of art. (In some cases, the
image is a detail.) After you discuss the artworks, try the suggested activities with your child.
Bring the printed pages and map to the museum to use as a guide.
At the museum:
Most of the works featured in this online guide are also on display at the Figge. (Works that are
not on display are noted.) The map highlights the galleries and rooms where you can find the
works. If you have trouble locating an artwork, ask a security officer or visitor services staff
member for assistance.
Additional resources:
l
For tips on talking to children about art, please read the online booklet Art Appreciation for
Families: Ideas for Talking to Children about Art.
l
For creative activities, please visit the Family Activity Center and Studio 1 Activity
Center during regular museum hours.
l
Original artwork by master etcher Arthur Geisert for his forthcoming book Country Road
ABC: An Illustrated Journey through America’s Farmland will be on display at the Figge from
February 27-May 31, 2010.
A is for ARTIST
A
rtists hav
e their o
favorite
wn
subjects
.
Grant
Wood en
joyed pa
in
ting the
people o
f Iowa. In
th
people a
re watch is work,
in
g him
paint a p
icture.
Why do
you thin
kG
Wood lo
oks so se rant
rious?
Grant W
ood also
liked to
paint the
rolling hil
ls
Iowa. Lo
ok for his of
landscap
es when
you
visit the
Figge!
Try these activities at home.
Make up a story about this picture. What is Grant Wood painting? Why are these people
watching him work? Do you think they like his painting?
Read a book about Grant Wood. Artist in Overalls: The Life of Grant Wood by John
Duggleby is a good introduction to the artist’s life and art.
Grant Wood, Return from Bohemia, 1935, pastel on paper, 1996.1
B is for Boat
canoe to
old wooden
n
a
d
e
s
u
t
is
he art
re.
usual sculptu
make this un
ist
jects the art
b
o
r
e
th
o
fy
ti
Can you iden
e canoe?
th
attached to
cts or
und the obje
fo
e
h
k
in
th
u
Do yo
em?
purchased th
T
Try this activity at home.
Design a boat that can also drive on a road.
Jean-Claude Nasson, Danbala Boat, 2005, wood, metal, mixed media. Museum purchase, Friends of Art Acquisition Fund, 2005.75
C is for Chair
Architect Frank Lloyd W
right designe
this chair. No
d
tice the cutout design o
the back of th
n
e chair.
Does this ch
air look com
fortable?
Unfortunate
ly, you can’t
sit in this ch
because it’s
air
in a gallery.
ble,
omforta
c
e
r
o
m
chair.
looks
his chair
a Womb inen
d
e
ll
a
c
aar
it? It’s
ct Eero S arinen
e
doesn’t
it
h
c
r
a
. Sa
born
in 1948
Finnishir
y
a
h
c
is
h
t
Compan
.
designed ed the Deere &
e, Illinois
n
n
ig
li
s
o
e
M
d
o
in
als
ters
eadquar
’s in
World H
ecause it
b
ir
a
h
c
sit in this
You can
ry!
the libra
T
Try these activities at home.
Design a special chair for your room.
Construct a miniature chair made from cardboard, drinking straws, or whatever
materials you have at home.
Frank Lloyd Wright, Usonian Library Chair, circa 1953, mahogany veneer plywood, mahogany, leather, private collection.
D is for Danger
T
his family is in
a dangerous
it’s a tornado
situation! Ye
!
s,
What do you
notice about
the sky?
Tornados are
common in K
ansas. Many
families hav
farm
e a storm sh
e
lter because
the safest p
it is
lace to be d
uring a torna
do.
The father, m
other and tw
o sons each
an importan
have
t task. What
is it?
Try these activities at home.
Read the children’s book Tornado written by Betsy Byars and illustrated by
Doron Ben-Ami.
Draw a tornado using swirling lines.
John Steuart Curry, The Tornado, 1932, lithograph, 1979.33.
E is for Eye
Do you feel
like this man
is staring
at you?
T
o paint a rea
listic self-po
rtrait, Grant
Wood had to
study his refl
e
ction in the
mirror very c
arefully.
making
y is not
o
b
g
n
u
cause he
e
b
his yo
u
o
y
act with
eye cont
aming.
is daydre
g
is thinkin
e
h
k
in
h
you t
What do
about?
T
Try these activities at home.
Draw a self-portrait. Grant Wood added a windmill to his self-portrait to show that he
lives in the Midwest. What object could you include in your self-portrait to tell others
about yourself?
Make up a story about this boy. What do you notice about his clothes? Is fishing a
hobby or a job? What do you think he would like to be doing right now?
Grant Wood, Self Portrait, 1932, oil on masonite, 1965.1
Alexander Harrison, The Fisher Boy, 1883, oil on canvas, 1925.129
F
is for Fancy
even
nted (and
e
v
in
s
a
w
people
ography
), wealthy
s
efore phot
he
rd
a
w
r
e
t
ortraits. T
rs af
p
a
e
ir
y
e
h
y
t
n
t
a
for m
to pain
that
ed artists
an object
n
h
io
it
s
is
w
m
n
m
w
co
e sho
rests,
ld often b
or her inte
is
h
t
u
o
sitter wou
b
a
something rsonal values.
would tell
pe
r
hments, o
accomplis
hunts?
is woman
h
t
k
in
h
t
ow?
Do you
olding a b
h
e
b
e
h
s
might
Why else
B
M
en also
In colon dressed up fo
ra
ial
would w America, a we portrait.
alt
ear a nic
with ru
e jacket hy man
ffle
an
about h s. There is som d a shirt
is
e
wealthy clothing that in thing else
. (Hint : th
dicates
ere are
he is
many)
Can you
guess w
hat it is
?
Try this activity at home.
Dress in fancy clothes (or your favorite clothes) and have your photo taken. Be sure to
include an object from a favorite activity.
Artist Unknown, Dutch School, Portrait of a Woman Dressed as a Huntress, n.d., oil on panel, 1925.39
John Heaton, Portrait of Gerrit Staats, ca. 1740, oil on canvas, 1980.25
G
is for Giraffe
fer, many dif
g
in
t
in
a
p
n this
living
animals are le.
f
o
s
d
in
k
ent
e jung
in the sam
rld,
peaceably
he real wo
t
in
r,
e
v
e
How
guard
ust be on
m
s
fe
f
a
ir
iles.
g
nd crocod
a
s
n
o
li
t
s
again
re
would sca
ls
a
im
n
a
a
Which
et them in
m
u
o
y
if
you
jungle?
I
The giraffe is th
e tallest
can easil
land anim
y reach t
al. Giraff
he leave
tree (a g
es
s
on an ac
iraffe’s fa
acia
vorite fo
window
od
on the u
pper leve ) or peek in a
l of a hou
se!
How did
the artis
tp
the giraf
fe look e aint the tree to
ven talle
make
r?
Try these activities at home.
Discover more fun facts about giraffes on the San Diego Zoo website
(www.sandiegozoo.org) or another zoo website.
Compare the giraffe’s coat pattern in these paintings with photographs of giraffes on
the zoo website. How are they different? Try drawing a family of giraffes, each with its
own unique coat pattern.
Felix Bryoche, Jungle, 1967, oil on masonite, 1967.4 (not currently on display)
Jasmin Joseph, The Giants, 1985, oil on canvas, 1986.11 (not currently on display)
H is for Horse
N ot only does Debora
h Butterfield
create horse
sculptures m
ade from
found branc
hes and twig
s
(which are
then cast in
bronze), but
she also ride
and trains ho
s
rses on her ra
nches in
Montana an
d Hawaii.
Visit the
Museum to
see this really
big horse!
Why do you
think the art
ist named
this horse H
alf-Moon? (H
int: look at
Half-Moon’
s neck)
west
he Mid
t
in
s
orm
pring st p quickly.
evelo
often d
horse is
is
h
t
w
you kno
How do d?
ne
nd
frighte
e will fi
s
r
o
h
is
think th
Do you ce?
la
a safe p
S
Try these activities at home.
Read a book about horses such as Ancient Thunder by Leo Yerxa.
Create a horse sculpture out of air-dry clay or whatever materials you have at home.
Deborah Butterfield, Half-Moon, 2007, cast bronze, 2007.38
Thomas Hart Benton, Spring Storm, 1958, tempera on board, 1988.12
I
is for Imagination
Does th
is look li
ke a rea
l or imag
inary wo
rld?
lthough
t
h
is
o
ld
he sees
things in cat has lost his
eyesigh
his imag
t,
ination.
What un
usual th
ings do
you see
Would y
?
ou like t
o visit t
his place
?
A
reas.
in cold a
e
v
li
ly
n
o
ke if
enguins
ould be li
w
it
t
a
h
w
a warm
in
Imagine
e
v
li
ld
cou
penguins is artist did!
Th
climate.
oing?
nguins d
e
p
e
s
e
h
et
What ar
are
ke they
li
k
o
lo
y
Do the
un?
having f
P
Try these activities at home.
Make up a story about this cat. How does he spend his day? What would it be like for
people to live in a place where cats were as big as mountains?
Draw animals having a birthday party or doing something unexpected.
Matthew Sugarman, The Ecstasy of Psert, 1988, color lithograph, 1989.3 (a reproduction of this print is currently on display in the Family Activity Center)
Joseph Jasmin, Untitled (Penguins), 1989, oil on canvas, 1990.7 (not currently on display)
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