Education Search

Lotus

Use the elements of art to guide you as you look closely at lotuses and explore how different artists have been inspired by lotuses.

Nature and the Elements of Art

How can the elements of art help us see the natural world in new ways? How can we combine our observations and imagination to create artwork? 

Tiffany Glass

Tiffany’s Glassworks: Light, Color, Change, and Innovation

References and Resources

What are the stories that we tell about ourselves as Americans? How did we become who we are? Through the process of storytelling and myth-making, Americans have long created an identity based on distinct principles and values that we share as a country. Many of the objects we keep or put on display communicate some of those stories. Sometimes we don’t stop to think about what those stories or objects might mean. How true are those stories and what impact do they have?

About this Online Resource

Acknowledgements

Becoming America: Thinking through Identity, Culture, and Traditions in Early America would not be possible without the contributions and support of many people.

Object Story: Portrait of Elizabeth Stone Coffin

Portrait of Elizabeth Stone Coffin painted by John Brewster Jr. in 1801.

Everybody Collects

The kinds of objects, artifacts, and artworks that people collect communicate different ideas.  They can be a record of events that happened in society.

Doing Detective Work

Being a historian or archaeologist is a lot like being a detective. You start out with clues, which are pieces of evidence that people leave behind.

Folk Art, Vernacular Art, or Naïve Art?

Many of the objects in the Fielding Collection such as Still Life with a Basket of Fruit, Flowers, and Cornucopia attributed to Joseph Proctor are often considered “folk art.”  Some people prefer to use related terms like “naïve,” “vernacular,” or “nonacademic” instead of “folk.”  All of these terms describe work by artists who may not have had extensive, formal training or decided not to follow the teachings and ideas of traditional art instruction.