Interactive Programs

American Art at The Phillips Collection is an exceptionally thorough look at the 150 years of American art represented at the museum, showcasing more than 650 works of art.

There are many ways to use this rich resource. An interactive timeline highlights particular works, presented in context with other historical events. At a glance, users can trace modern art chronologically across the years, seeing works by artists ranging from Winslow Homer to Wayne Thiebaud, and Albert Pinkham Ryder to Mark Rothko.

The program also provides an opportunity to see many examples of the work of a single artist. Explore the museum's noted “collection units,” or in-depth holdings of works by Arthur Dove, Jacob Lawrence, and Richard Diebenkorn, among others.

Users can also access information through a dynamic index sortable by artist, medium, or date. Every work is viewable full screen, with 20 images now available with a “zoomify” feature, allowing an inch-by-inch close-up look at the work.

Learning activities are associated with many works of art across a variety of disciplines, from visual arts to math, science, language, and music. By clicking on the “learning” button, teachers can find ideas and suggestions to suit their needs and lesson plans.

New! Explore Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration Series through this dynamic and in-depth Web program. Users can examine all 60 panels of the epic series, listen to Jacob Lawrence read his original captions, and explore his artistic process and sources of inspiration.

What does The Migration Series mean to you? Lifelong learners can journey with the African American migrants from the rural South to the urban North. An online “Children’s Art Gallery” explores how students nationwide were inspired by Lawrence’s series. “Share Migration Stories” allows users to record their own story and read those of others. Games exploring color, shape, and sound inspire children to step into Lawrence’s artistic process, and the “For Educators” section gives teachers a host of classroom connections through a searchable database by curricula area and subject, worksheets, and bibliography.

Jacob Lawrence: Over the Line surveys the life and career of the important African-American artist, Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000). Based on a major retrospective exhibition organized by The Phillips Collection, the program emphasizes Lawrence’s student years and his development as an artist, telling of his coming to live in the Harlem community and of his resolution to make a life in art. Through Lawrence’s own paintings and archival photographs, we follow his progress from his breakthrough exhibition into the segregated art world of New York and on through the years as he created works that expressed the black experience and showed the struggle for freedom, dignity, and justice.

The program includes teaching resources containing suggested activities and questions keyed to curriculum areas such as language arts, social studies, math, and art. A separate section contains collages made in a model project on the subject of the community created by students in Washington, D.C. elementary schools.

Feedback
We welcome your questions, comments, and feedback on our interactive programs.