Kerry James Marshall: close looking
The artist discusses looking carefully, artistic choices, and the making of a painting.
Learn about art.
Put it into practice.
Watch free art lectures, read short guides, and find lessons and activities for your classroom or home.
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Videos
Watch free lectures and talks from leading museums and art educators.
Watch lectures 02Read
Read about Impressionism, great painters, color, and composition. Explore the paintings as you go.
Read articles 03NICE Classroom
Published elementary art lessons from museum educators and classroom teachers.
Find a lesson 04Resources
Original student worksheets and activity packets from Getty and the Smithsonian.
Find a resourceVIDEOS / LECTURES & TALKS
All videosHear from artists and experts.
Free to watch here, from the museums that published them.
The Forest: America in the 1830s
Alexander Nemerov explores American painting in a six-part Mellon Lecture series.
Artwork forensics: understanding the evidence
Conservator Karen Thomas explains how paintings reveal their materials and hidden histories.
THE SCHOOL OF LIFE / ART & BEAUTY
Why art belongs in everyday life.
Short films about looking, beauty, and what art can mean to us.
What is Art for?
A short film about the place of art in everyday life.
Johannes Vermeer
Looking for beauty in ordinary rooms, objects, and daily work.
Henri Matisse
An introduction to Matisse’s art, color, and sense of hope.
How to Paint WATER LILIES like Monet (step-by-step in 45 minutes)
IMPRESSIONIST SUNFLOWERS (step-by-step)
I painted the OCEAN in 30 minutes
Paint the Desert in 44 minutes
How to paint Trees in the Snow (In FORTY MINUTES)
How to Paint Bright Mountains and Pines (One Hour Painting)
NICE CLASSROOMBring art into
J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM · GRADES 3–5Bring art into
your classroom.
Use real elementary art lessons from museum educators and classroom teachers. Find the original teaching plans, grade levels, and student printables.
Explore classroom lessonsFor teachers, families, and young artists.From Foreground
to Background
Original landscape lesson with four printable composition templates.
2 class periods · View lesson & student sheetsREAD / PAINTINGS & IDEAS
All articlesRead about paintings and painters.
Impressionism: a place to start
Learn what changed in Impressionist painting, then look for it in a landscape by Monet.
Read articleMonet’s Water Lilies: look beyond the flowers
Explore reflections, brush marks, and the space between the lilies in Monet’s pond.
Read articleVan Gogh: color in The Bedroom
Look at how color and strong outlines turn an ordinary room into a memorable painting.
Read articleRESOURCES / READY TO USE
All resourcesPrint a sheet. Start exploring.
Original student worksheets and elementary activity packets from Getty and the Smithsonian.
Smithsonian American Art Museum · Elementary school · English · 18 pages
Art to Go: Elementary Creativity Packet
Look at American artworks and complete the museum’s drawing, writing, and close-looking activities.
J. Paul Getty Museum · Grades 3–5 · Student templates · 4 pagesLandscape Composition Templates
Print four landscape templates to explore foreground, middle ground, and background with the matching Getty lesson.
J. Paul Getty Museum · Student handout · 2 pagesIntroducing Line
Look for different kinds of lines in a Van Gogh drawing using Getty’s two-page student handout.
Put what you learn into practice.
Explore paintings in the NICE Gallery