Picturing Early America: People, Places, and Events 1770-1870

FAIN: ES-50309-09

Salem State University (Salem, MA 01970-5353)
Patricia A. Johnston (Project Director: March 2009 to June 2012)

Funding details:
Original grant (2009) $199,823.00
Supplement (2010) $10,000.00

A four-week school teacher institute for twenty-five participants focusing on interpreting and teaching early American art as an aspect of the nation's history and culture.

Salem State College proposes to hold a four-week Summer Institute, from July 4 to July 30, 2010, for 25 school teachers on interpreting and teaching early American art. This interdisciplinary institute will appeal to teachers of history, English, art, and other subjects. The institute explores the period from British colonial settlement to the aftermath of the Civil War, and will be divided into three units based on the primary pictorial forms of the period: portraiture, history painting, and landscapes. Each unit will include a particular focus on what we are calling "spotlight" works-art included in NEH's Picturing America series. Teachers will come to understand American art works in their historical contexts and develop creative ways to teach their disciplines while using the Picturing America images.