Lesson 1 - LearningThroughMuseums

Relevant Information:
• Born and raised on Chicago’s South Side, White was gifted as a child and studied art at settlement
house art classes as well as at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
• He lived in Mexico for a while in the 1940s and was inspired by Diego Rivera, who painted the
struggles and dignity of workers.
• By depicting images of ordinary black men and women, White communicated his experience of the
courage and morality of African Americans. He said, “I’ve only painted one picture in my entire
life… I see my totality of 300 years of history of black people through one little fraction …
a family … my family… I don’t try to record it, but use it symbolically to make a broad universal
statement about the search for dignity … the history of humanity.”
• This artwork shows two southern rural farmhands as they sharpen a scythe in silence during fall
harvest. Their powerful figures recall those of revolutionary Mexican murals, and are made more
imposing by their placement so close to the front of the picture.
• Through the use of powerful lines, shading, and scale, White has portrayed heroic and beautiful
human forms. He shows how strong the workers are and that their work is important. He shows
their dignity, their strength, and their commitment.
The artwork: The Child’s Bath
The artist: Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)
The topic: Inferring Values
Relevant Information:
• Mary Cassatt was born and raised in Pennsylvania but spent much of her adult life as a painter in
France.
• The Child’s Bath shows the subject matter for which Cassatt is most famous: woman and child.
• Here, we see a woman bathing a young girl’s feet in a basin of water as she rests on the woman’s
lap.
• Although it is clear that a woman is bathing a child, we are not exactly sure where the bath is
taking place. By noticing the patterned rug and sofa in the background, we can hypothesize that
they are not in a bathroom but more likely a sitting room or bedroom. This was common during
the time this painting was made.
• In addition to images of bathing, Cassatt’s art depicts children being dressed, read to, and held.
This focus on the intimate moments between women and children coincides with the era’s social
and scientific views on raising children properly and tending to their health.
You will find additional useful information from the following sources:
Web sites
• The Art Institute of Chicago
Information about The Weaver:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/151363
• Information about Harvest Talk:
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/111810
96 • Lesson 6: Inferring Values