A Visit to Philbrook

When I was a kid, I used to love to look at art books. My mom kept me supplied. She would buy me “How to Draw” books because I was constantly drawing, often copying something. In first grade, I used to love to draw Clifford, the Big Red Dog. My friends wanted me to draw Rat Fink for them. Ed Roth invented Rat Fink because he didn’t like Mickey Mouse – I just looked that up. As elementary school children, we all thought Rat Finks were cool. In high school, I started buying my own art books. I had a big paperback of French Impressionists and was thrilled to see originals in various museums when I backpacked around Europe in college. The “Water-Lilies” painting at the National Gallery in London is so big!

Painting by William James Glackens, “The Soda Fountain”

I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to see original, “famous” artwork in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Fortunately, children and young people in Tulsa have the opportunity to see art at several galleries and museums. The current exhibition at Philbrook might be a good choice for kids. Because the exhibit features icons of American art, they may already be familiar with some of the works from books or images that they’ve seen at school and other places. It’s fun to see these works in person.

Painting by Barkley L. Hendricks, “J. S. B. III”

“American Artists, American Stories from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts” opened Sept. 16 and will be on display through December at Philbrook. Featuring works from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts collection, the exhibition showcases American artists such as Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, Thomas Moran, Andrew Wyeth, Barkley L. Hendricks, Edward Hopper and many more. Whether you lean toward landscapes or prefer portraiture, you’ll find something to draw your interest in this exhibit.

George Washington portrait by Gilbert Stuart

Ideas for Viewing with Kids

• The paintings include a range of styles. Ask kids what differences they notice. Which ones do they like better? (There are no wrong answers.)
• Kids may recognize Gilbert Stuart’s Revolutionary War-era portrait of George Washington from history books. Ask them to find other portraits and compare them with the one of Washington. When was each one painted? Because the exhibit spans 200 years of American history (1776-1976), talk about what was happening when some of the paintings were done.
• It might be fun to ask kids to compare and contrast paintings with the same subject matter. They can find the paintings of artists’ studios or landscapes. When were they painted? How are they different? Ask which one they like better?
• What about paintings of women? What are the different ways that artists paint women? What are they doing in the paintings? Were any of them done by women artists?
• Ask kids to pick out their favorite painting from all of the ones in the exhibition. Why do they like it? Who painted it? This might be a good opportunity to learn more about the artists and their paintings at home.
• Kids who like history may be interested in seeing how the paintings fit into different parts of American history and the stories the paintings tell.
• And, if you have a kid who is as interested in art as I was, let them take pictures of their favorite art, and provide them with some paint and paper or a canvas at home. Invite them to create their own piece of art inspired by what they saw at the museum.

Do you have fun ideas for activities when you take your kids to an art museum? Share them!