Help
for the
Sophomore Art Project

When you work on the art class part of the Sophomore American Art or Architecture Project, remember these important points about American art in the 19th Century...

 Nature was the subject matter, nature in its wild, untamed state.  Often depicted were the wilderness, mighty rivers, waterfalls, and mountains.  You will rarely see people, buildings, ships, etc. in these landscapes.  If they are shown at all, the people, buildings or ships are tiny, as if dwarfed by the power of nature.
Light is an important element in all of these paintings.  It is as if "light" is a character in the painting.  These artists liked dramatic light effects, like sunrise and sunsets.  They also liked dramatic contrasts of light and dark, like dark clouds in the bright sky.
These artists also liked to depict exotic, far away places that 19th Century Americans had never seen or heard of, places like the jungles of South America full of exotic plants and animals, and the far west of their own country.
19th Century American artists often painted the unknown and barely explored lands west of the Mississippi River.  Places like the valley of the Yellowstone became national parks because artists, through their paintings, convinced Congress to preserve them forever in their untouched beauty.

To complete the first part of your art project, a copy of a 19th Century American painting, first choose an artist whose paintings you like best.  Then find a painting he made from the links provided here.  Print this picture and copy it on drawing paper.  Complete the picture by adding color or shading using a medium (pencil, ink, pastel, colored pencil, paint -- not ball point pen) of your choice.

Next, create an original artwork in the style of this 19th Century artist.  For help, you can print and use as inspiration any of the pictures listed below.  Click on any picture...

     
     
     
     
     
     
     

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