Adventures in Art
Explore some highlights of the collection, presented in a kid-friendly, interactive style.
WATSON AND THE SHARK
A painting is quite different from television or the movies, where a plot unfolds over time. It's just one image, frozen, unmoving. Yet, sometimes artists have exciting stories to tell.
Napoleon in his Study
Jacques-Louis David, The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812
Napoleon Bonaparte was the emperor of France in the early 1800s. Even though photography had not been invented yet, we know how Napoleon looked because many paintings and drawings of the emperor have survived.
Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle)
Kandinsky wasn't trying to paint a picture of an actual sea battle. His work is abstract. It has some connection to things in the real world, but the shapes and colors have been distorted and adjusted so that the artist could convey a mood through his choice of color, brush strokes, painted lines, and shapes.
Orchid and Three Hummingbirds
Heade enjoyed painting exotic, faraway landscapes, and he traveled a great deal throughout his career. This picture was inspired by a trip to South America.
Jarama II
Frank Stella, Jarama II, 1982, National Gallery of Art, Gift of Lila Acheson Wallace
Some artists play a game like charades with their art. Instead of just painting a picture of something that you can recognize easily, they think of a clever way to express an idea. You have to look carefully and guess what the artist was trying to say.
CATLIN's indians
George Catlin, Catlin Painting the Portrait of Mah-to-toh-pa—Mandan (detail), 1861/1869, National Gallery of Art, Paul Mellon Collection
George Catlin is best known as a painter of the American Indians. After seeing a delegation of Plains Indians in Philadelphia, he decided to dedicate his life to recording the lives and customs of Native Americans.
HIDE AND SEEK
James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Hide and Seek, c. 1877, National Gallery of Art, Chester Dale Fund
"Ready or not...here I come," shouts the child whose turn it is to look. Ooops! One girl has just peeked from her hiding spot. How many children do you see hiding?
Saint George and the Dragon
Brave Saint George, dressed in shiny armor, is trying to rescue a princess from a terrible dragon that is terrorizing her town. Let's find out what happens next....
Ginevra de' Benci
Leonardo da Vinci painted this portrait of Ginevra de' Benci, a young Florentine noblewoman. Fingerprints visible on the paint surface show how the artist used his hand as well as a brush to blend colors and create soft, delicate edges.
Navigation Hints
Many parents and teachers have asked us to keep Adventures in Art on the new site because they have incorporated the activities into their lesson plans. For easy navigation to this older content, click the blue text link below the picture to open each "Adventure" in a new browser window or tab. (The pictures on this page are not linked.) To return, simply close the top window or tab.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THESE WORKS OF ART
If you'd like more information about these works, biographies of the artists, or larger digital images of these paintings, you can TAKE A TOUR. The tour links to the main National Gallery web site. You will be leaving the NGAkids section of our site.
Children's Guides - Inside Scoop
Use the link below for an array of links to downloadable Inside Scoop pdfs and other publications for children.
RETURN TO NGAKIDS
Return to the main NGAkids page to select another activity or to send a comment about our site.