Art supervisors in the public schools assign picture-study work in
each grade, recommending the study of certain pictures by well-known
masters. As Supervisor of Drawing I found that the children enjoyed
this work but that the teachers felt incompetent to conduct the
lessons as they lacked time to look up the subject and to gather
adequate material. Recourse to a great many books was necessary and
often while much information could usually be found about the artist,
very little was available about his pictures.
Hence I began collecting information about the pictures and preparing
the lessons for the teachers just as I would give them myself to
pupils of their grade.
My plan does not include many pictures during the year, as this is to
be only a part of the art work and is not intended to take the place
of drawing.
The lessons in this grade may be used for the usual drawing period of
from twenty to thirty minutes, and have been successfully given in
that time. However, the most satisfactory way of using the books is as
supplementary readers, thus permitting each child to study the
pictures and read the stories himself.