A Visit To The Art Museum

On Friday our family went to the Yale Center For British Art. It is a gem of an art museum in New Haven, Connecticut devoted to the study of British art and culture. It was presented to Yale University by Paul Mellon. He was quite the philanthropist and an owner of thoroughbred racehorses. It is no surprise then that he became a collector of George Stubbs, an English artist well known for his paintings of horses. Stubbs painted other animals and people as well, but most people still think of horses first when they hear his name.

Children are often drawn to the paintings of George Stubbs because many of his subjects were animals. My daughter immediately chose his Zebra painting as her favorite at the museum. We purchased both a postcard and a 14" x 10" print of the Zebra in the museum shop. Back at home, my daughter was allowed to choose where the larger print should be hung in our house. She later spent some time with the postcard propped up so she could draw her own zebra.

Zebra by George Stubbs, 1763

It is important that children learn about art even at a young age. My goal is to pick a new artist every twelve weeks for us to study. Each week there will be a new print of one of that artist's paintings -or sculptures- on display in our home. Over the weeks the children will be able to recognize each artist's style and use of color and lines. My daughter is only four, so I keep our art lessons simple. For my son, who is nine, I want him to be more familar with the artist and know a bit about their life and influences. For both of them my hope is that the art we study inspires their minds and souls.

For the first tweleve weeks we will study the art of George Stubbs. We are fortunate to be able to see so many of his paintings at the museum. I think they have at least 32 Stubbs paintings in their collection, as well as many sketches and watercolors. We have a book of his art on the way for study: George Stubbs 1724-1806.

During our visit yesterday they were installing new carpet in the room which houses most of his paintings and thus were not able to see them up close. When we return in a few weeks for another visit we will be able to take better photos and enjoy his work more.

A Lion Attacking A Horse by George Stubbs, 1762

 This was one of my favorites at the museum. The photo is at an angle because it was taken from a floor above the painting.