50 Artists Everyone Should Know!

Every year I expose my students to art history in a variety of ways. We look at specific artists (past and present) that are appropriate for a specific assignment. But, I also try to provide them with an understanding of art history in a larger context. Last year, it was 500 years of the Self-Portrait. The year before, it was The Flower through Art History - over 300 years.

This year, I thought I'd go bold and make a splashy list of "50 Artists Everyone Should Know!"  The list is subjective and keeping it to 50 was a challenge!  Once I got started, I couldn't stop! My list of 50 inspired another list: "190 Artists Worth Knowing!"  View my lists on my OnCourse website.

The teaching objective is simple....I want my eclectic group of art students to see just how much art there is to see - and to feel how much art there is worth making! Based on this lesson, my students will do a research blog post inspired by one of the 50, and will then use their artist of choice as the inspiration for a 3 piece ceramic tea set - (a cup, saucer and dessert plate). We will have an artists' tea party this spring. Stay tuned for updates! Click here to see student research projects from last year.

Above is the slideshow that I prepared for my students.  The moral of the lesson... for every 50 artists, there are many more worth knowing!

Art is exponential!