20 Great Artworks to Look at with Young Kids

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how to help parents talk about works of art with their toddlers and preschoolers. To help you get comfortable talking about art with your kids, I’ve put together a list of 20 artworks that work well with toddlers and preschoolers.

My two-year-old sat on my lap while I was finding the artworks, so many of these are Zuzu-approved! 🙂  These are in no order, but the first one was Zuzu’s favorite!

I’ve included the pictures below (or a link to them if they are copyrighted).

1. Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1910, The Museum of Modern Art, New York

   

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2. Edward Hicks, The Peaceable Kingdom (1826), National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

   

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3. Grant Wood, Parson Weems’ Fable, 1939 – http://www.cartermuseum.org/artworks/269
   

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4. Marc Chagall, Paris Through My Window, 1913, Oil on canvas, Guggenheim Museum, New York

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5. Marc Chagall, The Violinist, 1912-1913, Oil on canvas, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

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6. Melissa Miller, Ghost Net, 2013 – http://melissamillerartist.com/2002-2014/oils/view/92

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7. Pablo Picasso, Three Musicians, 1921, MOMA

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8. Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656, Oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid

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9. Paul Gauguin, We Hail Thee Mary (La Orana Maria), 1891, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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10. Paul Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, 1897, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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11. Carmen Lomas Garza, Empanadas, 1991 – http://carmenlomasgarza.com/artwork/paintings/ (Image 17)

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12. Seth Eastman, Ballplay of the Dakota on the St. Peters River in Winter, 1848, oil on canvas, Amon Carter Museum

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13. Thomas Cole, The Hunter’s Return, 1845, oil on canvas, Amon Carter Museum

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14. Pieter Bruegel, Children’s Games, 1560, Oil on oak panel, Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna

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15. Indian, Ganesha, 1st half 11th century, muscovite biotite schist, Walters Art Museum

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16. Hashimoto Chikanobu, A Group of Children Playing under the Plum Blossoms in the Snow, 1887, Japanese Woodblock print, Metropolitan Museum of Art

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17. Joan Miro, Dutch Interior I, 1928 – http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79023

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18. Egyptian, Nebamun hunting in the marshes, fragment of a scene from the tomb-chapel of Nebamun, Late 18th Dynasty, around 1350 BCE, The British Museum

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19. André Derain, The Dance, 1906

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20. Mary Cassatt, Summertime, 1894

Look at one or more of these with your littles and let me know how it went in the comments. Which one was your child’s favorite?