Betye Saar, The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, 1972

Betye Saar Art Lesson

Saar uses stereotypical and potentially-offensive material to make social commentary, which makes her work an excellent way to teach kids about the world, acceptance, and empathy. In this lesson, students discuss an assemblage Saar created around a depiction of Aunt Jemima and watch a video of the artist discussing the work. This Betye Saar Art Lesson also includes several project ideas and extensions.

Lesson: The Liberation of Aunt Jemima

Monica Lozano

Monica Lozano is a Mexican-American photographer who was born in El Paso, Texas and raised across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Her work has been featured in American Photo Magazine and shw was chosen as one of Columbia Journalism Review’s “20 Women to Watch” list. Lozano currently lives on the border of Mexico and the United States, teaching young students at different universities about photography and art as a way to transcend borders.

From Monica Lozano’s Juarez Series

Monica Lozano Art Lesson

Delve into Lozano’s Juarez Photo Series where she photographed citizens of Juarez wearing Day of the Dead masks with learning activities and discussion questions.

Lesson: Art Spotlight: Monica Lozano’s Juarez Series

Augusta Savage

Augusta Savage was an American sculptor and prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. She opened her own studio and became an influential teacher.

Augusta Savage, The Harp, 1939

Augusta Savage Art Lesson

There have been few sculptors who can capture emotion in a subject like Augusta Savage. In this Augusta Savage Art Lesson, students learn about her life, discuss some of her work, and read In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor.

Lesson: The Art of Augusta Savage

Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist. Her photograph titled Migrant Mother has become an icon of her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration. Lange’s photographs brought the consequences of the Great Depression to light and put a human face on the suffering of the time.

Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, 1936

Dorothea Lange Art Lesson

Lange’s work has been featured on Art Class Curator twice. A lesson based on Migrant Mother was a part of the Art Around the World series. Her work was also paired with one of our free downloads to explore empathy in art with a photography analysis activity. 

Lessons: Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother & I am… Dorothea Lange: Exploring Empathy Art Lesson

Faith Ringgold

Faith Ringgold is an award-winning American painter, writer, sculptor, and performance artist. She is best known for her narrative quilts.

Faith Ringgold, The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles, 1991

Faith Ringgold Art Lesson

Ringgold started out as a painter and focused much of her art on telling the stories of the Civil Rights Movement and her experiences growing up in Harlem. On a trip to Europe in 1972, Ringgold experiences some Nepali artworks that used fabrics around the border. This inspired her to start making quilt paintings, and those are the artworks she’s become best known for. In this Faith Ringgold Art Lesson, students dive into Ringgold’s The Sunflower Quilting Bee at Arles and imagine what it would be like to be the fictional woman featured in the artwork. To extend the lesson, students complete a portrait project and read Dinner at Aunt Connie’s House or one of Ringgold’s other children’s books.

Lesson: Faith Ringgold’s Celebration of African American Women
Artist Biography

Hanaa Malallah

Hanaa Malallah is an Iraqi artist and educator who currently lives in London. She is known for creating the Ruins Technique in which found objects are incorporated into artworks.

Hanaa Malallah, Barzakh (Obstacle), 2014

Hanaa Malallah Art Lesson

Featuring Malallah’s introspective artwork entitled Barzakh (Obstacle), this lesson features discussion questions and learning activities.

Lesson: Art Around the World in 30 Days – Iraq

Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz was a German artist who worked with paint, printmaking, and sculpture. Her most famous artworks depicted the effects of poverty, hunger, and war on the working class.

Käthe Kollwitz Art Lesson

Kollwitz’s art is emotional and deep. There are three types of lessons you can take into your classroom with her work: using her art to support lessons on the World Wars, discussing her work to teach about expression in art, and using her work among others to teach about different elements of art and principles of design.

Lesson: The Art of Käthe Kollwitz

Käthe Kollwitz, Misery, 1897

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo is perhaps the most famous female artist of all time. Her stunning self-portraits and nature inspired works are known throughout the world. Kahlo’s surrealist works and political leanings have made her an icon for Chicanos, feminists, and within the LGBTQ community. 

Frida Kahlo, The Two Fridas, 1939

Frida Kahlo Art Lesson

Many of Kahlo’s works are perfect to share with students of all ages. They are rich with details and possible interpretations. Her work has been featured as a part of the Art Around the World series, and one of her most famous works, The Two Fridas, inspired my favorite lesson.

Lesson: Art Around the World in 30 Days – Mexico & The Two Fridas – Art Discussion Lesson

Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker who lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and worked alongside other Impressionists. She is best known for her works featuring the bonds between mothers and children.

Mary Cassatt, Reine Lefebre and Margot before a Window, 1902

Mary Cassatt Art Lesson

A complete Charlotte Mason Picture Study lesson based on the works of Mary Cassatt. Perfect for homeschoolers and elementary students.

Lesson: Charlotte Mason Picture Study: Mary Cassatt

Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keeffe is one of the best known female artists of our time. Known for her stunning landscapes and flowers, she has been called the “mother of American modernism”. 

Georgia O’Keeffe, Lake George Reflection, 1921-22

Georgia O’Keeffe Art Lesson

Explore Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses by Georgia O’Keeffe with your students and have them create a work of art using O’Keeffe’s work as inspiration.

Lesson: O’Keeffe Inspired Art Lesson: Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses

Art Projects Inspired by Famous Women Artists

The internet outside of Art Class Curator has lots of great art lessons inspired by famous women artists! Check out these links.

• Kimmy Cantrell Inspired Ceramic Tile Mural by Deep Space Sparkle – For upper elementary, students work together to create a Cantrell inspired tile mural.
• Mary Edmonia Lewis Lesson by Scholastic & Michael’s — For grades 6 through 12, students learn the basics of sculpture and create a bust of the prominent civil rights leader.
• Historical Genre Drawing Silhouettes by Incredible @rt Department — Inspired by Kara Walker’s silhouettes, middle to high school students research a historical event and create an silhouettes based on the subject and insert their likeness into the work.
• O’Keeffe Flowers (Get Kids to Draw BIG!) by The Art of Education – For grades 3 through 5, students create their own O’Keeffe inspired flowers.
• Framed Art Sculptures Inspired by Louise Nevelson by Scribble Doodle and Draw – Using Nevelson’s monochromatic abstract expressionist sculptures as inspiration, students create their own sculptures using found/recycled objects.
• Frida Kahlo Inspired Self-Portraits for Kids by Kids Activities Woo! – Inspired by Mexican culture and Kahlo’s folk art style often mixed realism with fantasy, students create their own self-portraits.
• Images of Children in Dorthea Lange’s Photographs by Getty Photos – Elementary students study how Dorothea Lange tells stories related to children. They practice telling their own written and visual stories in response to Dorothea Lange’s images.
• Picturing a Story: Photo Essay about a Community, Event or Issue by Getty Photos – For middle or high school. Students consider the function of social-documentary photography. They research Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects, and create their own photo essay about a subject of interest to them.

Children’s Books about Women Artists

This collection of highly rated children’s books about women artists are a great way to share information about the lives of black artists with elementary students. Each book is marked with recommended student ages and a link to purchase the book.

Famous Women Artists Biographies

Integrate historical and cultural knowledge into your women artist art lessons with in-depth biographies and short videos about famous women artists.

• Augusta Savage
• Frida Kahlo
• Edmonia Lewis
• Georgia O’Keeffe
• Laura Wheeler Waring
• Lee Krasner
• Faith Ringgold
• Artemisia Gentileschi
• Lorna Simpson / Who is Lorna Simpson?
• Grandma Moses
• Betye Saar
• Berthe Morisot
• Gwendolyn Bennett
• Mary Cassatt
• Kara Walker

Artworks by Women Artists from Around the World

From American artists to artworks by female artists from around the world, these pieces will get your students talking and connected to art.

American Artists

• The Liberation of Aunt Jemima 
• Georgia O’Keeffe’s Cow’s Skull with Calico Roses
• The Art of Augusta Savage
• Faith Ringgold’s Celebration of African American Women
• Discrimination is Not Protection by Lorna Simpson
• Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother
• The Empathetic Art of Dorothea Lange
• The Artworks of Mary Cassatt
• After the Death of the Child

Women Artists from Around the World

• Monica Lozano’s Juarez Series
• Hannaa Malallah’s Barzakh (Obstacle)
• The Art of Käthe Kollwitz
• Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas
• The Love Embrace of the Universe, the Earth (Mexico), Myself, Diego, and Señor Xólotl by Frida Kahlo
• Young Woman Drawing by Marie Denise Villers
• The Beach by Beatriz Milhazes

Mary Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878

More Art Lessons about Famous Women Artists

5 Women Artists of Color with Learning Activities

This post covers 5 incredible women artists of color: Augusta Savage, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Carmen Lomas Garza, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, and Yayoi Kusama. Each entry has images of the artwork or a video of the artist talking about her work, plus activity suggestions and lesson ideas for each artist.

Judith and Holofernes Paintings: A Compare and Contrast Art Lesson

Students love this art lesson where they compare two Baroque paintings of Judith and Holofernes and try to deduce which was made by a man and which was painted by a woman.

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