Community and Cultural Identity #googlearts

An examination of portrait painting from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, depicting different communities. What do portraits reveal about the sitter and how do they shape their identity? What does it say about the artist?

In this lesson, you will learn:
❖ How portrait artists have depicted people from various cultures and communities.
❖ How the people in the portraits (the subjects) identified themselves and represented their cultures.
❖ How culture and community helped form the identities of the people in the portraits.
❖ How the subjects interacted with people from other communities.

This lesson will take 30–45 minutes to complete.

This lesson can be used in the classroom or given to students to work through independently, with fellow students, or another adult. The content is accessible to a wide range of ages, but is especially geared toward students ages 12 and over.

This lesson plan was created in association with ePublishingPartners and the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery