Families in art - Museums Sheffield...exhibition of paintings, drawings and photographs from the National Portrait Gallery Collection, shows family portraits in Britain over the centuries,

Families in art | Teachers’ notes: 1 of 24

Families in art

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Key Stage 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Key Stage 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Key Stage 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16


Families in art | Teachers’ notes

The Family Album Teachers’ Toolkit has been developed to

accompany the Family Album exhibition. The Family Album

exhibition of paintings, drawings and photographs from the National

Portrait Gallery Collection, shows family portraits in Britain over the

centuries, from Tudor times to the present day. It includes powerful

figures in intimate family settings and challenges the definition of

family with larger group portraits.

The Family Album Teachers’ Toolkit gives ideas for using family

portraits to explore identity and relationships. It offers a creative and

cross-curricular approach which specifically supports Art and Design,

Citizenship and PSHE at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3. It can also support the

Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) scheme of work.

Art and Design

• 1a self portrait

• 3a portraying relationships

• 7a self image

• 9a life events

Citizenship

• KS1/2 units 1 taking part developing skills of communication

and participation

• 5 Living in a diverse world

• Key stage 3 unit 4 Britain - a diverse society

SEAL Primary – Relationships

SEAL Secondary – Learning to be together

To see the images up close, visit www.npg.org.uk/live/search

and search for the sitter.

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search

Key Stage 1



These resources will support the following outcomes.

Pupils:

– can identify ways that children are represented in art

– can identify ways in which children are similar to and different

from each other know that different things contribute to our

identity, including our membership of different groups, including

our family.



George Hudson and his family by Frederick Frith

cut-out silhouettes with watercolour background

NPG 5886

SittersElizabeth Hudson (born 1794 or 1795), wife of George Hudson.

George Hudson (1800-1871), ‘Railway King’.

George Hudson was known as the ‘railway king.’ He managed the

York and North Midland Railway Company from 1839, and served

as the Mayor of York twice.

This silhouette of Hudson and his family shows him wearing the

Lord Mayor’s chain. York Minster can be seen through the window.

His two smaller children are very possibly boys but appear to be

wearing girls’ outfits. This was common. When the boy got older

he was ‘breeched’ (put into trousers) and this was a sign of him

growing up.

Questions to ask

Who do you think this portrait shows?

Is it from today or a long time ago?

How has the portrait been made?

Can you see the children? What are they wearing? Can you spot

which ones are girls and which ones are boys?

Key words

Silhouette

Activities

1. What is a silhouette?

Pupils can make their own silhouettes in several ways.

Working in pairs the pupils can draw around each other (face, upper

body or whole body) in white chalk on black paper and cut out the

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=george+Hudson&LinkID=mp05424&rNo=0&role=sit



silhouettes. These could be stuck on to paper with a watercolour

wash. Compare the silhouettes. What are the similarities and

differences? How would these change if a toddler, a teenager or

a grown up were included?

Look at Jan Pienkowski’s The Fairy Tales for story telling

using silhouettes.

2. Objects in portraits

Look at the chain that the man is wearing. It is the Lord Mayor’s

chain. Look at current Lord Mayor pictures (from the local paper) and

talk about why this chain is important. It shows who the person is, like

the Queen wearing her crown. It is a clue to who the person might be.

Look in the background of the portrait, through the window. This is

York Minster. Why is that significant in this portrait?

Pupils can draw an object and/or place that is important to their

family and say why. It can just be their house and their favourite toy.

They could make a collaged family portrait by cutting out silhouette

figures of their family and adding the object and place.

3. Girls and boys clothes today

Bring in a selection of babies and children’s clothes.

In groups ask the pupils to sort them into boys and girls clothes.

What are the differences? (Colour, style, logos etc)

Would it matter if boys dressed in girls clothes or vice versa?

Worksheet

Each pupil uses the sheet to think carefully about a special object

that is important to them and to design a container to keep this

object safe.


What one special object would you choose to put in a portrait of yourself?

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Why?

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Where do you keep this special object?

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Can you design a container to keep your object safe?

Draw a picture of it and label it to describe how it would be made.

worksheet - My Special Object

Families in art | Pupils’ notes



Sir Walter Ralegh; Walter Raleghby Unknown artist

oil on canvas, 1602

NPG 3914

SittersSir Walter Ralegh (there is another spelling with an i) (1552-1618), soldier, sailor,

poet and writer.

Walter Ralegh (1593-1618), eldest son of Sir Walter Ralegh.

Ralegh was a military and naval commander and writer in the time

of Queen Elizabeth I. He was a favourite of the Queen, though was

imprisoned in 1591 for marrying one of her ladies-in-waiting without

the Queen’s permission.

This portrait was painted in 1602 when Sir Walter was in favour

with the Queen. It shows him with his son Walter who is copying his

father’s confident pose. Both father and son are dressed in splendid

costumes; Ralegh’s jacket is embroidered with seed pearls and his

son’s blue suit is silver-braided.

To have a portrait done was expensive, and this is a very large

painting, so Sir Walter must have felt love and a sense of pride in his

son to include him in this portrait.

Young Walter went with his father on his final expedition to

Venezuela. The boy was shot and killed in the course of an attack.

His father was be-headed on his return to England for his part in an

alleged plot against King James I and his attack on Spanish territory.

Questions to ask

Who do you think this portrait shows?

How do you think they feel about each other?

How old do you think the boy is?

What can you say about their clothes?

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=ralegh&LinkID=mp03700&rNo=2&role=sit



Key words

Pose

Activities

1. Striking a pose

Collect pictures of children with parents and adults from magazines

and newspapers. Also ask pupils to bring in any photographs of them

with an adult from their family. In pairs, pupils can talk about a

picture and then feedback to the class.

When was the picture taken?

Why was it taken?

How are the people in the picture feeling?

Stick the pictures on a large sheet of paper and write down responses.

2. Best clothes and everyday clothes

Each pupil has a pair of outline figures. Ask them to draw themselves

in everyday and best clothes or cut out clothes from a catalogue.

When do we usually have photographs taken?

What do we wear then?

worksheet - Best clothes and everyday clothes


Families in art | Pupils’ notes

Key Stage 2



These resources will support the following outcomes

Pupils:

– can suggest ideas about why the images were made and what

they show about the people in them

– can say what they think and feel about the images

– can create a collaborative picture combining a number of figures

in a group composition

– know that there are similarities and differences between every

child in the class

– know that different things contribute to our identity

– can understand that we belong to different groups

and communities


Robert Louis Stevenson and familyby J. Davis

albumen print, circa 1891

NPG x4630

Sitters from left to right

Unknown woman

Lloyd Osbourne (1868-1947), novelist; stepson of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Margaret Stevenson (1829-1897), mother of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Isobel Stuart Strong (1858-1953), stepdaughter of Robert Louis Stevenson; wife of

Joseph Strong.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), novelist and essayist.

Austin Strong (born 1880), son of Isobel Stuart Strong (née Osbourne).

Fanny Stevenson (1840-1914), married firstly Samuel Osbourne; secondly Robert

Louis Stevenson.

Joseph Dwight Strong, painter.

Robert Louis Stevenson was an author in the late 19th century.

He wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Kidnapped

and Treasure Island. Stevenson spent his last years in the South Sea

Islands in search of good health.

This photograph was taken by the local postmaster and shows

Stevenson, seated in the centre, on the verandah of the house he

built. The house was named Vailima, meaning ‘five streams’.

Robert Louis Stevenson was very close to his stepson. He is shown

here as an adult, but when he was young they played together and

invented an imaginary place, which it is believed inspired the novel

Treasure Island.

Questions to ask

Is this a portrait? (A portrait is a picture that has been posed for, so

it can be a photograph as well as a painting).

Do the people in the portrait look ready for it to be taken?

How do these people know each other?


http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=louis+stevenson&LinkID=mp04296&rNo=7&role=sit



Activities

1. Family trees

Give pairs of pupils each a copy of the portrait. They can cut out each

of the heads. Provide a framework with names and dates and ask

them to match the heads to the family tree. Show another example

of a family tree, maybe the royal family today.

2. Families and friends

Pupils draw a small circle on a large sheet of paper and fill this

with all the people that they think of as close family. Surround this

with a larger circle and fill this with grandparents, aunties, uncles and

cousins. Draw a final circle that can be filled with other people that

are important to them and their family.

Is there anyone else they call auntie or uncle who isn’t a family

member? Do pupils have any family portraits eg. from weddings,

Christmas, etc that they can bring in to show their extended families?

3. Friendship portraits

Ask pupils about groups in the classroom - maybe a sports group,

choir, art group.

How would they choose to pose to represent themselves?

Where?

Props?

Take these group portraits with a digital camera. Each pupil can also

make a self portrait with a prop that shows them belonging to a

particular group.

Worksheet

Each pupil has a sheet and needs to move around the classroom

asking other pupils if they like each item on the list. When they have

found one person they tick the item and write the person’s name

next to it. When everyone has completed their list they can be asked

to choose a group that they would like to belong to and move to

different parts of the room to form a new ‘society’.

Families in art | Pupils’ notes worksheet - Making Groups


Can you find someone who:

Likes to have showers

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Likes to eat Marmite

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Likes to drink milkshake

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Likes to play football

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Likes to read

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Likes to dance

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Likes to watch Dr Who

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Likes to play Playstation

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Likes to sleep on their tummy

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Likes to daydream

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The Family of Sir Robert Vynerby John Michael Wright

oil on canvas, 1673

NPG 5568

SittersBridget, Duchess of Leeds (1662-1734), daughter of Sir Thomas and Lady Hyde,

later Lady Vyner; wife of 2nd Duke of Leeds.

Mary, Lady Vyner (died 1674), wife of Sir Robert Vyner; widow of Sir Thomas Hyde.

Charles Vyner (circa 1666-1688), son of Sir Robert Vyner.

Sir Robert Vyner (Viner), Bt (1631-1688), goldsmith and banker; Lord Mayor

of London.

Sir Robert Vyner was a wealthy goldsmith and banker. He made the

regalia for the coronation of Charles II, 1661. He lent money to the

government and by the time this portrait was painted was already in

financial difficulties because these loans had not been repaid. He was

Lord Mayor of London in 1674, but was declared bankrupt in 1684.

He died broken-hearted at the death of his only son.

Samuel Pepys refers to Sir Robert in his diaries as he was the Sheriff

of London at the time of the Great Fire in 1666.

Questions to ask

Who is the most important person in this portrait?

Who is the least important? (Bridget was the step-daughter of

Sir Robert Vyner and Charles was his only natural son.)

What do they think of each other?

Key words

fabric

texture

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=Vyner&LinkID=mp05871&rNo=0&role=sit



Activities

1. Dress to impress

Ask pupils who they think chose the clothes for the portrait. Do they

think children had as much say in the 17th century as they do today?

Can they think about an important celebration event in their family?

Who chooses what they wear?

Pupils can draw self portraits or use two photocopies of a photograph.

Ask them to use clothing catalogues to cut out the clothes they would

choose to wear to a special occasion and then those their parents

would choose. You could even ask parents to do this activity with the

pupil as homework.

How does it make the feel if they are wearing the right or

wrong clothes?

2. Fabric focus

Look in detail at the fabric of the clothes the family are wearing.

What is the best medium to represent different fabrics? Pupils can

work in groups to look at different kinds of fabric in detail and try

different ways to recreate the colours and textures. Try silky fabrics

as well as hessian, waterproof fabric etc and offer a range of

art materials.

Key Stage 3



These resources will support the following outcomes

Pupils:

– can discuss and question critically a range of visual and other

information to help develop ideas for independent work

– can understand the codes and conventions used in portraits

– can recognise that relationships can cause strong feelings

and emotions



Adam Walker and his familyby George Romney

oil on canvas, 1796-1801

NPG 1106

SittersWilliam Walker (1766?-1816), astronomer; eldest son of Adam Walker.

Eleanor Walker (floruit 1764-circa 1801), wife of Adam Walker.

Adam John Walker (1769 or 1770-1839), Divine; second son of Adam Walker.

Deane Franklin Walker (1778-1865), astronomer; youngest son of Adam Walker.

Eliza Gibson (died 1856), daughter of Adam Walker.

Adam Walker (1731-1821), inventor and writer.

Adam Walker was an inventor who settled in London after many

years as a travelling science lecturer. He was responsible for the

introduction of the transparent orrery and an improved type

of harpsichord.

He also had an interest in astronomy. His numerous popular works on

science included An Epitome of Astronomy. Two of his sons became

astronomers and this family portrait shows the whole family

engrossed in this common interest.

He was a friend of Joseph Priestley and of other members of the

science group, the Lunar Society. This painting was a gift from the

artist to his friend Walker, who described it to William Blake as ‘the

last performance of Romney’. The portrait was bequeathed by

Walker’s grand-daughter, Miss Ellen Gibson in 1897.

Questions to ask

Can you identify the relationships in this portrait? (Mother, father etc)

What are the family showing about their relationship?

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=adam+walker&LinkID=mp04660&rNo=0&role=sit



Key words

codes

conventions

Activities

1. Looking for clues

Give the pupils copies of the portrait, or have it enlarged on an

interactive whiteboard. Introduce the family in the portrait, just by

name alone. Can the pupils circle areas where the artist has used

codes to tell us about the Walker family? Note the telescope and the

dark night sky; look at how family members are peering at the charts

on the table. Note how the older son, William, appears to be teaching

his younger brother.

Compare with other family portraits, can a similar pattern be found?

2. Our own families

Ask pupils to bring in a family photograph. Although the codes may

not be applied as intentionally as with the Walker portrait, can they

still spot areas in the photograph that say something about their

family? For example, the position of family members, an activity or

the place in the background?

Ask pupils to collect magazine cuttings of examples of activities that

they do with their family. Use the cuttings to create a collage then

overlay either paintings or drawings of family members. Or photocopy

a photograph and cut out the family members to be included in

the collage. Get the students to ‘read’ each other’s work. What can

they say about the family, what does the collage us about that

family’s identity?

Family matters

Ask the pupils to think of one activity that they do with their family.

It could be a game, Sunday lunch or a visit.

Do they always enjoy the activity?



How does it feels when they are enjoying the activity?

Are there times when they don’t enjoy the activity?

How do they deal with that?

Talk about how important it is to compromise with family members in

order to maintain good relationships, and what the outcomes might

be if compromises weren’t made. The students could compile a

‘Family Activity Survival Guide’ with tips on how to make family

members feel important and appreciated, how to get the most out of

a family activity and how to compromise.

See The Guardian Family section backpage for examples of families

learning together and the different issues that arise.



Captain Scott’s Birthday Dinner, 6 June 1911by Herbert George Ponting

carbon print, 6 June 1911

NPG P1100

SittersEdward Leicester Atkinson (1882-1929), surgeon; member of British Antarctic

Expedition, 1910-1913.

Cecil Henry Meares (1877-1937), Lieutenant-Colonel, linguist and

Antarctic explorer.

Lawrence Edward Grace Oates (1880-1912), Antarctic explorer.

Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (1886-1959), Polar explorer.

(Thomas) Griffith Taylor (1880-1963),geologist; member of British Antarctic


Edward W. Nelson (1883-1923), biologist; member of British Antarctic Expedition,

1910-1913.

Edward Ratcliffe Garth Russell Evans, 1st Baron Mountevans (1880-1957), Admiral.

Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912), Antarctic explorer.

Edward Adrian Wilson (1872-1912), naturalist and Antarctic explorer.

Sir George Clarke Simpson (1878-1965), meteorologist; member of British

Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913.

Henry Robertson (‘Birdie’) Bowers (1883-1912), Polar explorer.

Tryggve Gran (1889-1980), Norwegian ski instructor and aviator; member of

British Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913.

Sir Charles Seymour Wright (1887-1975), geophysicist; member of British

Antarctic Expedition, 1910-1913.

Frank Debenham (1883-1965), geologist; Founder Director of Scott Polar

Research Institute.

Bernard C. Day (born 1884), motor engineer; member of British Antarctic


The photographer, Herbert George Ponting, was invited by Scott to

accompany him on his ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1910.

http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=robert+scott&LinkID=mp04011&rNo=3&role=sit



This photograph records a rare moment of relaxation and celebration.

Scott’s diary records the event: ‘June 6… my birthday, a fact I might

easily have forgotten, but my kind people did not… we sat down to a

sumptuous spread with our sledge banners hung about us… everyone

was very festive and amiably appreciative.’

Scott was beaten to the South Pole by the Norwegian, Roald

Amundsen, and perished with his team after the return journey

became too difficult, in March 1912. He was still considered a hero.

His journals which were recovered the following spring show his

bravery.

Questions to askWhy is this picture included in an exhibition of family portraiture?

Is it a portrait or is it photojournalism? (Remember a portrait

is posed)

Key wordsPhotojournalism

Activities1. Extended ‘families’ A group of people who spend a lot of time together and share

common interests and goals can provide similar support to a family.

Ask pupils to identify any groups that they belong to? Using the

worksheet can pupils find people within the class with similar

interests? Take a photo of this new group.

Do you need any props to show your common interest?

How should the group be posed?

Individuals make a spider diagram to show all the ‘families’ they

belong to. (This might include on-line communities too).

Write three words by each group to describe how being a member of

this group makes you feel. Share ideas with class.

Are there any negative ideas around being members of a group?



2. True or falseIt’s often said that the ‘camera never lies’. Do you agree with this

statement? What messages can be conveyed by...

a platoon of soldiers arriving in Iraq

a team photograph before an international sporting event

a family photograph of the Royal Family

an album cover

Look in newspapers over the course of a week and compare and

contrast posed photographs with those taken by action

photographers or or paparazzi shots.

We know that Scott had a loyal team of men but there would have

been differences of opinion. Team photos can be compared with

stories of rivalry, perhaps in football teams today.

WorksheetEach pupil has a copy of the sheet and moves around the class asking

questions to find people with the interests listed. They then write

names in each box. Finally pupils move to different corners of the

room to be with their new groups. Obviously choices must be made

if you fulfil more that one ‘like’ criteria.

Families in art | Pupils’ notes worksheet - Societies

Write the names of everyone you find with a similarinterest in the boxes below:

Likes going to the cinema

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Likes an adventurous sport

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Likes eating spicy food

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Likes playing computer games

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Likes swimming

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Likes fashion

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Likes watching documentaries

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Likes visiting art galleries

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Family Album is a collaborative exhibition between:

• National Portrait Gallery

• Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

• Beningbrough Hall & Gardens, Yorkshire (National Trust)

• Montacute House, Somerset (National Trust)

• Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery

• Museums Sheffield

This exhibition is supported by the DCMS/DCSF Strategic

Commissioning National/Regional Museum Education

Partnerships Programme.

VenuesSunderland Museum & Winter Gardens 12 July - 5 October 08

Plymouth City Museum & Art Gallery 25 October - 13 December 08

Graves Gallery, Museums Sheffield 10 January - 22 March 09

The Teachers’ notes are part of a set of resources developed by

partners to accompany the Family Album Exhibition. Other resources

include a webquest which explores family portraits from different

times and Tudor family portraits. The webquest can be found on the

National Portrait Gallery Website at www.npg.org.uk/webquest

http://www.npg.org.uk/webquest

Documents

Families in art - Museums Sheffield...exhibition of paintings, drawings and photographs from the National Portrait Gallery Collection, shows family portraits in Britain over the centuries,