Featured Events

Beginning with a discussion of the impact of European culture on indigenous art forms—and how museums, critics, and art historians respond to this “non-Western” tradition, this course goes on to examine some of the major Native North American artists — Norval Morrisseau, Maria Martinez, Bill Reid, Preston Singletary — and movements in the twentieth and…

Described in a two thousand-year-old source as the “fairest of stones,” jade has long been treasured in China. Join Lulan Yu, Adult Programs Coordinator, for a gallery talk that will explore Chinese jade objects and beautifully crafted bronze ritual vessels produced by the technologically advanced Chinese Bronze age cultures. In upcoming months, we will offer a…

A crash course in observation-based landscape painting in oil, this class shows students how to “see” the world through a painter’s eyes. Technical demonstrations stress line, shape, value, and color. Students learn to simplify the landscape by identifying color masses from which to develop impressionist oil paintings. A materials fee of $30, payable to the…

See demonstrations of watercolor technique and learn about composition and color in capturing the unique beauty of flowers. For inspiration, students visit VMFA’s special exhibition Van Gogh, Manet, and Matisse: The Art of the Flower to view beautiful French floral paintings and then return to the studio to paint their own floral still lifes. Students…

This workshop introduces oil pastels for painterly approaches to drawing flowers from life. Students explore colored grounds, glazes, and various methods of layering color as well as color mixing and interaction. Prerequisites: basic drawing skills Click here for materials list.

How did impressionist and post-impressionist painters radically transform the traditional French still life genre? How were their experimentations with paint application, composition, and color combinations connected with changes in science, commerce, and technology? Discover how their reinvention of artistic representation can inspire and challenge your students’ understanding of art-making in this workshop that combines gallery…

The great artistic movements of the Middle Ages—the Romanesque and the Gothic—emanated from France to other parts of Europe in a variety of ways, presenting a distinctive national creativity and character for the first time in medieval art. Among the architectural treasures explored in this class will be the majestic imperial churches in the Rhineland,…

This two-part course will explore the history of western Europe’s artistic fascination with the people and locales of north Africa, the Middle East, and east Asia. The first session examines the practitioners of French impressionism who engaged with the aesthetics of Japanese art, among them Claude Monet who famously collected ukiyo-e prints and designed a…

Celebrate longevity, the New Year, and treasures from the Forbidden City while exploring Chinese culture. Participate in a LEGO® reproduction of the Imperial Palace nine dragon screen and nine imperial treasure-making activities. Take in nine Chinese animated films for children, breathe and stretch with Project Yoga Richmond, and be amazed by martial arts demonstrations. Also…