On March 26, AP Art History students went on a field trip to the Orlando Museum of Art and were chaperoned by Ms. Wayne and Mr. Karnitz went to the Orlando Museum of Art. The Orlando Museum of art features over 300 paintings, which range from paintings about Native American history, paintings about motherhood, and ancient art from the Aztecs and Incas. The field trip began with a one hour tour from an art historian.
The first piece presented was the portrait of Effie Ellsler painted by De Scott Evans in 1876. During the late 19th century, Effie Ellser was a famous actress who went on numerous tours, including Edwin Booth who was the brother of the actor and the assassin of Lincoln- John Wikes. In the oil on canvas portrait, Ellsler wears an elaborate blue dress adorned with sequins.
After examining the Portrait of Effie Ellsler, the tour guide showed the art history students a painting by Jacob Lawarence, The Migrants Arrive and Cast their Ballots which was part of the Kent Bicentennial Portfolio. The painting commemorates the aspects of African American life during the 1920s. In addition, the painting details The Great Migration, which was when African Americans migrated from the south to the north in order to escape the Jim Crow Laws; these laws restricted African Americans’ freedoms. For example, they were not allowed to vote.
Another essential art piece that the tour guide showed students was a Georgia O’Keeffe painting created in 1940; this is the most expensive painting in the museum with a cost of 4.5 million dollars. Datura and Pedernal is an oil on board piece, which conveys her sense of personal identity. O’Keeffe was a Mexican modernist painter who was known for landscape paintings and charcoal drawings. In her painting Datura and Pedernal, the painting conveys a sense of Mexican pride via national identity via a flower in a Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. The name of the painting comes from the mountain in the background, padernal, and the name of the flower in the foreground, the Datura. The mountain in the background is called Padernal and the name of the flower is called Datura.
To conclude the Art history field trip, students were informed about the Great Migration, Mexican National Identity, and full-size portraits.
