CP United States History I: ONeill

Close Reading: Annotation of a 19th or early 20th century work of art

revised: November 2014

The New Among the Old: An Annotation

HowIhavewalkeddayafterday,andallalone,
toseeiftherewasnotsomethingamongtheoldthingswhichwasnew!
ThomasCole
Common Core Standards:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis
of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and
origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a
primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events
or ideas develop over the course of the text.
Targeted Historical Thinking Skills (College Board):
Contextualization
o Historical thinking involves the ability to connect historical
developments to specific circumstances in time and place, and to
broader regional, national or global processes.
Appropriate use of relevant historical evidence
o Historical thinking involves the ability to identify, describe, and
evaluate evidence about the past from diverse sources (written
documents, works of art, archaeological artifacts, oral traditions, and
other primary sources), with respect to content, authorship, purpose,
format, and audience.
o Historical thinking involves the ability to extract useful information,
make supportable inferences, and draw appropriate conclusions from
historical evidence.
o Historical thinking involves the ability to understand such evidence in
its context, recognize its limitations, and assess the points of view that
it reflects.
Purpose: How does art reflect a changing society? What can it tells us about social,
political, and economic developments in history? Well continue to hone our
historical thinking skills by conducting close readings of selected art from the 19 th,
and in a few cases, 20th centuries.
Mentor texts:
for the look youre going for (i.e., how to arrange the image and your
annotations, approximate length of annotations, etc.): an annotation from
Harpers magazine: http://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/HarpersMcConnell-March2013-1600x1088.png
for the process of drafting, revising, and drafting again: I will share my drafts
with you
Steps in the assignment:
1. Browse: Wonder through the paintings (and a few photographs) listed in the
Resources section. Look for something you can spend some time with, dig
into, and unpack. Which one do you want to take out for a long lunch?
2. Interrogate: Ask a bunch of impertinent questions of your work of art.
Suggestions are listed below, in the Resources section. Note that, while

some research may be useful, the purpose here is for YOU to

interpret the piece, not to look for someone else to TELL you what
the piece is supposed to be about. As always, if you do use others ideas
or words, you must cite them.
3. Craft: Begin to craft some annotations that help to elucidate the painting and
put it into its historical context, considering these central questions: How
does art reflect a changing society? What can it tells us about social,
political, and economic developments in history? Be sure to review the
rubric in this stage.
4. Revise: Focus first on global revisions (dealing with substance); when you feel
satisfied with the content, move on to local revisions (dealing with grammar
and mechanics). Review the rubric in this stage, too.
5. Reflect: How did this go for you? What was especially challenging? What
came easily? What frustrated you or surprised you? What did you find
purposeful and useful, and what less so?

CP United States History I: ONeill

Name:
_______________________
Close Reading: Annotation of a 19th or early 20th century work of art
Blk: ______

The New Among the Old: An Annotation

Criteria

Focus document
1 primary source of historical import
sources: those listed in Resources section of the assignment sheet

Worthy of discussion/explanation (contradictions among sources or

between what is stated and the reality; controversial; further
explanation warranted; full story is not told; reveal historical
insights, etc.)
Annotations: Skilled analysis and critique of focus document
Criteria include:
focus points for annotations are well-chosen and discussed in fluid,
thoughtful prose
annotations add pertinent information (e.g., important historical
background information)
annotations call into question information that is provided by
offering counterevidence
annotations comment on the relevant historical events or processes
that eventually played out or that the piece is depicting
annotations identify historical parallels that help to illuminate the
document or explain its importance
additional questions, noted on assignment sheet, considered
Quantity of annotations
3 substantial annotations = 10 points
2 substantial annotation = 7 points

Points

________ / 5

________ / 30

________ / 10

Professional quality final product

attractive, well-formatted appearance

free of mechanical and grammatical errors

TOTAL

________ / 5

______ / 50

CP United States History I: ONeill

Close Reading: Annotation of a 19th or early 20th century work of art

The New Among the Old: An Annotation

Resources:
Browse: Here are your options for images. If you have another suggestion, please
see me, and be sure to provide source information.
Drawing of a Raft (David Gordon, 1818)
http://research.archives.gov/description/594909
View of New York (Frances Flora Bond Palmer, 1849)
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/344030
"View on the Erie Canal" (John William Hill, 1830-1832)
http://www.eriecanal.org/general-1.html
Lake George (John Frederick Kensett, 1869)
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/15.30.61
View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a
ThunderstormThe Oxbow (Thomas Cole, 1836)
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/08.228
Lowell Offering (December 1845) http://fineartamerica.com/featured/titlepage-from-the-december-1845-issue-everett.html
Under My Wings, Everything Prospers (Boqueto de Woiserie, 1803)
http://wwnorton.com/college/history/give-me-liberty4/img/ch/08/CH08_01.jpg
Lagonda Agricultural Works (Edwin Forbes, c. 1859)
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3g01837/
Across the Continent. Westward the course of Empire Takes Its Way
(Frances F. Palmer, 1868) http://dcc.newberry.org/collections/imaginingamerican-west#manifest-destiny
American Progress (John Gast, 1872)
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97507547/
The March of Destiny (Frank Triplett, 1883)
http://dcc.newberry.org/collections/imagining-american-west#manifest-destiny
Cider Making (William Sidney Mount, 1840-41)
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/11619
The Third Avenue Railroad Depot (William H. Schenck, 1859-60)
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/12534

The Champions of the Mississippi. A Race for the Buckhorns (Frances Flora
Bond Palmer, 1866) http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collectiononline/search/380480
The North Dutch Church, Fulton and William Streets, New York (Edward
Lamson Henry, 1869) http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collectiononline/search/11062
House by the Railroad (Edward Hopper, 1925)
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=78330
American Landscape (Charles Sheeler, 1930)
http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=79032
Brooklyn Bridge (Walker Evans, 1929)
http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/260655

(over)
Resources, cont:
Interrogate: Here are some suggested questions to ask as you analyze the image,
adapted from Visual Rhetoric/Visual Literacy: Writing About Paintings
(http://uwp.aas.duke.edu/wstudio) and Writing a Critical Analysis of a Painting
(http://www.gallaudet.edu/tip/english_works/writing/essays/writing_critical_essays_ab
out_literature/writing_a_critical_analysis_of_a_painting.html)
Who is the artist (if known)? When was it created?
What is the title of the painting?
What was the original purpose of the painting?
Who was the intended audience?
Where was the painting originally created and located? Where is
it now?
What is the subject of the painting?
Who or what can we identify in the painting? Where are the
subjects located in relation to each other?
Does the painting (or the artist) belong to any particular school
or style?
Are there symbols at work in the painting?
What is your impression of the mood the painting is trying to
convey?
Is the painting telling a story of some sort? If so, what is it?
Does the painting have any connections with history? (i.e., does
it depict a historical event, or have its own history surrounding
it?)
Sample annotation: from Harpers: http://harpers.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/03/Harpers-McConnell-March2013-1600x1088.png