Portrait gallery examples

Looking at families and children

Looking at the paintings

Visit the National Gallery of Scotland website www.nationalgalleries.o rg/portraitgallery and search for the paintingby title or the by artist Read up any information about the painting AND the artist and make some notes to help you understand the work. Use the help sheet to write about each example.

The 14th Earl of Morton, James Douglas and his Family painted by Jeremiah Davison in 1740

A Family Dispute was painted by Robin Philipson in 1948

Two group portraits which feature children, painted two hundred years apart.

Use the work sheet to describe each painting in your own words. You can see bigger versions, and read more about them at the National Portrait Gallery of Scotland website, just type in the artists name to find out more. Next COMPARE the families and children in each workwhat would be different about their lives, and how does the artist show you this? What do you think of each work, why?

Nellie, Frank, Sophia and Fredthe professional photographer John Moffat took this group family portrait of his own children in 1862

Street Kids by Joan Eardley painted in 1950

Two more examples of group portraits of young children living at different times in history. One is a Victorian studio photograph, the other a more recent painting.

Describe each example again in your own words. Use the helpsheet. Find out more about them from the web site first. What would be different about the lives, homes and futures for these children? Give some reasons for your opinions. Which picture do you prefer and why?

Find out more about each artist onlineyou can view a short biography on the Gallery website or search the web

Find out when the artist was born and when he/she worked. What kind of art did he/she create? What is special about the work? What influenced the artist, what was the artist trying to show in their portraits? What is your opinion of this artists work?

Extension Work
Choose 2 more portraits from the website that YOU like. As before, use the work sheet to write about each painting. Find out a few facts about the artists life from the biography section and the internet. Sum your Essay by saying which of the portraits you prefer and why.