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Every Picture Tells a Story

Grades 2 through 12

We will offer a selection of in-person and virtual field trips (using Zoom) for fall 2024.

Requests for winter/spring field trips (January 6 – May 30, 2025) will be accepted from December 1, 2024 – April 5, 2025.

Uncover the many stories that works of art tell. During this field trip, students will learn to "read" works of art by considering multiple perspectives, characters, settings, and plots. They will engage in activities to imaginatively create narratives and dialogues inspired by the works of art.

The head, shoulders, and chest of a young man with brown skin, dressed in Ojibbeway tribal attire, faces and looks at us in this vertical portrait painting. The right side of his face, on our left, is painted crimson red, and horizonal stripes of red and white line his other cheek. He looks at us with dark brown eyes under black eyebrows. A silvery white ring hangs from his nose between his nostrils. His upper lip is darker than his skin-colored lower lip, and his mouth is closed. His brown fur headdress has a cardinal-red patch at the front center. Pearl-white feathers with red tips hang along both sides of his face and down to his shoulders. The sleeves of his tan coat are streaked with sky blue, tomato red, and lemon-lime green, and fringe of the same colors hangs along the arms. Fur lining at the neck follows the curve of a string of curving, white claws and a glinting string of silvery-gray beads. He also wears a high, beaded collar with white and dark brown geometric pattern. A strap crosses his chest. The background behind him is mottled with sage green, tan, and cream white.

George Catlin, Boy Chief - Ojibbeway, 1843, oil on canvas, Paul Mellon Collection, 1965.16.349

Looking and Learning Skills

During four or five field trip stops in the galleries, students engage in activities—such as looking exercises, small-group work, creative writing, and sketching—that foster conversations about works of art. On this field trip, students will practice the following skills:

  • Making and articulating careful observations.
  • Formulating questions that demonstrate curiosity and engagement.
  • Examining paintings from the perspectives of peers, the artists, and the people in the paintings.
  • Comparing and connecting different paintings.
  • Reasoning with evidence from the works of art themselves—developing narratives based on what is seen in the work of art.
  • Taking new ideas learned from the field trip and connecting them to prior knowledge and experience.

In-Person Field Trip Information

Group Size: Up to 90 students
Length: 60 minutes for grade 3; 75 minutes for grades 4 through 12
Meeting Location: West Building Rotunda

Virtual Field Trip Information

Length: 60 minutes

Important Scheduling Information

Field trips must be scheduled at least four weeks in advance. Groups must contain at least 15 students.

Once your field trip has been scheduled, you will receive an email confirmation within ten business days.

Bus Transportation

Bus transportation is available for DCPS (District of Columbia Public Schools) participating in our docent-led school field trips. Teachers should follow the guidelines here to apply for bus transportation.

Examples of Works Featured on this Field Trip

Additional National Gallery Resources

Related Resources