An art appreciation curriculum for preschool children

Abstract

A 10‐week art appreciation curriculum was provided for 17 preschool children for one‐half hour per week in small groups in their classroom. The works of five artists (Jackson Pollock, Morris Louis, Andy Warhol, Piet Mondrian and Henry Moore) were presented along with biographical sketches of the artists, demonstration of the artists’ techniques, and hands‐on experience with the techniques. Before and after the course, the children's self‐esteem, art involvement, and preference, as well as classification of art works were evaluated. Following the course the children showed greater involvement in art and tended to be more consistent in their artwork preferences. They were also better able to distinguish paintings from sculptures and improved on tasks that involved naming artists and identifying artists’ works. Finally, their self‐esteem scores increased. Thus, the preschoolers appeared to benefit in several ways from this early art appreciation curriculum.