Exploring Portraits: Pictures That Tell a Story
The lesson packet above includes activities, examples, and worksheet.
- Example: I Am (Was) a Helper, Biddeford COVID-19 Community Archive
Lesson Plan Text
Step 1: Analyzing a Portrait
Have students work in pairs or small groups. Students should choose a contemporary portrait to work with:
- Portrait 1 - Photograph: Helping the Community with Much Needed Face Masks, Ogunquit Memorial Library's COVID-19 Archive
- Portrait 2 - Digital Art: Barbijo, COA COVID-19 Community Archive Project
- Clothing: What is the subject wearing?
- Pose: Describe the subject’s body position (standing, sitting, relaxed, active)?
- Gaze: Where is the subject looking?
- Expression: What emotions does the subject’s facial expression communicate?
- Setting: Describe the setting or background.
- Objects: What objects do you see? Why do you think they were included?
- Colors: What colors stand out? How do they make you feel?
- Does anything else catch your eye?
As a class, talk about the results. Why do students think the artist made these choices? What might they tell us about the subject, the purpose of the portrait, and the time and place it was created?
Help students uncover additional layers of meaning by using the Unveiling Stories exercise developed by the National Portrait Gallery. Discuss these questions:
- What is the visible story or overarching theme of the image?
- What is the human story or the person-centered experience in this image?
- What is the world story? What global issues of today can we connect to this image?
- What is the untold story? What are the important absences of the story? What could be happening beyond the frame of this portrait?
Step 2: Creating a Portrait
Have your students create an original portrait or self-portrait in a medium of their choice, incorporating the elements identified in Step 1 (clothing, pose, gaze, expression, setting, objects, and colors).
Students should consider who they want to represent (themselves, a friend or family member, or a public figure) and what aspects of this person they want to portray.
Students can create a photograph, drawing, collage, digital artwork, etc.! Ask students to title their portrait and provide a descriptive caption.
Have students present their portraits to the class, identifying the elements they have included and describing the stories their portraits tell. Invite students to submit their portraits to a Maine Contemporary Archives project to share with your community! (Use this list to find a participating library near you.) Each project has its own Terms and Conditions for contributions, get in touch if you have any questions.