Color Our Collections
#ColorOurCollections
While we've all been practicing social distancing and staying "safer at home," many of us have also picked up or expanded our creative practices – from trying new recipes in the kitchen, to planting a new garden, to writing and making art. The ability to explore those creative practices is perhaps one of the silver linings in this storm of change and uncertainty. Perhaps those practices are also things that we should continue to make time and space for, even as our daily routines begin to look more "normal."
Coloring pages are a fun and simple way to exercise your creativity, while also reducing stress, unplugging from technology, and practicing mindfulness. The Brooks is excited to offer a variety of coloring pages, created from the wide range of artworks in the museum's collection. Below are three great, downloadable coloring pages, along with an image of the original artwork and brief bit of history about each piece.
"Reading by the Brook," by Winslow Homer
Painted at the height of Winslow Homer's career, Reading by the Brook depicts a moment of harmony between mankind and nature. Here, a girl sits alone outdoors in quiet contemplation, reading a text that is illegible to the viewer. Using flat strokes – a technique mastered by the French Impressionists – Homer transforms a simple scene into one characterized by color, vibrancy and subtle movement. If the weather is nice, take out your favorite book or the coloring page for this painting and spend some time outdoors.
Winslow Homer (American, 1836 - 1910), Reading by the Brook, 1879,
Oil on canvas, Memphis Park Commission purchase 43.22
Download a printable pdf of the Winslow Homer coloring page HERE.
"Tennessee S Curve," by Red Grooms
Tennessee native Red Grooms is best known for his three-dimensional "stick outs" (as he calls them), works that combine his training in both painting and sculpture. In this piece – as in many of his works – the artist brings a humorous tone to his “sculpto-pictoramas." Here, Grooms depicts a winding "S" shaped road often seen in rural parts of the United States. A master of movement, Grooms creates dynamism through his exaggerated perspective. Looking at the piece straight-on, doesn't it feel like the cars on the road are almost falling off?
Red Grooms (American, b. 1937), Tennessee S Curve, 2001, Enamel on epoxy on Styrofoam,
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art purchase; Morrie A. Moss Acquisition Fund 2001.10
© Red Grooms / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Download a printable pdf of the Red Grooms coloring page HERE.
"Au Pied de la Falaise (At the Foot of the Cliff)," by William-Adolph Bouguereau
The French painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau was renowned for his mastery of the human body, a skill that developed through years of rigorous academic training that included figure drawing. He painted his subjects with perfect proportions, flawless skin and spotless clothes, believing that art should "improve" on reality. Many of his peers criticized his work as empty perfection, but no one could deny his extraordinary skills. This stunning piece is many of our visitors' favorite pieces in the collection.
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825 - 1905), Au pied de la falaise (At the Foot of the Cliff),
1886, Oil on canvas, Bequest of Morrie A. Moss 93.4
Download a printable pdf of the William-Adolphe Bouguereau coloring page HERE.