It is amazing that Horace Pippin was compelled to draw, recording his wartime experience, even as he was in harms way. How do you best express your experiences? Use your preferred medium (a poem, journal, pottery, music, a play, etc.) to convey your impressions about a current world event. Explore Image Gallery: Selected Works of Horace Pippin focusing particularly on Pippin's diary sketches. Then read a book relating the experience of African American soldiers in World War I. (Two recommendations would be The Unknown Soldiers: African-American Troops in World War I, by Arthur E. Barbeau, Florette Henri, Bernald C. Nalty, or Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I by Stephen L. Harris.) Write an essay relating the general experiences in the book to the personal experiences sketched by Horace Pippin. Choose another artist who uses war as a subject in his/her paintings. Write an essay comparing/contrasting the work of the artist you chose to that of Horace Pippin. Look at images of World War I and then find images of more recent wars. Compare them. What has changed over time? What remains the same?

The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
The academy holds four works of art by Horace Pippin which illustrate non-war related subjects. For information about teacher programming see the website or call the education associate at 215-972-2105.

118 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-972-7600

Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum has a number of paintings by Horace Pippin (some of which were used in this lesson), as well as a wonderful educational program linked to National Standards. Some of the pre-existing programs which relate to this lesson include Pennsylvania Artists and The Artist and Society. See the website for a full listing of school programs. For more information regarding educational opportunities, call the Education Department at (215) 684-7333.

Ben Franklin Parkway and 26th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-763-8100