In December 2000, the University of Kentucky Art Museum and The Speed Art Museum were awarded a joint American Collections Enhancement initiative grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to fund research and the dissemination of information on their American art collections. During the tenure of this grant, the University of Kentucky Art Museum employed major American art history scholars to assess a portion of our collections, presented a series of lectures focusing on significant images and themes in our collection, and created on-line resources: highlights of our American collection and a curriculum planned to assist teachers in including aspects of American art and culture to their lessons.

Education programs at the Art Museum bring art to life for members of our community, enriching exhibitions with cultural and aesthetic information. Recognizing that a trip to the museum is not always possible and acknowledging that pre-visit study greatly enhances students learning and enjoyment of the museum, we have designed curricula for elementary, middle, and high school students. We hope that it will prove helpful to you and exciting to your students.

Authors: Curriculum written and designed by Virginia S. Miller. Art history entries written by Jennifer M. Downs and
Rachael Sadinsky.
Design and Production: Carolyn Payton
Editors: Barbara Lovejoy and Barbara S. Moore
Project Development: Deborah Borrowdale-Cox
Acknowledgements: We would like to extend grateful thanks to Margie Plarr of the Kentucky Virtual Library Project
for assistance with scanning images and to Mary Rezny for photography.