Join us once a month for our Painted Tale Tours. The tours combine storybooks with paintings in our permanent collection to teach young (and old!) how paintings can tell a story just like a book. We hope to open up your “art-detective” eyes to discover that by asking questions when confronted with a work of art you can learn how to “read” the paintings.
For children aged 5-9. All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Offered one Sunday afternoon a month. Please meet in the front lobby.
A sample of paintings used on the Painted Tale Tours:
Old Time Sugaring Party, Adam Sheriff Scott 1945
This traditional signifier of spring, the sugaring party, will come to life before your eyes as we read the selected tale. Marvel at the lively narratives in this large-scale winter scene located in the AGNS Ondaatje Gallery.
Composition, Paul-Emile Borduas 1959
Paul-Emile Borduas is renowned for his contribution to the abstract art movement in Canada. Through the characters in our tale we will learn how to interpret and relate to abstract works of art.
The Alchymist , Cornelius Krieghoff 1862 c.
An alchemist’s ultimate goal was to transform invaluable metals into gold and produce a potion that would cure all sicknesses and grant eternal life. Kreighoff’s painting is ripe for story-telling as it is filled with objects and clues that tell us about his alchemist. Young audiences will enjoy the humour in our tale, while older audiences will be eager to explore the iconography and symbols used.
Series of 4 paintings, by Dominic Serres
These four paintings of Halifax are a snapshot in time dating to the Seven Years War. The paintings illustrate four distinct views that many will recognize. Let your imagination soar as we read our tale and wonder what it would be like to be inside the painted scenes.
Maud Lewis’ House
The actual house that the artist Maud Lewis and her husband resided in is located in the Maud Lewis gallery at the AGNS. Our tale is perfectly fitting with our main character’s mantra, “My house is me and I am it. My house is where I like to be and it looks like all my dreams.”