The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has launched Picturing America, an innovative program that helps teach American history and provides students with a gateway to the broader world of the humanities. The launch took place at the White House with US President George W. Bush.
'At their best, the arts and humanities express the ideals that define our nation,' said President Bush.
Picturing America is composed of forty, carefully selected works of art spanning several centuries—all by American painters, sculptors, photographers, and architects. The NEH will distribute large, high-quality reproductions of these images, along with a teachers resource book, lesson plans, and materials, to schools and libraries nationwide. Including the newly unveiled Web site, http://picturingamerica.neh.gov, Picturing America's resources unlock the potential in each work of art to enhance the study of American history, social studies, language arts, literature, and civics.
'Our goal is eventually to have Picturing America in every school and public library in the United States,' said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. 'We are especially delighted to have the support of the President and First Lady in this historic initiative and believe their leadership will move us closer to reaching this goal.'