Welcome to the peaceful countryside!

John Constable, English (1776-1837). *The Dell at Helmingham Park*, 1830. Oil on canvas. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 55-39.

Sit for a minute and imagine you’re in the woods.

What’s the weather like?

How many animals can you find?

What do you hear?

Listen to what it
might sound like:

John Constable wrote “painting is but another word for feeling” and was famous for his paintings of the land near his home.

How does this painting make you feel?

Why do you think he chose to paint this place?

Is there a place near your home you’d like to paint?

What does it look like today?

Can you match the tree in this photo to the tree in the painting?

Explore More Outside!

Courtesy of the Anita Gorman Conservation Discovery Center and the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Go outside and try hugging the fattest tree in the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. It’s an American Elm in the southwest corner of the park. Did you know that elms can live for hundreds of years?!

Loose Park is also home to ponds and trees. Have you seen this pond and footbridge at Loose Park?

Courtesy of KC Parks & Rec and Bruce Mathews.

Explore More Galleries!

Check out another painting in the American Art collection in gallery 219 (level 2 of this building.) The artist, Marsden Hartley, considered himself the painter of the state of Maine.

Do you have a favorite place or state?

What would you choose to paint about it?

Marsden Hartley, American (1877-1943). *Mt. Katahdin—November Afternoon*, 1942. Oil on Masonite. Gift of Mrs. James A. Reed in memory of Senator James A. Reed, through the Friends of Art, 46-3.

MORE ADVENTURES!