Joseph Stella, The Brooklyn Bridge
Draw multiple views

When Joseph Stella arrived in New York from a small Italian village in 1896, he saw the glamour and power of industry and the promise of social and economic opportunities. Stella especially liked the Brooklyn Bridge and its sweeping cables, glittering lights, bustling traffic, and spectacular views. He returned to the subject of the bridge throughout his artistic career. Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme (1939) shows the bridge's stone towers and multiple views of the city.

View and discuss Stella’s painting with your students. Imagine they have just stepped into the picture. Ask them to describe where they are and what they see. What sounds might they hear? Have students seen arches like those of the bridge before? Where? How do they think the Brooklyn Bridge changed people's lives when it was first built?

Ask students to go to the windows in your classroom or school and look for shapes and lines that stand out. Have each student make quick pencil sketches from different points of view. Ask them to first draw what they see close up, then add some details that they see in the distance. Once they have finished drawing one view, they could move to another window or change the angle of their view. What did they choose to include? How did their drawings change when they moved to different angles or views?