Early American Selfies

The 5th grade traveled back in time during the last couple of weeks to learn about the Levy Franks family in Early America. Using the visual clues from 6 portraits in the collection of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and letters from Abigaill Levy Franks to her son, Naphtali, in London, students began to piece together the lives of this family, noticing the ways that these individuals are the same and different from people today.

Students compared the images and text used in social media to the portraits and letters that the family used to tell others about themselves. Each student created a colonial selfie representing themselves in colonial America (integrating collage and self portrait techniques) and wrote a letter responding to Abigaill Levy Franks (they imagined what he might have said to his mother).

The project culminated with a visit to Crystal Bridges to view the portraits in person and continue the conversation.

The Artworks & Letters that Inspired the Project

Mrs. Jacob Franks (Abigaill Levy), ca. 1735, Attributed to Gerardus Duyckink I

Jacob Franks (ca. 1735), Attributed to Gerardus Duyckink I

Moses Levy (ca. 1735), Attributed to Gerardus Duyckink I

Richa Franks (ca. 1735), Attributed to Gerardus Duyckink I

Franks Children with Bird and Franks Children with Lamb (ca. 1735), Attributed to Gerardus Duyckink I

The artist attributed to these portraits, Gerardus Duyckinck, is thought by art historians to have used the dress, pose, and even the bodies from portraits of English royalty in his portraits. This trick of the trade sped up his painting process and gave the sitter instant status in Early America. Students created their own self-portraits, or selfies, using mirrors to draw their faces on the bodies of a member of the Levy-Frank family and collaging objects that tell the viewer about their personality.

Research more about this in The Celebrated Franks Family Portraits, a publication of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Sotheby's and Crystal Bridges Museum of Art: 2008)

Photos of the Art Project and Musuem Visit

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