1. The Colonial Period

2. Visual Arts • Because colonists spent most of their time trying to survive in a new world, most of the art created was functional—created to be used in everyday life. • Most of the functional art was also very beautiful. • The colonists made beautiful silverwork, furniture, dishes, fabrics, quilts, and needlework.

3. Visual Arts • As time passed, the colonists’ interest in art grew. Wealthy colonists decorated their homes with European art. • American painters usually studied and started their careers in Europe. • During this time, colonial artists focused on painting portraits. • Some of the most famous portraits of the time are portraits of George Washington by artists such as Charles Willson Peale.

4. Visual Arts Silver Teapot, Paul Revere http://chisnell.com/art/Colonial%20and%20Enlightenment/Forms/Gallery.aspx Colonial Needlework http://www.ushistory.org/washingtoncrossing/kids/chores.htm Portrait of George Washington by Charles Willson Peale http://www.history.org/history/paintings/george_washington/

5. Dance • Colonial dances were the same dances colonists had performed in Europe. • These dances are called folk dances because they were created by regular people, not choreographers. • People came together for social dances. This brought the people together as a community to have fun and socialize.

6. Dance • Colonists did not dance in pairs. They danced in lines, with couples facing each other or in circles. • All dances had particular steps that dancers were supposed to know. Dancers did not make up their own steps. • Wealthy parents even hired “dancing masters” to teach their children the correct steps. • A famous colonial dance was the Virginia Reel.

7. Dance The Galena Historic Dance Society http://www.anniewiggins.com/historic_dance.html

8. Music • Most of the music heard in colonial homes and concert halls was the same as that heard in Europe. • Mozart, Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi were famous European composers of the time. • During the colonial period, the piano was a new instrument, and it began to replace the harpsichord. • Violins and flutes were common instruments. • Church music was also very important to the colonists.

9. Music Colonial Piano http://www.ngaiopress.com/pianocontents.htm Harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Keyboards/RuckersHarpsichord10000/Ruckers1643.html Colonial Flutes http://www.apsva.us/Page/6516

10. Drama • By the colonial period, there were several theaters in America, particularly in the southern colonies. • An evening at a colonial theater lasted five to six hours. An evening usually involved a play, dancing, music, and other performances, such as juggling. • The plays and actors who performed in the colonies were largely from Europe. The works of William Shakespeare were very popular. • In some colonies, “playacting” was not allowed. In these places, it was considered bad by the church, possibly because it took people’s time away from their work at hand.

11. Resource Arts & Humanities: The Student Handbook Elementary Edition—Intermediate Grades 4-5 By Katie Fraser Carpenter