Artist Study Units for High School Art: 25 Artists, Dürer to Banksy
Yes, you can buy single artist study units for high school art, or all of them at once. The High School Art History Curriculum holds 25 artist studies, from Dürer, Rembrandt and Friedrich to Monet, Kahlo, Picasso, Warhol, Kusama, Ai Weiwei and Banksy, plus five method units on analyzing a painting, perspective, color theory, sculpture and graphic novels. Every part is also sold on its own.
Open the artist studiesThe High School Art History Curriculum ($179.99) contains 30 units for Grades 10–12: 25 artist studies and five method units on painting analysis, perspective, color theory, sculpture and graphic novels. Bought separately the 30 parts cost $749.70. Each artist study is also available on its own, so a teacher who needs one artist for a sub day can buy just that unit, while a teacher planning many projects saves by taking the whole set.
The resources
High School Art History Curriculum, Grades 10–12
30 resources in one download: $179.99 instead of $749.70 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
High School Art History Curriculum | 25 Artists from Dürer to Banksy + 5 Analysis Units | Grades 10–12
Art Complete – Ready-to-Use Curriculum for High School Art (Grades 9–12)
Complete Art Education Bundle for High School Teachers
Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle | Rhythm, Singing, Instruments, Color Mixing & Printing | 5 Units | Grades 3–5
The real problem
Why one good artist lesson is hard to find when you need it
High school art teachers usually reach for an artist study in two situations. The first is the sub day. Studio work is hard to leave with a substitute who may not know the materials, the clean-up routine or the safety rules for cutting tools, so the safer plan is a lesson where students look closely at an artist, analyze a work and write or sketch a response. That lesson has to make sense without you in the room. The second situation is the project launch. Before students start a self-portrait, a collage, a print or a street art piece, they need a strong model and the vocabulary to talk about it. A quick slideshow of famous images rarely gives them that. What both situations share is time pressure. You need a complete, self-standing lesson on a specific artist, ready the night before, and you need it to connect to what students are making, whether that is Kahlo's self-portraits, Höch's collage, Dürer's printmaking or Banksy's street art. Building those one at a time takes far longer than teaching them.
Why it fits
How the artist studies serve sub days and projects
The range of artists lines up with common studio projects, and the method units give students the language for analysis.
- Frida Kahlo and Cindy Sherman studies frame self-portrait and identity projects with strong models.
- Hannah Höch's Dada collage and Kirchner's Expressionism support collage and expressive color projects.
- Dürer on printmaking and Käthe Kollwitz on graphics give background for printmaking units.
- Banksy, Ai Weiwei and Christo and Jeanne-Claude open discussions on art, public space and critique.
- Analysing a Painting gives students a method and vocabulary they can reuse with any artist.
- Each study stands alone, so a substitute can run one artist without a sequence to follow.
Getting started
Using the set across a school year
These are suggestions for how to place the units; the order is yours.
- Teach the method unit firstEarly in the year, teach Analysing a Painting – Method, Vocabulary and Exam Training. Once students know the steps, every later artist study and sub day goes faster.
- Build a sub folder of threeRead through three artist studies and choose ones a substitute can run without studio materials. Keep them printed and ready, so an unplanned absence never leaves a class without real art work.
- Open each project with an artistBefore a new studio project, spend one lesson on a matching artist, such as Seurat before a pointillism exercise or Kandinsky before an abstraction piece.
- Add the theory units where neededUse Colour theory, Perspective and Sculpture and Statuary as short theory blocks when a project calls for them, not as a separate term of lectures.
- Finish with contemporary artLater in the year, the studies on Kusama, Gursky, Richter and Nam June Paik give older students material for independent research, a written comparison or a final presentation to the class.
What to buy
One artist, all thirty, or a broader art course
If you see yourself using more than a handful of artists, the High School Art History Curriculum at $179.99 is the clear buy, since the 30 parts cost $749.70 on their own. If you only need one artist for tomorrow's sub plan, buy that single study from the bundle page. Teachers looking for a full art course with both analysis and studio practice should look at Art Complete – High School ($149.90; $189.90 with the Teach-Life-Balance course). The Complete Art Education Bundle for High School Teachers ($59.90) is a lower-cost general option, and elementary colleagues may want the Elementary Art & Music Units Bundle ($74.99).
Honest limits
Things to know before you buy
The units are not written for any state's visual arts standards or for an AP or IB course, and they contain no state-specific content, so check them against your own standards and course outline. Studio supplies are not included; any materials for follow-up projects come from your art room. Art history is not the same as a full studio course, so you will still plan the making side yourself. Leave clear instructions for substitutes. The licence covers your own classes; for a whole art department, message Teach Lessons first. If the purchase does not fit, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Are these units aligned with my state's visual arts standards?
No. The units are not aligned with, approved by or endorsed by any state, district, AP or IB program, and they contain no state-specific content. They are artist studies and analysis units for Grades 10–12. Compare them with your state's visual arts standards and your course description before deciding where they go.
Will a substitute without an art background manage?
Artist studies are generally easier to hand to a substitute than a studio lesson, because students look, analyze and respond rather than handle materials. Read the unit you plan to leave, note which pages students should finish, and leave a short written plan. Make sure the substitute knows where the copies are.
Can I buy only one artist?
Yes. Every part of the bundle is also sold separately and linked from the bundle page. Buying single artists makes sense if you only need one or two. Once you expect to use many of them, the full set at $179.99 costs far less than the $749.70 total of the parts.
Which artists are included?
The 25 artists are Dürer, Rembrandt, Friedrich, Kirchner, Kollwitz, Dix, Kandinsky, Höch, Seurat, Monet, van Gogh, Kahlo, Picasso, Warhol, Beuys, Bourgeois, Kusama, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Nam June Paik, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Richter, Gursky, Sherman, Ai Weiwei and Banksy. The five method units cover painting analysis, perspective, color theory, sculpture and graphic novels.
Does it work for Grade 9?
The set is written for Grades 10–12. Some studies may suit a strong ninth-grade class, but check the reading level of the unit first. For a course that starts in Grade 9, Art Complete – High School covers Grades 9–12 with analysis and studio practice.
Is there a discount code?
The TEACHMORE15 code gives 15% off only when you buy two or more Complete Curriculum packages, such as Art Complete – High School together with another Complete package. It does not apply to this bundle or to the single artist units sold from the bundle page.
Have an artist ready for the next absence
Open the curriculum page to see all 30 units and choose the ones for your sub folder and your next project.
Open the artist studies