There is a well-known quote by Pablo Picasso, which goes like this:

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

Perhaps these words appeal to me because they touch on the delightful imagination a child possesses, and how freely that creativity is expressed through art with little fear or hesitation. Taking a look at some of our collection items that show children in their element, absorbed in their art, I noticed that many photographers have similarly been drawn to capturing those moments of creativity and creation that sometimes feel lost to adults. Perhaps this desire to maintain the artist within is one of the reasons Peter Pan never wanted to grow up!

Children learning to draw in an art class at a “commune school” in China. Photo by Jean Norwood, 1979. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppss.00524

As seen in the image above, growing children are often in classes, developing their skills. Below, we see one young man learning to draw from a radio broadcast!

Master Harold Shaver of Jersey City learns to draw by listening in to lessons broadcast by WOR. Photo by Morris Rosenfeld, 1924. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a38916

There is also something most charming about letting creativity run wild! Below, two youngsters let loose on their easels!

New Britain, Connecticut. A child care center, opened September 15, 1942, for thirty children, age two to five, of mothers engaged in war industry. The hours are 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days per week. Children painting and coloring. Photo by Gordon Parks, June 1943. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/fsa.8d30782

In a more recent photo, things look a little different, with bright screens and neon lights. Below, Carol Highsmith captured such a scene of youngsters learning how to create art on computers in the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.

Children learn art from computers at the ArtWorks center in the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2010 February 20. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/highsm.05607

Art classes for children / REK. Poster from Illinois WPA Art Project, between 1936 and 1940. //hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b48787

Learn More:

• Although examples of children’s art are not prolific in Prints and Photographs Division collections, they sometimes come in with other materials. Take a look at the artwork in this series of birthday cards from children to Rosa Parks!
• Dig into a selection of Work Projects Administration (WPA) posters like the one to the right, which feature art classes for children!
• See more images relating to art education.
• Explore teaching resources for inspiring learning and creativity.