Third Saturday Online: Landscape and Cityscape Collage

In 2019 and 2020 the UMFA highlighted three iconic landscape paintings by American artists Thomas Moran, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Alma Thomas on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. These spectacular works take very different approaches to landscape painting, from nineteenth-century idealized naturalism to contemporary abstraction.

Let’s explore these works and make a landscape collage inspired by them. To do this project you’ll need:

A piece of paper or recycled cardboard box as the base of your collage.
Some colored paper. If you don’t have colored paper, you can use recycled boxes, food labels, and magazines.
Glue
Scissors

Before you get started, let’s get a little inspiration:

Look closely at Red Sunset, Old Pond Concerto by Alma Thomas. Think about the title of this artwork. What landscape do you picture when you think of a red sunset and an old pond? Did Thomas paint what you imagined? You can create your own collage landscape to show what you see in your mind.

Alma Thomas, (American, 1891–1978) Red Sunset, Old Pond Concerto, 1972, acrylic on canvas, (68 1/2 x 52 1/4 in.) Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1977.48.5

2. This is Mist in Kanab Canyon, Utah by Thomas Moran. This landscape shows a southern Utah canyon. But the real Kanab Canyon doesn’t really look like this. Moran’s painting makes the mountains bigger than they are and the air too misty. Why would Moran make this landscape look different than it really does? Will your landscape be fantastic or realistic?

Thomas Moran (American, born England, 1837–1926) Mist in Kanab Canyon, Utah, 1892, oil on canvas, (44 3/8 x 38 3/8 in.) Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of Mrs. Bessie B. Croffut, 1942.11.10

3. This is Manhattan by Georgia O’Keeffe. It’s a cityscape! How are the shapes in this cityscape different from the other two landscapes you’ve seen? What city will you make?

Georgia O’Keeffe (American, 1887–1986) Manhattan, 1932, oil on canvas, (84 3/8 x 48 1/4 in.) Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation, 1995.3.1

Now you can create your own landscape collage!

Step 2: The base of your collage can be The base of your collage can be a piece of paper or an old cereal box like this.a piece of paper or an old cereal box like this.

Step 3: What else can you use to make your collage? What about stickers, magazines, old buttons—or even fake flowers! Use your imagination.

Step 4: Cut or tear the paper into shapes and lay them on your base. You can layer the paper to create depth or texture.

Step 5: Once you have your collage landscape laid out how you want it, glue the paper down.

Art Bridges, Terra and Smithsonian American Art Museum logos