COOPERSTOWN _ America's paintings, photographs and other visual arts can illustrate lessons about U.S. history and culture and strengthen democracy, the National Endowment for the Humanities chairman said Thursday.
"Picturing America," a collection that includes three locally held pieces, is for anyone interested in American art, history, culture and freedoms, NEH Chairman Bruce Cole said at the annual meeting of the New York State Historical Association held at The Farmers' Museum.
Cole reviewed the mission of the program, which started this year and is being distributed to schools and libraries across the nation. Participating institutions are given 40 high-quality reproductions, measuring 24 by 36 inches, of American masterpieces, plus resource materials.
"Picturing America" is part of NEH's We the People program, launched in 2002, that seeks to reinvigorate the teaching, study and understanding of American history and principles.
``Art is not a mere ornament for the elite,'' Cole said.
Through the program, he said, the NEH is reaching students who live in rural or underserved areas without access to museums.
Three pieces of artwork from the Fenimore Art Museum Thaw Collection of American Indian Art are in "Picturing America" _ two drawings by Chief Black Hawk and "Beacon Lights," a Washoe basket by Louisa Keyser.
Cole told the NYSHA audience having three pieces included ``isn't bad'' and that New York is well-represented.
Area schools being sent materials for fall 2008 include Oneonta High School, Lighthouse Christian Academy, and the central schools in Andes, Afton, Cooperstown, Delhi, Jefferson, Schoharie, South Kortright, Schenevus, Worcester and Walton.
D. Stephen Elliott, NYSHA president, said he attended the national launch of "Picturing America" at the White House in February, where he and the director of the Norman Rockwell Museum suggested local visits to Cole. Elliott, who estimated Thursday's attendance at about 175 people, also gave a report on NYSHA.
Like the NEH, Elliott said, NYSHA wants to reach beyond its museum sites to teach and enhance understanding of history and culture through art.
Cole visited the Rockwell museum in Stockbridge, Mass., on Wednesday, and said his appearance at NYSHA was his first visit to Cooperstown.
American students are ``woefully ignorant'' about U.S. history because ``they're not getting the education that they deserve,'' Cole told the audience.
``Picturing America' will make an indelible impression on their hearts and minds,'' he said. ``We have to be able to define our liberties so that we can defend them.''
Cole said the painting ``George Washington Crossing the Delaware'' by Emanuel Leutze tells about the improbable and perilous nature of the American Revolution. And James Karales' photograph, ``Selma-to-Montgomery Marching for Voting Rights, 1965'' captures the determination and courage of the foot soldiers of civil rights, he said.
Cole said he has visited some schools in a pilot project and saw ``the amazing enthusiasm'' shown for it by educators and librarians and use by teachers of the art in history, literature, civics, language, geology and ecology classes.
A second round of applications will start Aug. 4 and run through Oct. 31, he said. The materials are free, he said, and the audience to urge schools to apply and participate.
``The scope of this program is unprecedented,'' Cole said.
