Nursery World - Children dress the part for art

Young children are learning about painting and self-image with the help of a dressing-up box and an exhibition at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibition, called 'Mirror Mirror on the Wall', features more than 40 portraits from the late 1700s to the 1970s. Young visitors can choose from a selection of costumes and try them on before a mirror.

The exhibition, called 'Mirror Mirror on the Wall', features more than 40 portraits from the late 1700s to the 1970s. Young visitors can choose from a selection of costumes and try them on before a mirror.

Children can draw either themselves or a friend or copy a figure from the portraits on easels set up beside the mirrors in each area of the exhibition. An accompanying booklet produced by the art gallery helps them to understand the paintings, with information on what to look for and clues on how to tell which paintings are self-portraits by the artist.

Part of the exhibition features the work of Scottish colourist John Duncan Fergusson, who is known for his series of portraits of women wearing hats, so hats are prominent among the dressing-up clothes to show visitors how an accessory can change the way they look. Children can also take finger puppets with different facial expressions around the area to compare them to the expressions on the portraits.

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