The Art of Seeing Art
Perry’s Victory:
Teacher Resources
This resource will allow you to lead your students through close looking exercises to enable them to
describe, analyze, and interpret what they see in the painting Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie (1813–14) by
American painter Thomas Birch (1779–1851).
This approach to looking at art is based on the Art of Seeing Art method created by the Toledo
Museum of Art. It is discussion-based and will help you and your students to explore works of art in
the Museum’s special exhibition Perry’s Victory: The Battle of Lake Erie, on view at the Museum from
August 9–November 10, 2014.
How to use this resource:
• Print out the document for yourself.
• Read through the document carefully as you look at the image of the work of art.
• When you are ready to engage your class, project the image of the work of art on a screen in
your classroom using an LCD projector. You can find the uncropped image at the end of this
document. Use the questions provided below to lead the discussion.
This exercise is meant for use in the classroom. There is no substitute for seeing the real work of art in the
exhibition at the Toledo Museum of Art. Please call our scheduler to schedule a tour today. The TMA has
a wide range of original works of art and many tours to offer. We are open Tuesday to Sunday and Docentled tours are available. Visit http://www.toledomuseum.org/learn/tours/ to schedule.
Thomas Birch (American, born England, 1779-1851), Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie (detail), 1814. Oil on canvas, 66” x 96 1/2”. Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts, Philadephia. Gift of Mrs. C.H.A.Esling.
Close
Looking &
Describing
Questions
Ask your students to look carefully at this work of art. Have them
look closely for at least three minutes and then describe what they see.
Start the questioning with the Elements of Art and broad, open-ended
questions.
Describe what catches your eye in this painting.
What else do you see in this painting?
Continue to guide your students’ eyes around the work of art with
more close looking and describing questions, such as:
What colors do you see?
Where has the artist repeated the same color?
Where do you see lines in the painting?
What different types of lines can you identify?
What kinds of shapes do the lines create?
Where do you see the same shape more than once?
Where has the artist used lines to show us texture?
Describe these textures.
Where do you see flags in this painting?
Which of them can you identify?
Analysis
Once the students have completed listing everything they observed in
the painting by close looking, begin to ask simple analytical questions
that will help to deepen their understanding of the work of art.
How do the colors in this painting make you feel? What is the
mood the artist has created with these colors?
How do the lines create movement in this painting?
Does the space in this painting seem cluttered, busy, open,
white, empty, colorful?
What do you think the weather would feel like if you were
inside this painting? Where has the artist used color and lines
to create this feeling?
What do you think is happening in this painting?
What clues has the artist given to help us discover the story?
Layering of
Information
(Background Information/Research)
Share the background information provided below regarding the
artist and the painting. This is information that a viewer cannot
get simply by looking at the painting. Once you have shared the
following information your students will be ready for deeper
analysis and interpretation of the work of art.
This painting depicts the American victory of Oliver Hazard Perry
over the British Navy at the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of
1812 (1812–15). Perry’s victory gave the United States control of the
lake, secured the Northwest Territory, and shaped the course of peace
negotiations between the two nations. The British controlled a vastly
larger navy than the Americans and they expected an easy victory on
Lake Erie. However, although the British warships were equipped with
long range cannons which could shoot accurately up to a mile, Perry’s
fleet was faster, more maneuverable, and his crew was better trained.
The battle began late morning on September 10, 1813. After only a
few hours of fighting, Perry’s brig the Lawrence was disabled by heavy
cannon fire. With only nineteen of 124 men alive and unhurt, Perry
transferred some of his remaining crew to the Niagara and resumed
the battle. As the battle flag was raised on the mast the winds changed.
Perry took the opportunity to execute a daring maneuver, turning
the Niagara ninety degrees, breaking the line of the British Navy
and positioning the American brig to fire on four British warships
simultaneously. By 3:00, the British had lowered their flags and
surrendered to the 28-year-old Perry. Perry hastily sent Major General
William Henry Harrison a report of his victory, famously stating “We
have met the enemy and they are ours.”
In his painting Birch dramatically shows the British and American
fleets engaged in battle. He has arranged the ships in a triangular
composition with a battered brig in the center, enhancing the drama
of the battle. Surprisingly, the large vessel in the foreground is not the
victorious Niagara, but rather the bullet-riddled Lawrence, which sits
unengaged in the action. The Niagara, with its three large sales, can
be identified off in the distance, so small that Perry himself cannot be
identified.
Layering of
Information
(Background Information/Research)
Birch, who was not a sailor and lacked technical knowledge of the
battle, chose to depart from a strictly factual view of the events
(though he was very careful to get the placement of the ships correct).
Look closely at how he has painted the clouds; although the Battle
of Lake Erie took place in the afternoon, Birch has painted them to
indicate the soft glow of the rising sun. Birch’s depiction of rough
waters and a strong eastern wind is also historically inaccurate.
Once the background information has been shared, you might
consider asking students to interpret the painting with this new
information.
Interpretation
Interpretation brings the close looking and describing questions,
analysis, and background information together to aid in better
understanding the work of art.
What did you learn from the background information and how
does it reinforce your observations?
Why do you think that Birch might have chosen to change
the time of the battle from afternoon to early morning? What
message does this choice convey?
Why do you think that Birch might have decided to focus his
painting on the disabled Lawrence rather than the victorious
Niagara?
Birch, although born in England, was a loyal American. What
elements of his painting reveal his pride in the American Navy?
Vocabulary
Oliver Hazard Perry (1785–1819)—Naval commander who lead the
American forces to victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.
Battle of Lake Erie (September 10, 1813)—one of the biggest naval
battles between the American and British forces during the War of
1812. Fought off the coast of Ohio, nine American warships defeated
and captured six British vessels, securing American control of Lake
Erie.
War of 1812 (1812–15)—a 32-month conflict between the United
States and Great Britain. The inability of the United States to resolve
continued issues with the British led President James Madison to
declare war on June 1, 1812. The major battles of the war occurred
along the Atlantic coast of the United States, the American-Canadian
frontier (including Lake Erie), and in the Gulf Coast. The war
officially ended December 24, 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of
Ghent.
Northwest Territory—the area of the United States west of Pennsylvania
and northwest of the Ohio River. Ownership of the Territory was
ceded to the United States at the end of the Revolutionary War. The
continued presence of British military in the region was one of the
causes of the War of 1812.
Fleet—a large formation of warships under the control of a single
commander.
Brig – a sailing vessel with two
square-rigged masts. Brigs were
important warships because they
were fast and maneuverable.
Thomas Birch (American 1779–1851), Study for Perry’s Victory
(on Lake Erie) (detail). Drawing: ink and wash, 1813. Prints and
Photograph Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Thomas Birch (American, born England, 1779-1851), Perry’s Victory on Lake Erie, 1814. Oil on canvas, 66” x 96 1/2”. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts, Philadephia. Gift of Mrs. C.H.A.Esling.
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