This will be one of my first tasks as a teacher. I am not doing this because I expect that a 1 1/2 to 2 yr old will understand who the artist was but because I think it is important that children have the chance to see art from a very young age.
You can research the artists and over the coarse of time teach them about each artist by telling them stories of their life. As I come up with my own stories I will share them with you.
I put together some artists you may want to consider including. Salvador Dali, Picasso, Monet, Botticelli, Rothko, Matisse, Warhol , Pollock , Marc Chagall. I included some links to images for you but you could also go google additional images or go to wikipedia.
I would put together pictures of artwork from all different times, styles, colors, techniques. You want them to be visually very different. Just be sure the content you expose them to is appropriate.
You could also use these in a theme. Is your theme animals? Find artist who painted pictures with animals in them. Look at Marc Chagall's painting. Do you see an animal? What kind of animal is it?
That is right! A chicken and a goat. What sound does a chicken make? What sound does a goat make? Is a chicken usually the same size as a person? Can a goat really fly?
If you want you can integrate art into any theme, age or classroom if you want to.
