A new project aimed at British schools is bringing major art works to the classroom.  Masterpieces in Schools, as it is called, will lend a series of masterworks to schools across Great Britain, in an attempt to attract children who would not normally attend a gallery or museum exhibition.  The project began this week, when a classic Monet landscape was sent to a school in Northern England.  “We hope all the children will be left with the lasting memory of the day a Monet, Turner or Gainsborough came to their school,” says Andrew Ellis, director of the Public Catalogue Foundation. (more…)

Damien Hirst has unveiled his latest project, a children’s ABC’s book featuring a letter for letter survey of own work, and a different, corresponding font.  The artist spoke with The Guardian this week, discussing the book, his inspirations as a young artist, and his thoughts on “painting like a child.”  “The childlike quality of some of Picasso’s drawings is precisely what makes them so masterful and extraordinary; the ability to express complete visions, feelings and portraits through a continuous line.” (more…)