Explore Claude Monet's Paintings with Discoveries

Marina George
November 22, 2016

Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926). Water Lilies, 1919. Oil on canvas, 39 3/4 x 78 3/4 in. (101 x 200 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg Collection, Gift of Walter H. and Leonore Annenberg, 1998, Bequest of Walter H. Annenberg, 2002 (1998.325.2)

«Claude Monet loved to paint water and reflections. At his home in Giverny, Monet created a water garden with water lilies so he could be inspired every day. He painted water lilies more than 250 times!»

In Discoveries—a series of workshops created specially for visitors with learning and developmental disabilities and those on the autism spectrum—kids use The Met collection as inspiration to create artworks, just like Monet used his garden as inspiration for many of his paintings. In one workshop, kids were inspired to draw while looking at Monet's Water Lilies and The Four Trees. Watch #MetKids—Moments with Monet to meet some of those kids and see what they created.

Discoveries has been running for 28 years! There are workshops for both kids and adults, and many adult participants started attending Discoveries as kids. Educator Pamela Lawton has been teaching Discoveries for over 19 years, and she loves watching her students grow into young adults who enjoy coming to the Museum and creating art. Pamela finds it rewarding that parents "continue to bring their children year after year." She wants anyone interested in the workshops to know that "Discoveries includes everyone, and gives family members and caregivers an opportunity to relax with art. If you come, you and your family may have an experience that will delight you, and you will realize that the Museum is a space for everyone to enjoy themselves and to learn something new."

As a graduate intern for Access and School Programs, I help organize Discoveries workshops, so I want to share some tools we use when visiting the galleries. Do you like visual checklists for planning a visit? We have one that you can make your own. Are you looking for the quietest space in the Museum? Check out our sensory-friendly map!

Page 3 of the sensory friendly map

Need a break from all the noise? Head over to these galleries for a quieter museum experience. When visiting the Museum, you can locate them using this map on page three in the Sensory Friendly Map of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Met has programs for everyone. Want to sign up? Learn more about our programs for visitors with disabilities and programs for families. Visit the Museum to get inspired!

Maya drawing in the galleries

Maya, age 7, was inspired by Claude Monet's paintings. Will you be inspired, too? Photo by Emily Sutter

Marina George

Marina George was formerly a MuSe intern for Access and School Programs in the Education Department.