William Merritt Chase, Hide and Seek, 1888. Oil on canvas, 27 5/8 x 35 7/8 in. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Acquired 1923.
When asked to channel our inner third graders, museum educators can get very creative—and silly. Here are four poems that four education staff members wrote after looking closely at William Merritt Chase’s Hide and Seek(1888).
Dark curtain/Shiny floor/Blue chair/White light/I win.
Meagan Estep, Teacher Programs Coordinator
I am hiding/I will not make a sound/So that I won’t be found!
Natalie Mann, School, Outreach, and Family Programs Coordinator
I’m looking for my sister/She’s looking for Mister/Neither my sister or Mister/Is anywhere to be found.
Rachel Goldberg, Manager of School, Outreach, and Family Programs
My name is Sarah/I am a cheater/I am watching my sister/Instead of counting./When I grow up/No one will like me/Because I am a cheater/Cheaters never win.
Margaret Collerd, Public Programs and In-gallery Interpretation Coordinator