Diana Heath, Senior Metals Conservator at the V&A, describes the challenges of treating the Wolsey Angels – rare examples of copper figures created for the English Tudor court at the height of the Renaissance, between 1524 and 1529. The Angels were made by the Italian sculptor, Benedetto da Rovezzano (1474–1554), to adorn a magnificent tomb commissioned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. After the English Civil War, the Angels disappeared, and were only recently rediscovered, having stood unrecognised on the gateposts of a stately home in Northamptonshire, perhaps for centuries. Not originally intended for outdoor exposure, their surfaces altered radically over time. The separation of each pair of Angels accounts for their difference in appearance, together with the loss of their wings. Extensive conservation work at the V&A has now enlivened the appearance of the Angels and ensured their future preservation. The Wolsey Angels were purchased with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund, a gift in memory of Melvin R. Seiden, the Friends of the V&A, the Ruddock Foundation for the Arts, the American Friends of the V&A, and many other generous donors thanks to a major public appeal in 2014. Find out more: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/conservation. Created by Smarthistory.

Latex, chocolate, soap, and video game software are just a few of the non-traditional materials that have inspired contemporary artists. While they embrace the modern, synthetic and technologically advanced world in which we live, some of materials present significant conservation problems for museum conservators. Gwynne Ryan, a conservator at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden discusses the challenges museums face with this issue: Should we keep art locked away to make it last? Or let it be experienced as it was intended while accelerating its natural degradation? For more information about the Hirshhorn's conservation program, visit: http://hirshhorn.si.edu/educate/page.asp?key=205&subkey=75.

Students use the robot paths they documented during the associated Robots on Ice Engineering Challenge activity to learn about and then make artwork. During the previous activity, students recorded the path of their robots through a maze in order to collect data during a remote research simulation. Now, they take a new look at the robot paths, seeing them from an art perspective as continuous line drawings. Students learn about Picasso’s famous works of art that used the same technique. Then they learn the artistic definition of a line and see examples of how it is used in different art pieces; they practice making continuous line drawings and then create sculptures of their drawings using colorful wire. A PowerPoint® presentation is provided to guide the activity.

This art history video discussion examines Donatello's "St. Mark", 1411-13, marble, 93" (236 cm), Orsanmichele, Florence.

This art history video discussion examines Donatello's "David", bronze, late 1420s to the 1460s, likey the 1440s (Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence).

This art history video discussion looks at Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain" (1917/1964). Porcelain urinal, paint (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art).

This art history video discussion examines "Dying Gaul", an ancient Roman marble copy of a lost bronze Greek sculpture, c. 220 BCE.

Students will examine the bust, "Portrait of Nadine Dumas", and create a portrait bust of a friend to give to the friend as a gift. Students will then discuss the modeling techniques used to communicate likeness and expression in a three-dimensional bust portrait.

This art history video discussion examines Alberto Giacometti's "Palace at 4am", wood, glass, wire and string, 1932 (MoMA).

This art history video discussion looks at Eva Hesse's "Untitled (Rope Piece)", 1970, rope, latex, string, wire, variable dimensions (Whitney Museum of American Art).

This art history video discusses the Damien Hirst sculpture, "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living," and issues of interpretation.

Students will learn about innovative light construction and three-dimensional properties while creating their own designs using limited paper materials. Students will be asked to work in teams to brainstorm and create a sculpture that implements light based on their chosen concept.  

Students will experiment with various light blocking materials and how they affect creation of shadows. Using this knowledge, student will participate in a series of activities manipulating and capturing shadows to inform their own work creating a 3D sculpture that casts a unique shadow.

During this lesson, students will work in teams to plan, construct, and test a functional miniature golf sculpture while they explore topics related to collaboration, design thinking, and peer critique. A focus on specific art production skills such as armature building and rendering objects using paper mâché will be explored. The finished artwork will be peer reviewed for creativity, craftsmanship, and challenge. 

This art history video discussion looks at Jackie Winsor's "#1 Rope", 1976, wood and hemp, 40-1/4 x 40 x 40 inches (SFMOMA, San Francisco).

This art history video discussion examines Sir Frederic Leighton's "An Athlete Wrestling with a Python", 1877, bronze, 1746 x 984 x 1099 mm (Tate Britain, London).

17th Century Spanish polychrome sculpture can achieve remarkable realism. Learn about the techniques estofado—painting and incising to portray silk fabrics, and encarnaciones—for the hair and skin. Created by Getty Museum.

In this art history video discussion Beth Harris and Steven Zucker consider Michael Pacher's "Saint Wolfgang Altarpiece," 1471-81, polychrome pine, linden, gilding, and oil (sculpture and painting). Parish Church, Sankt Wolfgang, Austria.

This art history video discussion examines Michelangelo's "Moses", marble, ca. 1513-15 (San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome).