Pablo Picasso. Boy Leading a Horse. 1905-06. Oil on canvas, 7′ 2 7/8″ x 51 5/8″ (220.6 x 131.2 cm). The William S. Paley Collection. © 2013 Estate of Pablo Picasso/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

History and progress—two seemingly diametrically opposed concepts. Yet, both are expertly realized in Pablo Picasso’s Boy Leading a Horse, one of the masterpieces featured in The William S. Paley Collection: A Taste for Modernism.

Rabbit of Seville. 1950. USA. Directed by Charles M. (Chuck) Jones

These notes accompany a program of animated films from Hollywood screening on December 19, 20, and 21 in Theater 3.

The Disney and Fleischer studios had been the predominant forces in American animation in the 1920s and into the 1930s (when Warner Brothers entered the market).

Summer 2012 In the Making teens learn woodworking techniques during a weeklong residency at Tri-Lox Studios in Brooklyn

A few weeks ago I sat down to interview Sean Vegezzi, an emerging 22-year-old artist and an alumnus of our MoMA Teen programs.

Harvey Tulcensky. Untitled detail from Notebook Drawing. Ballpoint on paper

Sitting in MoMA’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, Harvey Tulcensky answered my queries, and as he did so, a dragonfly buzzed by and a butterfly landed on his shoulder. These were clearly good signs of the positive conversation to come.

Cover of Picasso: Girl before a Mirror

More and more, art historians are turning to science and technology to help solve the mysteries laid in paint by artists throughout the centuries. Chemical analysis of paint chips has been used to explain the discoloration of cadmium yellow in a van Gogh still life. “Emotion recognition” computer software has been applied to the Mona Lisa to try to decipher that ever-inscrutable smile.

On selected dates, trained activation facilitators have been stationed in the Drawings Galleries to assist visitors in using the interactive components of Franz Erhard Walther’s First Work Set—a unique work that requires the physical interaction of the viewer to be complete.

Blinkity Blank. 1955. Canada. Directed by Norman McLaren

The Scottish-born Norman McLaren (1914–1987) was asked by John Grierson to head the animation unit at the National Film Board of Canada in 1941

We covered a lot of territory in our last post, documenting Echo’s condition and treating the discolored canvas. Our efforts have produced satisfying results.

How well do you know your MoMA? If you think you can identify the artist and title of each of these works—all currently on view in the Painting and Sculpture and Contemporary galleries—please submit your answers by leaving a comment on this post. We’ll provide the answers next month (on Friday, January 11).

Victor D’Amico, Director, Department of Education, The Museum of Modern Art, New York. undated. Department of Public Information Records, II.C.54. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York

The Victor D’Amico Papers are now processed and open for researchers to use onsite, by appointment at the Museum Archives reading room in Long Island City, Queens. The collection’s finding aid (inventory) is searchable online from any web-enabled device, along with MoMA’s other archival collections.