An artists quiz is an easy win for a team social. Everyone has met the Mona Lisa, so nobody feels left out, and there is always one colleague who knows far too much about the Dutch Golden Age. This one has 40 artists quiz questions and answers in four rounds that get harder as you go, from household names to Banksy's shredder, plus warm-up polls and a word cloud.
Every answer was checked against the museum or reference source linked beside it, so you can settle arguments with a click. If your team prefers a broader mix, try our general knowledge quiz or the history trivia questions.
Quick facts
At a glance4 quick answers
What is in this quiz?
Answer40 multiple-choice questions with answers in 4 rounds that get harder as you go, plus 2 warm-up polls and a word cloud
Who is it for?
AnswerTeam socials, Friday quizzes and anyone who wants to test their art knowledge
How long does it take?
AnswerAbout 35 minutes live, as a rough estimate: 5 minutes of warm-up and about 7 minutes per round
Are the answers checked?
AnswerYes. Every answer links to the source we checked it against
How to run an artists quiz at work
- Warm up with polls (5 minutes). Start with questions that have no wrong answer, so the art experts and the art skeptics are on the same footing.
- Play four rounds (about 25 minutes). Ten questions each, one point per question, with faster correct answers scoring more on a live leaderboard.
- Finish with the leaderboard. Got a tie? Put a famous painting on screen as a tiebreaker.
Round 1: art warm-up polls and a word cloud
None of these has a correct answer, so they are polls, not quiz questions. They get every phone in the room out in a minute.
Polls and a word cloud3 prompts
1Which painting would you hang in our office?
Why ask itNo wrong answer, and the winner says a lot about the team. If Nighthawks wins, ask about the late nights.
2Which art movement best describes our team meetings?
Why ask itA light way to get honest feedback on meetings, because the results show as totals, not names.
3Name the first artist who comes to mind
Why ask itThe biggest names show how hard to pitch the rounds. If Kusama shows up, skip ahead.
Round 2: name the artist (easy)
Start here: the paintings most people have met at school or on a fridge magnet.
Name the artist10 questions
1Who painted Guernica in 1937?
More detailPainted for the Spanish pavilion at the 1937 Paris fair (Museo Reina Sofía).
2Who painted The Starry Night in 1889?
More detailThe view from his asylum window in Saint-Rémy (MoMA).
3Who painted The Night Watch in 1642?
More detailRembrandt's largest canvas, almost 4 by 4.5 meters (Rijksmuseum).
4Who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring, around 1665?
More detailNot a portrait but an imaginary figure, and the pearl is probably fake (Mauritshuis).
5Who painted The Birth of Venus?
More detailVenus arrives on a scallop shell, around 1485 (Uffizi Galleries).
6Who painted The Persistence of Memory (1931), the one with the melting clocks?
More detailSurprisingly small: just 24 by 33 cm (MoMA).
7Who made the sculpture The Thinker?
More detailFirst called The Poet, it was designed to sit above The Gates of Hell (Musée Rodin).
8Who painted Nighthawks (1942), the late-night diner scene?
More detailThe museum bought it the year it was painted (Art Institute of Chicago).
9Who painted American Gothic (1930)?
More detailInspired by a farmhouse in Eldon, Iowa (Art Institute of Chicago).
10Who painted The Kiss, around 1908, with its gold-leaf robes?
More detailIt hangs in the Belvedere in Vienna (Belvedere).
Round 3: famous artworks and where they hang
The paintings are famous, but do you know where to go to see them?
Famous artworks10 questions
1In which museum does the Mona Lisa hang?
More detailIn the Salle de la Joconde, Denon Wing (Louvre).
2Leonardo's The Last Supper is painted on a wall in which city?
More detailOn the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Musei Lombardia).
3Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512?
More detailCommissioned by Pope Julius II (Vatican Museums).
4Which Monet painting gave Impressionism its name?
More detailA critic mocked the title in 1874, and the name stuck (Musée Marmottan Monet).
5Edvard Munch, who made The Scream, came from which country?
More detailHe made versions of The Scream in paint, crayon and print (MUNCH).
6What kind of artwork is Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa?
More detailFrom his series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (The Met).
7How many canvases make up Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans (1962)?
More detailOne for each flavor Campbell's sold at the time (MoMA).
8Velázquez's Las Meninas (1656) hangs in which Madrid museum?
More detailThe mirror at the back reflects the king and queen (Museo del Prado).
9Michelangelo's statue of David stands in which city?
More detailCarved in marble between 1501 and 1504 (Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze).
10Which Paris museum shows Monet's giant Water Lilies murals in two oval rooms?
More detailInstalled in 1927, months after Monet died (Musée de l'Orangerie).
Round 4: art movements and techniques
This round rewards people who read the little labels next to paintings.
Movements and techniques10 questions
1Georges Seurat built pictures from tiny dots of color. What is the technique called?
More detailStep back from La Grande Jatte and the dots merge into solid forms (Art Institute of Chicago).
2Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque invented which movement?
More detailDeveloped together around 1907 to 1908 (Tate).
3Salvador Dalí is linked with which movement?
More detailSurrealism explored dreams and the unconscious mind (Tate).
4Andy Warhol is the best-known name in which movement?
More detailTate calls him the poster boy for all things pop (Tate).
5The word Renaissance comes from French. What does it mean?
More detailA revival of ancient Greek and Roman art and learning (National Gallery).
6Leonardo da Vinci was a master of sfumato. What is it?
More detailSfumato is Italian for smoky (National Gallery).
7Where did Jackson Pollock lay his canvas to make his drip paintings?
More detailHe poured and dripped paint from above (MoMA).
8In a fresco, the painter applies pigment to what?
More detailThe paint becomes part of the wall (Tate).
9What does chiaroscuro describe?
More detailItalian for light-dark (Tate).
10Henri Matisse led which movement, whose name comes from a critic calling its painters wild beasts?
More detailLouis Vauxcelles called them les fauves in 1905 (Tate).
Round 5: modern, contemporary and global artists (hard)
The hardest round, with more women and more artists from outside Europe than the usual art quiz.
Modern and global artists10 questions
1Which Japanese artist is famous for polka dots and Infinity Mirror Rooms?
More detailHer rooms surround visitors with endless dots (Tate).
2Frida Kahlo was born in which country?
More detailBorn in 1907 in Coyoacán, now part of Mexico City (Tate).
3Banksy's Girl with Balloon shredded itself at Sotheby's in 2018. What did Banksy rename it?
More detailA shredder hidden in the frame cut it halfway (Sotheby's).
4Georgia O'Keeffe found much of her inspiration in which US state?
More detailShe moved there for good in 1949 (Georgia O'Keeffe Museum).
5Which artist made the giant, mirror-shiny Balloon Dog sculptures?
More detailPolished stainless steel, about 10 feet tall (The Broad).
6Jean-Michel Basquiat first got noticed for graffiti signed with which tag?
More detailHe and Al Diaz signed cryptic New York graffiti SAMO (The Broad).
7Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped which Berlin building in fabric in 1995?
More detailIt took 100,000 square meters of fabric (Christo and Jeanne-Claude).
8Which Baroque painter was the first woman to join Florence's Academy of the Arts of Drawing?
More detailShe joined in 1616 (National Gallery).
9London's Tate Modern is housed in a former what?
More detailThe Turbine Hall once held Bankside power station's generators (Tate).
10Which architect designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, opened in 1997?
More detailGehry won the design competition in 1991 (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao).
How to host an artists quiz with AhaSlides
Everyone joins with a code on their phone, no app needed, and the questions show on the shared screen or your video call.
- Use Poll and Word Cloud slides for the warm-up. Results update live.
- Use Pick Answer for the multiple-choice rounds. Faster correct answers score more points.
- Make it harder with Type Answer. Drop the options and ask players to type the artist's name instead.
- Add a picture round. Put an artwork on the slide and ask who made it. Museums such as The Met share public-domain images for free use; check each image's license.
- Play as teams. Players pick a team when they join, and team scores can use the average, the total or the fastest answer (AhaSlides help center).
- Show the leaderboard after each round. It builds suspense.
AhaSlides is free to try: the Free plan lets you run up to 5 quiz questions and 3 poll questions per presentation, with up to 50 people joining, which is enough for a taster round. The full 40-question quiz needs a paid plan. See the plans.
More quiz ideas for your team
- Picture quiz with answers: 36 image questions and how to run a scored pick-the-image round.
- Geography quiz: capitals, landmarks and oceans for another round.
- History trivia questions: a natural partner for the Renaissance questions above.
- Trivia questions for work: general knowledge and icebreaker trivia for the office.
- How to host a free quiz for team building: question types, team scoring and ready-to-run rounds.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions should an art quiz for work have?
Ten to twenty fit a lunch break; all 40 fit a 35-minute social. Run the rounds in order so they get harder as people warm up.
Is this quiz too hard for people who don't know much about art?
Round 2 is built for them, and four options on every question mean nobody stares at a blank answer box.
How do I add a picture round without breaking copyright?
Use images museums release for free reuse, such as The Met's open access collection, and check each license. Much modern and contemporary art is still under copyright.
Can I play this artists quiz on a video call?
Yes. Share your screen, paste the join code in the chat and everyone answers on their phone or laptop.
Answers last checked on 26 October 2026 against the sources linked in each answer.
