Have you heard of William Bouguereau? Neither had Fred Ross when he finished a graduate degree in art history. His 'accidental' discovery of Bouguereau's strikingly beautiful work led to his uncovering a scandalous rewriting of art history by modernist art critics and those influenced by politically correct doctrines of art appreciation.
You can read the whole story at the Art Renewal Center website: www.artrenewal.org. Take your time in the awesome gallery and then go look up your favorite artists. You'll be amazed to see the names of these 19th century greats omitted from most texts, or disparaged as throwbacks to outmoded realistic style. Though their names were well-known among their own contemporaries, they've been banished from our awareness by Orwellian history changers!
If there are budding artists in your family, you may want to look at the list of schools that apply the principles of Classical Realism in their advanced art studies. Print out the article "The Fourth 'R' in Education" to learn why "to teach art is to teach life". Oh, to have had such an education myself!