Art History
Are you interested in art history and how to interpret art? Then why not browse our range of art history courses and choose from introductory courses, or explore further into practices, debates and discover the work of some of the greatest artists of all time. Daytime, evening and weekend classes are available at our main learning centre in London's cultural heart - Covent Garden.
You can now study in the comfort of your home with our online courses.
For a limited time you can enjoy 20% off our online courses with a start date from 1 September 2020 using discount code: NEWONLINE. (Terms & Conditions apply )
To participate in online classes you will need an email address, a reliable internet connection, a computer/laptop/tablet with fully updated browser (preferably Google Chrome). Your device will need a microphone, and preferably a camera. Many classes use Google Classroom.
Contact us to find out more about art history - call 020 7492 2700 Monday - Friday between 10am - 5pm or email visualarts@citylit.ac.uk.
- A day at the V&A: an introduction to the collections
Course start date: Sun 22 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSpend a fascinating day at the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum exploring a range of galleries. We shall be looking at the decorative arts, paintings, sculpture and design from across the world and across the centuries in this remarkable museum.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Mews, monuments and museumsCourse start date: Sun 1 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneThis circular walk explores the alleys lanes, squares and delightful mews houses and passes a disused tube station in the mainly in the Knightsbridge conservation area and contrasts with the grand museums, institutions and monuments built in South Kensington (Albertopolis) developed with profits of the Great Exhibition held in Hyde Park in 1851. Meets outside the main entrance to the V&A ends outside the Natural History Museum. Meets outside the main entrance to the V&A ends outside the Natural History Museum.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - London photography: River Thames Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Michael HardingExplore and discover London through photography walks around locations rich in photographic potential.
The walks revolve around photographing views along the River Thames, from the Aldwych area eastwards to the City, from London Bridge to the Southbank and from Westminster to the newly developed Nine Elms area. Bring your own camera and comfortable walking shoes as you capture places, spaces, objects and people.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £139.00 - Looking at contemporary artCourse start date: Wed 4 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Francesca CavalloExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture.
Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - A sense of place: Constable’s HampsteadCourse start date: Mon 9 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneExplore Georgian and Regency Hampstead walking in the footsteps of John Constable and seeing places he painted and quotes about his thoughts and feelings on Hampstead and his art. - London's smaller art collections Course start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture. - Costume and fashion in art Course start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowCostume from the past rarely survives, except in the depiction of it in paintings. Explore 500 years of costume in European art across a range of subject matter and decode the socio-political contexts and cultural identities contained within the choice of dress. This course takes place in London-area museums. - Sketching at the museum: Tate Modern Course start date: Thu 12 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Steve WrightExploring the pleasure and challenge of sketchbooks; learn and improve your drawing skills and 'ways of seeing' and understanding, working from an exciting range of artworks in Tate modern. - Constable and the British landscape traditionCourse start date: Mon 16 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneDiscover the development of the British Landscape tradition from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Victoria and Albert Museum has the largest collection of John Constable sketches in the world, and we will discuss the works on display in detail and compare with works by J.W.M Turner and other artists on display.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Sanctuary in the city – public art by refugees and immigrantsCourse start date: Wed 18 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneCome on a walking tour of public art through the City of London created by Refugees and Immigrants. We will explore artworks such as the 17th century carvings on the Monument and a Victorian plaques relocated on to the post Modern Number One Poultry by economic immigrants to the country as well as looking at mainly works by 20th century artists from refugee backgrounds who were either commissioned to make art works for site specific places or their works have been bought or moved to their locations.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - London's smaller galleries: Apsley House Course start date: Wed 11 Jun 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowExplore the home and art collection of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Further village London Course start date: Wed 25 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Hazel BakerJoin us for 4 guided walks around London's former villages - Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Southwark and Hampstead. Why did these areas grow up as villages and how did they become swallowed up by the city of London? - Streets of Horror, Streets of Hope: The East End, 1888Course start date: Tue 8 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Sarah WiseBecause of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings, the late-Victorian East End can be read as a cityscape of poverty and fear. But there is another Whitechapel – a magnet for a variety of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds who sought to grapple with the problems of the modern city and to create a better life.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Late Victorian Soho: From Sex and Shopping to Police & Radical PoliticsCourse start date: Tue 15 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Sarah WiseThe West End was a heady mix of glamorous shopping emporia, political refugees from Europe, street-based and brothel-based prostitution, and the general public just enjoying a day or evening ‘Up West’. Join Dr. Sarah Wise to learn more on this 2 hour guided walk of Soho.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Spanish 3/4: revisit and consolidateCourse start date: Tue 15 Jul 2025
Location on this date: Blended (learn both online and in-person)
Tutors: Óscar Salgado SuárezPractise your intermediate spoken Spanish and develop your language skills in these topical discussion classes. Suitable if you have recently studied Spanish for at least four years or equivalent.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00
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