Art, Ideas & Theory
Art History Courses Online & In London
Looking to advance your art historical knowledge into academic practice? Or, maybe you would like to explore art through broader concepts like feminism or aesthetics? Art theory allows us to think about art thematically, across time and place. Join us for one of our classes online, in the classroom or in galleries, out and about in London.
Online, classroom-based and gallery-based art history courses
Many of our courses are also offered online, giving you the freedom to study from anywhere you need to be. We also offer our classes in-person at our Central London location and at many galleries and museums in and around London. Use the Location filters on this page to choose your preferred delivery method. See our guide to online learning for more information about our live online courses.
Learn from expert tutors
At City Lit we are proud of the expertise of our tutors who are all professional art historians working actively in museums, galleries, research and writing, universities and auction houses. As experts in the field, they are able to provide you with the support and guidance you need to develop your art historical knowledge. As teachers they provide student-focused education, helping students achieve their art historical goals, both the personal and the professional.
- Art and critical analysis: Western European art under the microscopeCourse start date: Wed 10 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoConcentrating on major works of art and significant artists across periods ranging from 1300 to 1900 and beyond this course we will study and explore the impact on the public’s appreciation of art and how that might be influenced by critical analysis including the vagaries of fashion.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Art and critical theory: vision and gazeCourse start date: Tue 23 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on the topics of vision and gaze.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Change must come: art, politics and societyCourse start date: Tue 23 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAn exploration of art history that draws on specific political and social movements in modern, Western history and how artists contribute to and/or influence the dialogue. We will conclude with an engagement with contemporary art and politics. - Ways into advanced art history: writing historiesCourse start date: Wed 24 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDevelop a greater understanding of art history and how to analyse the cultural meaning of an artwork by going in-depth with the ideas of prominent art historians. This course is meant to cultivate your personal practice of art history through small, guided research and writing projects.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £77.00 - Friday lates: art and mapsCourse start date: Fri 26 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Christopher CollierMaps have a long and fascinating history, yet it was really the 20th Century that saw them come alive as an artistic medium, as artists turned to them to explore their place in a disoriented world. Discover the many ways artists have worked with maps, from Surrealism through to Digital Media.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Art in the age of Napoleon: politics, painting & propagandaCourse start date: Sat 27 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersExplore the art of Napoleonic Europe via issues such as political and social upheaval, Neo-Classical priorities, and the rise of Romanticism, in the work of artists such as David and Goya.Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00 - Friday lates: all about Eve - picturing the femme fatale in European artCourse start date: Fri 17 May 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover the types of women who don't conform to social rules, who wield a supernatural power that destablises the status quo. From the threatening type to the empowered woman, join us for an exploration of the femme fatale in early modern and modern European art.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Art and refugees in HampsteadCourse start date: Tue 21 May 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneCome on a walking tour of Hampstead discovering where refugee artists from the Second World War lived and the people and institutions which made great efforts to save and support them.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Art and critical theory: feminism and post-colonialismCourse start date: Tue 4 Jun 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on feminism, post-colonial theory and the notion of the death of the author.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
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