Art Galleries, Collecting & Curating
Art History Courses Online & In London
Study works of art in a gallery or museum setting and explore how the meaning of art is impacted by exhibition and curation. Our courses in galleries, on collecting and curating will get you to think about how collecting and display structure your experience of art. Join us online, in the classroom, in the gallery or 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.
- London's smaller art collections
Course start date: Wed 30 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowDiscover some of London’s fascinating smaller art collections and hidden art treasures on this gallery-based art history course.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Renaissance art: making, locating and viewing Course start date: Wed 6 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThis course explores the Making, the Locating and the Viewing of Renaissance paintings in the collection of the National Gallery. This course takes place at the National Gallery.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Textiles at the V&A Course start date: Thu 28 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresThis session takes place in the V&A’s remarkable collection. It can be taken as a stand-alone visit (no previous knowledge required, all welcome) or a final lesson for the seven-week online course VB699 Textiles: An International History. You will see a wide range of woven, printed and embroidered cloth from around the globe and explore the roles these have played in the world’s material culture.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00 - Demystifying Tate Modern Course start date: Sat 7 Dec 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithGet an overview of Tate Modern with this straightforward and lively insight into the gallery’s current displays and the role of the gallery in the contemporary art world. #arthistory #tatemodern.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00 - National Gallery Course start date: Wed 25 Sep 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Leslie PrimoDiscuss a differently themed group of paintings each week in front of the pictures. An opportunity to understand our national collection in greater depth.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - National Portrait Gallery Course start date: Mon 28 Oct 2024 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Leslie PrimoDiscover portraiture and the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Different periods and styles are discussed each week in front of the portraits. Includes visits to the current temporary exhibitions.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - The Courtauld: an introduction Course start date: Mon 13 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowThe Courtauld collection includes paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and decorative arts, ranging from the medieval period to the present day. This two-part course is an opportunity to explore an outstanding collection which includes one of the richest holdings of early Italian art in Britain alongside Impressionist and Post-Impressionist gems such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - The Renaissance at home in the V&ACourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonStep into the Italian Renaissance home in this three- part course taught in the unrivalled collection of Renaissance objects in the V&A. Discover how furnishings, paintings and objects were made and used in the fashionable homes of Renaissance Italy.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Introduction to the Wallace Collection Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowEach week, we'll explore a different aspect of the Wallace Collection looking at its fine and decorative art objects, including paintings, furniture, porcelain and even arms and armour. #wallacecollection #arthistory. - London's smaller galleries: Leighton House Course start date: Wed 15 Jan 2025 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowA Palace of Art built for the Olympian Giant of the Victorian art world but also a place to live and work. This short course provides a fascinating exploration of Leighton’s world.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Introduction to the V&A Course start date: Mon 30 Sep 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julia MusgraveExplore the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. We visit different galleries each week looking at the decorative arts, paintings and the transfer of design ideas across the centuries.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Looking at paintings Course start date: Tue 1 Oct 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julia MusgraveLook at masterpieces in major London galleries in this introduction to European painting. Explore different painting techniques and genres (landscape, portrait and history painting) for a basic understanding and increased enjoyment of Western art.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Women in art collections: a history of artists and sitters Course start date: Fri 17 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowThis gallery-based course will focus upon the artistic output of women over the past 500 years, covering a range of British and European painters, sculptors, textile designers, photographers and ceramicists. The course will also explore woman as subject matter, the role of the model and our current awareness of the “male gaze”.Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - London’s smaller galleries: Dulwich Picture Gallery Course start date: Wed 22 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowDulwich Picture Gallery - a treasure trove of Old Master paintings. Learn about the history of the gallery and key works in the collection.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Indigenous Australian art at the British Museum Course start date: Wed 22 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Arjmand AhmadThe British Museum holds a significant collection of contemporary Indigenous Australian art across several media including paintings, glass and fibre sculpture and works on bark (amongst others). This object-based course provides an introductory examination of the rich diversity of works on display in the collection as well as providing critical frameworks for analysing how the objects are presented and interpreted in a museum context.Full fee £39.00 Senior fee £31.00 Concession £25.00
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