Art History courses online and in London
Looking to build your confidence in discussing and interpreting art? Or are you interested in taking your established knowledge of art in new directions? Then come and join City Lit’s Art History learning community!
Our exceptional range of courses, both introductory and in-depth, are designed for all learning levels. Our programme approaches art history from a variety of perspectives including social and cultural context, art theory and philosophy, curation and collecting, general art appreciation and so much more.
Choosing the right class for you
Our courses are open to all. Our students come from all backgrounds and learning experiences, from the absolute beginner to those refining their knowledge and understanding. We aim to give you the confidence to engage meaningfully with art, whatever level you are working from. Our students use our courses for personal fulfilment as well as professional and educational development. Many of our students go on to advanced degree and certificate programmes and many are able to use their knowledge in art making and gallery work.
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.
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- Weird and wondrous: the strange art of Bosch, Brueghel and the Surrealists
Course start date: Tue 28 Jan 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWelcome to the weird and wonderful world of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Breughel the elder – two northern Renaissance artists and a larger group of 20th-century artists known as the Surrealists who share many similarities with the strange and curious subjects that they conjured up to ignite discussion and even outrage.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £249.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £162.00 - Tuesday talks: Sanctuary in the city – public art by refugees and immigrants in the city Course start date: Tue 4 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneCome on a virtual 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.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £15.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £10.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Constable’s Hampstead Course start date: Tue 11 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Marilyn GreeneExplore Georgian and Regency Hampstead walking (virtually) in the footsteps of John Constable and seeing places he painted and quotes about his thoughts and feelings on Hampstead and his art.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Mother figure – how the cult of the Virgin Mary changed art Course start date: Tue 11 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayJoin us to understand how one woman became one of the most represented figures in human history. We examine the development of the Virgin Mary in the late medieval period and how her humanity made her central to Christian practice and expansion.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - Art & mysticism in 19th and 20th century Europe Course start date: Tue 11 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberCan a work of art be all touchy/feely and well… spiritual and mystical? We will explore what the words spiritual and mysticism mean in relation to art produced by 19th and 20th-century artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Hilma af Klint, Georgaina Houghton, Piet Mondrian and Anna Cassell.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Tuesday talks: Helen Chadwick – woman in revolt Course start date: Tue 18 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover the work of British artist, Helen Chadwick (1953-1996) whose ground-breaking practice in sculpture, photography and installation art challenged media and public perceptions of women in society; and the female body. Exploring ideas of gender, identity and sexuality, Chadwick was significantly influential on a following generation of artists in Britain.
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 £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Art history taster Course start date: Tue 11 Feb 2025 (and 5 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayCurious about art history? Join us for this taster session where we explore different ways into visual art and its histories, from the ancient to the contemporary.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Tuesday talks: Donald Rodney and the BLK Art GroupCourse start date: Tue 1 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAn introduction to the BLK Art Group, an artistic and cultural movement begun in 1980s Wolverhampton that inspired a generation of British artists. Get to know some of its major artists (Claudette Johnson, Keith Piper, Sonia Boyce and Donald Rodney) and how they created a new art histories for Britain and beyond. This talk corresponds to a major exhibition of Donald Rodney’s work at the Whitechapel Gallery, on until 4th of May, 2025.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - Homes, houses and art in Europe: 1900-1960Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberKnock on the door of artists’ houses and studios from 1900-1960 to experience exciting and visually dazzling spaces created over the course of their careers. At a time when artists were beginning to forge their own brave new visual worlds, this course considers what the homes might tell us about the artists and how they wanted their homes to be seen. This is the second part of a series on Homes and Houses; it can also be taken without having done the previous course.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Hell, Heaven and Purgatory in the Middle AgesCourse start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWhy were images to do with the afterlife so prevalent in the Middle Ages? Come, face your eternal destinies and look at images such as the Last Judgement, skeletons, filthy flesh, worms, ghosts and Hell mouths.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Ways into Islamic art Course start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita ChowdryAn introductory course providing an overview of the development of the visual language of Islamic cultures in Asia, Africa and Europe.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Ithell Colquhoun - mystical surrealistCourse start date: Tue 3 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAn introduction to the art of Ithell Colquhoun from her academic days at the Slade to her mystical landscapes in Cornwall. We explore her subject matter, artistic process and her surrealist tendencies.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - The beauty of the medieval manuscript Course start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberIt is generally accepted that medieval illuminated manuscripts are very beautiful things. Something to do with all that gold-leaf maybe. While we cannot hold them in class, close-up digital reproduction will allow us to see if they really are as beautiful as we are told. Indeed, are none of them ugly? Join this course to find out.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Tuesday talks: Mystic modernism - modern art and spiritualityCourse start date: Tue 10 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronArt has long been inspired by themes, ideas and concepts of spirituality and magic. With the dawn of industry and technology in the modern age, what motivated artists to continue their pursuit of spiritual worlds? Why have these ideas remained so compelling to contemporary artists? On this engaging evening of art, magic and myth, explore work by selected artists from the early 1900s to the present day.
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 £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Arts of Imperial ChinaCourse start date: Tue 24 Jun 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Meitao QuExplore the arts of imperial China spanning across 13 dynasties and 2000 years. Study how painting, sculpture, and architecture were deeply shaped by its richly diverse culture, philosophy, and religion.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00
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