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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- Introduction to art historyCourse start date: Fri 29 Sep 2023 (and 3 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas BalfeAre you interested in art and want to get more out of looking at art and exhibitions? Want to know what an art historian does? Develop your interpretative skills by exploring at how art is made and what social and cultural factors construct our understanding of it.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - Art history tasterCourse start date: Tue 19 Sep 2023 (and 14 other dates)
Location on this date: Online
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.
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 £10.00 - Art & warCourse start date: Tue 31 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresArt representing issues of war, conflict and revolution is usually either an expression of triumph or loss. But who decides? What is such art for and what can it hope to achieve? Attitudes to war have changed significantly and this course considers responses to conflict in painting, sculpture, photography, performance art and architecture spanning the globe and across different eras.
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 - Women in art 1800-1900Course start date: Tue 16 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresDuring the 19th century female painters and sculptors gained greater prominence, although a career in art was still challenging for women artists. In this course we examine their work and how such progress was achieved.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Arts of Imperial ChinaCourse start date: Tue 30 Jan 2024
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 £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Cabinets to White Cubes: a history of collecting art in the UKCourse start date: Tue 20 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronHave you ever wondered how works of art and cultural objects have been collected for public museums and galleries in Britain? Who collected these objects? What functions have public collections played in society? Why ‘collect for the nation’?
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 £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Women in art: 1900-1960Course start date: Tue 16 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresOn this course we shall explore and examine the considerable, and significant, contributions of women painters and sculptors to the avant-garde art world during the first half of the 20th century.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information. - Image and identity: 20th century Chinese art and cinemaCourse start date: Tue 23 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Meitao QuExplore the art of Chinese artists and filmmakers from the turn of the 20th century to the turn of the 21st, as they try to make sense of a world on the cusp between the old and the new, marked by encounters with imperialism and iconoclasm. Learn what place art had in socio-political movements, and how it reflected the hopes and anxieties of its time.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Fra Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico – the two monastic paintersCourse start date: Tue 9 Jul 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberJoin us for a close reading of the works of Fra Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico, two of 15th century Italy's most influential artists. We study their techniques, their subject matter and how they communicated narratives in painting. Explore all the wonderful tactile visual details they added to the works.
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 - Women in art 1400-1800Course start date: Tue 12 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresThere were a significant number of highly talented female artists active during the 15th to 18th centuries, so why is their work not more famous? This course investigates and redresses this gender inequality.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
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