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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- Renaissance art at the National GalleryCourse start date: Wed 14 May 2025 (and 1 other date)
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 £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Japonisme: Japanese influence on European art in the 19th century
Course start date: Sat 1 Nov 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersExplore how 19th century European artists from the Impressionists to Art Nouveau transformed their artistic language with the study of Japanese prints. - Art and Refugees in HampsteadCourse start date: Sun 2 Nov 2025
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 - National Portrait Gallery Course start date: Mon 12 May 2025 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowDiscover portraiture and the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Different periods and styles are discussed each week in front of the portraits.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - Indigenous Australian art: an introduction Course start date: Wed 5 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Arjmand AzizIndigenous Australian art has, in recent years, been increasingly exhibited and discussed in Britain. Yet little is known about the history and development of this art movement and the oeuvres of the artists responsible for its creation. This introductory course will provide a history of how Indigenous Australian artists have changed and challenged the course of national and international art fields in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Image and identity: 20th century Chinese art and cinema Course start date: Wed 5 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Meitao QuExplore the work of Chinese artists and filmmakers between the turn of the 20th century to the turn of the 21st as they try to make sense of a world caught on the cusp between the old and the new. What place did art and cinema have in socio-political movements, and how did visual culture reflect the hopes and anxieties of the time?Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Still life in the history of art: opulence and fragilityCourse start date: Thu 6 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresStill-life paintings usually represent ordinary things, often small and arranged on an indoor surface, without human presence. Long regarded in western art as the lowliest subject or “genre”, one that only required technical skill rather than imagination, still lifes are now considered some of the most charming and best loved paintings and can contain intriguing meanings that repay close study.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Mughal decorative arts: an introductionCourse start date: Mon 10 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Arjmand AzizExplore the splendour and technical sophistication of the decorative arts during the Mughal era (1526-1857) in South Asia in this introductory course.Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Study day: Modern art and colour – from post-impressionism to fauvismCourse start date: Sat 15 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersExplore the experimental use of colour and form in the late nineteenth century post-Impressionists and Symbolists paintings, and study its impact on the Fauve artists, with focus on Matisse.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Introduction to the Wallace CollectionCourse start date: Wed 19 Nov 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.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Study day: Rothko, Pollock and Abstract ExpressionismCourse start date: Sat 29 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersExplore the Abstract Expressionist movement, focusing on Pollock and Rothko as its key examples, considering
issues such as the movement’s social and political context, artistic influences, and stylistic progress.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00
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