Art history

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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Courses available both in-person and online

We offer a range of long and short courses allowing you to choose between online and in-person learning. All our courses are live, interactive, and taught by expert tutors. No matter how you prefer to learn, we've got the class for you. See our guide to online learning for more information about accessing our live online courses.

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  1. A sense of place: Constable’s Hampstead
    Course start date:  Tue 3 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Marilyn Greene
    Explore Georgian and Regency Hampstead walking in the footsteps of John Constable and seeing places he painted and quotes about his thoughts and feelings on Hampstead and his art.
    Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00
  2. Lunchtime lecture: The Other Story – introducing the BLK Art Group
    Course start date:  Wed 4 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Get to know the ground-breaking art and ideas of the BLK Art Group, the early 1980s art and activist community whose work still shapes our conversations about art and culture in the UK today.



    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
  3. Colour in medieval art
    Course start date:  Fri 6 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Andreas Petzold
    Colour is an all pervasive and fundamental aspect of medieval art, but one that is largely neglected in art historical studies.This course looks at some of the main themes relating to colour such as symbolism, materials, theory and key developments.



    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
  4. Looking together: art as communal space
    Last Few Places, Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 14 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Explore art as a communal space of conversation. Join this workshop to develop or deepen your art interpretation skills by listening and thinking about the meaning of an artwork collaboratively. This session is part of the 2023 Mental Wealth Festival hosted by City Lit and partners.
    Full fee £5.00 Senior fee £5.00 Concession £5.00
  5. Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00
    Rating:
    98% of 100
  6. Constable and the British landscape tradition
    Course start date:  Tue 17 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Off Site

    Tutors:  Marilyn Greene
    Discover the development of the British Landscape tradition from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Victoria and Albert Museum has the largest collection of John Constable sketches in the world, and we will discuss the works on display in detail and compare with works by J.W.M Turner and other artists on display.
    Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00
  7. Modern art in Ireland: a century of rebellion
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 21 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Henry Martin
    This course explores how artists on the island of Ireland have responded to, and created, cultural and social change between 1922 and 2022. Themes include religion, inequality, post-colonialism, modernity, secularism and the Troubles.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
  8. London architecture: post-modernism
    Weekend
    Course start date:  Sat 21 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Rachel Sanders
    London’s recent building boom has foregrounded discussions about architectural style, but postmodernism has been practiced in the capital for more than forty years. This course will look at the style’s variety through key examples.
    Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
  9. Art & war
    Course start date:  Tue 31 Oct 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Elizabeth Eyres
    Art 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
  10. Lunchtime lecture: Judith Leyster & Frans Hals – a Haarlem rivalry
    Course start date:  Wed 1 Nov 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Explore the art world of the 17th century Netherlands through the artistic ‘rivalry’ of Judith Leyster and Frans Hals in the city of Haarlem.



    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
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