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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- 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 - Women in art 1800-1900
Course start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025Location on this date: Keeley Street
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. - Weird and wondrous: the strange art of Bosch, Brueghel and the Surrealists Course start date: Tue 28 Jan 2025
Location 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 - The art of the French Renaissance Course start date: Tue 18 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveWhat makes the art of the renaissance in France so fantastical and fanciful? How much does it owe to Italian artists? Where can you see examples and why does so little survive? Discover the story of the rise and fall of the French renaissance.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - London's smaller art collections Course start date: Tue 25 Feb 2025 (and 1 other date)
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 £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - Art in medieval England Course start date: Tue 25 Feb 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Richard PlantThis course will explore the painting, sculpture and especially architecture of Medieval England Focussing mainly on the period following the Norman Conquest, we will discuss the developments in architecture in England and works of sculpture and painting.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - A stroll through British art: 1500-1850 Course start date: Tue 4 Mar 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresOn this informal gallery-based course you will explore and discuss the history and characteristics of British art from the 16th century to the mid-19th century. The course will take place offsite at both the National Gallery and Tate Britain.Full fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - 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 - Women in art: 1900-1960 Course start date: Tue 29 Apr 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
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.
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