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. Art and society in the early modern Netherlands
    Last Few Places
    Course start date:  Fri 7 Jun 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Thomas Balfe
    This course focuses on Flemish and Dutch (Netherlandish) art of the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The course will examine well-known artists such as Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Rembrandt and Vermeer, as well as the role of artworks and visual images in the formation of religious, class, gender and national identities, in early science, and in cultures of collecting.
    Full fee £149.00
  2. Art in 1920s Paris
    Course start date:  Fri 9 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Explore 1920s Paris from the perspective of experimental art movements. From textile design to surrealism, abstraction to neo-classicism we look at how the city of Paris was an active collaborator in the art of the era.
    Full fee £109.00
  3. The Norwich School - a unique society of landscape painters
    Course start date:  Fri 9 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Elizabeth Eyres
    On this course you will study the fascinating work of the 19th century Norwich School, a loose association of generations of painters from artistic families who worked in Norwich, Norfolk, one of the most important and wealthy regional capitals of the day. You will explore the beautiful landscapes produced by these artists and also discover work produced by remarkable women in the group.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £69.00
  4. Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
  5. Representing nature in early modern Europe
    Course start date:  Fri 23 Feb 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Thomas Balfe
    Explore the links between the visual image and ideas of nature in early modernity (c.1500-1750). At this time, tools like the microscope were visualising nature in new ways, changes were afoot in how humans related to animals, and the environments of Asia and the Americas were becoming more familiar to Europeans. We will focus on how artists and skilled artisans engaged with these subjects.
    Full fee £119.00
  6. Friday lates: Agnes Martin - pioneer, painter, icon
    Evening
    Course start date:  Fri 16 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Henry Martin
    This course examines the unconventional life and artworks of Agnes Martin (1912–2004), regarded as one of the great artists of the Twentieth Century. Topics covered include Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, LGBTQ artists, and the role of the biography in Art History.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £19.00
  7. Showing the goods: luxury in Greek vascular painting
    Course start date:  Fri 30 Jun 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Simone Chisena
    A the saying goes, “what’s the point of being rich if you cannot brag about it?”; well, the Ancient Greeks were masters at this art to the point of depicting it in plain sight across their vases and vessels. Let us look through this kaleidoscope into the lives of Athenian well-to-dos to see what form their wealth assumed and how its depiction became a synonym for luxury across the Mare Nostrum.



    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
  8. Friday lates: Paula Rego – fairy tales and forbidden things
    Course start date:  Fri 22 Sep 2023

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Chantal Condron
    Discover the work of one of Britain’s best loved artists, whose paintings of vivid interior and private drama draw on her early years growing up in Portugal under the repressive Catholic dictatorship of General Salazar.



    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 £19.00 Concession £12.00
  9. Textiles: an international history
    Course start date:  Fri 29 Sep 2023

    Location on this date:  Keeley Street

    Tutors:  Elizabeth Eyres
    As well as expressing power, prestige and fulfilling symbolic functions, textiles have been intimately linked to the everyday lives of members all societies for millennia. On this course you will study the development of woven, printed and embroidered textiles of many kinds from around the globe and explore the significant roles they have played in the world’s material culture.
    Full fee £179.00
  10. Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
    Rating:
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  11. Introduction to art history
    Course start date:  Fri 12 Jan 2024 (and 1 other date)

    Location on this date:  Online

    Tutors:  Sarah Jaffray
    Are 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.



    This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
    Full fee £229.00
    Rating:
    99% of 100
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