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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- Lunchtime lecture: Vincent van Gogh - London, Paris, and JapanCourse start date: Wed 27 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveFollow Vincent van Gogh from London to Paris in the late 19th century and discover the artistic influences and friendships that informed 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 - Lunchtime lecture: The Other Story – introducing the BLK Art GroupCourse start date: Wed 4 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayGet 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 - 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 - The mirror of nature: art and culture in the 17th centuryCourse start date: Wed 18 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoThe 17th century produced some of the greatest artists of all time: Rubens, Rembrandt, Velazquez and Bernini to name but a few. Explore the work of these key artists and understand the history, styles and ideas that shaped the century.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - London's smaller art collectionsCourse start date: Tue 31 Oct 2023 (and 2 other dates)
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 £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Judith Leyster & Frans Hals – a Haarlem rivalryCourse start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore 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 - Still life in the history of art: opulence and fragilityCourse start date: Wed 8 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
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.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 - Renaissance art: making, locating and viewingCourse start date: Wed 8 Nov 2023
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 £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Lunchtime lecture: angels in artCourse start date: Wed 13 Dec 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberAngels have always made their mark – wings and all. And this course will explore painted and carved angels in western art in all their ways and fashions, from the archangels to Christmas angels to those just flying in to say hello.
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 - Lunchtime lecture: Cezanne - from aspiring Impressionist to Post-Impressionist revolutionaryCourse start date: Wed 10 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Julia MusgraveExplore the development of Cezanne revolutionary approach to painting, his techniques and motifs and some of the many artists whose work he influenced.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 - Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00
- Lunchtime lecture: Philip Guston's restless worldCourse start date: Wed 24 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover the social political context reflected in the art of Philip Guston and how, even over 40 years after his death, his work is relevant in our world 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 - The foreigners that invented British artCourse start date: Wed 7 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoTrace the importance of foreigners to the British art scene from the Tudor period to the Baroque. How did artists like Holbein, Dobson, van Somer and van Dyck influence the British School?Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Ellen Gallagher, drawing the archiveCourse start date: Wed 7 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the artistic practice of contemporary artist Ellen Gallagher and how the research of history is at the core of the art she creates. This lecture will focus on her drawing practice, emphasising works in the collection of the British Museum and shown recently in London at the Tate, Hayward Gallery and Royal Academy.
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 - Homes, houses and art in Britain 1900-1960Course start date: Wed 21 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberKnock on the door of artists’ houses and studios from 1900-1960 to experience exciting and visually dazzling spaces created over the course of their careers. At a time when artists were beginning to forge their own brave new visual worlds, this course considers what the homes might tell us about the artists and how they wanted their homes to be seen.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00
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