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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- German art after the 1960s: from happenings to artificial sunshineCourse start date: Wed 26 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore German art from the 1960s to present, from movements such as Conceptualism, Fluxus, Capitalist Realism and Neo-Expressionism to the most recent multi-media art.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £139.00 Concession £90.00 - Islamic art in 25 objects
Course start date: Wed 26 Apr 2023Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Anita ChowdryDiscover important objects of Islamic Art dating across a more than a millennium in London galleries. We will study world-famous objects, discover lesser known gems, study their context and understand how they relate to one another and the wider world.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - The art of ByzantiumCourse start date: Thu 27 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita ChowdryA study of the unique visual flavour of Byzantine art and architecture, the development of a range of craft industries, and the impact of Byzantium on other cultures.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - Hell, Heaven and Purgatory in the Middle AgesCourse start date: Thu 27 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWhy were images to do with the afterlife so prevalent in the Middle Ages? Come, face your eternal destinies and look at images such as the Last Judgement, skeletons, filthy flesh, worms, ghosts and Hell mouths.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - Contemporary art in LondonCourse start date: Fri 28 Apr 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronExplore and discuss contemporary art on show in London. Each week we’ll visit 1-2 commercial galleries or a public gallery and examine specific exhibitions of contemporary art across a range of media including painting, works on paper, photography, new media and sculpture.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Women in art: 1900-1960Course start date: Tue 2 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
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.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Looking at Indigenous art in London galleriesCourse start date: Tue 2 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Francesca CavalloJoin us for an introduction to Indigenous Art through visits to London museums and galleries. From the Tate to the British Museum with some galleries in between, we explore how the art of indigenous cultures, past and present, are displayed and discussed in London.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Visionary experiments: American art of the 1940s and 50sCourse start date: Fri 5 May 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore American art during and just after World War II. From abstraction expressionism to social justice in photography and printmaking see how the US's unique context created the foundation for experimental and transgressive art.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - Looking at design: Arts and Crafts to Art DecoCourse start date: Sat 6 May 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersStudy the design reform movements – Arts and Crafts, Aesthetic Movement, Art Nouveau and Art Deco – and analyse a wide range of products, including fashion and textiles, graphics, furniture and architecture within their social, historic and artistic context. Includes a museum visit.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Art and society in the early modern NetherlandsCourse start date: Mon 5 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas BalfeThis 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 £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - Art in 1920s ParisCourse start date: Fri 9 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore 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 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - Representing nature in early modern EuropeCourse start date: Wed 14 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Thomas BalfeExplore 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.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - Symbols and stories: saints in artCourse start date: Tue 20 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresSaints are represented in masterpieces of Christian art from 1200 to the present – learn how to recognise them, decode their meanings and iconography and enhance your understanding of this aspect of art history. This course includes a gallery visit.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00 - A stroll through British art: 1500-1850Course start date: Wed 8 Mar 2023
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 £109.00 Senior fee £87.00 Concession £71.00 - London churchesCourse start date: Tue 7 Mar 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Richard PlantLondon has many fascinating churches to explore. See them on a series of guided visits and discover beautiful stained glass, surprising interiors and architecturally important structures by notable architects.Full fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00
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