Art Galleries, Collecting & Curating
Art History Courses Online & In London
Study works of art in a gallery or museum setting and explore how the meaning of art is impacted by exhibition and curation. Our courses in galleries, on collecting and curating will get you to think about how collecting and display structure your experience of art. Join us online, in the classroom, in the gallery or out and about in London.
Classroom-based and gallery-based art history courses
We offer our classes in-person at our Central London location and at many galleries and museums in and around London. Use the Location filters on this page to choose your preferred delivery method.
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.
- Introduction to the Wallace Collection
Course start date: Wed 19 Nov 2025Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowEach week, we'll explore a different aspect of the Wallace Collection looking at its fine and decorative art objects, including paintings, furniture, porcelain and even arms and armour.Full fee £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Introduction to Tate Modern Course start date: Mon 5 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore different aspects of the permanent collection of Tate Modern by looking at the work of its curators and the modern and contemporary artists in painting, video, sculpture and mixed media installations.Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - National Gallery Course start date: Fri 9 Jan 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Leslie PrimoDiscuss a differently themed group of paintings each week in front of the pictures. An opportunity to understand our national collection in greater depth.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Making the Renaissance at the V&A: fabrics and fabrications Course start date: Tue 13 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonDiscover the new techniques and materials that enabled advances in artistic creativity during the Italian Renaissance, in the unrivalled collection of the V & A’s Renaissance Galleries.
Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - Women in art collections: a history of artists and sitters Course start date: Fri 16 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowThis gallery-based course will focus upon the artistic output of women over the past 500 years, covering a range of British and European painters, sculptors, textile designers, photographers and ceramicists. The course will also explore woman as subject matter, the role of the model and our current awareness of the “male gaze”.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Looking at paintings Course start date: Mon 19 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julia MusgraveLook at masterpieces in major London galleries in this introduction to European painting. Explore different painting techniques and genres (landscape, portrait and history painting) for a basic understanding and increased enjoyment of Western art.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Introduction to the V&A Course start date: Tue 20 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julia MusgraveExplore the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. We visit different galleries each week looking at the decorative arts, paintings and the transfer of design ideas across the centuries.Full fee £299.00 Senior fee £239.00 Concession £194.00 - Italian Renaissance art in London museums Course start date: Thu 22 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Elisa StafferiniExplore the richness of Italian Renaissance art (1400–1600) in this six-session course, with visits to London’s collections, including the National Gallery, the V&A, the Wallace Collection, and the Courtauld Gallery. Alongside masterpieces by Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Titian, participants will encounter lesser-known works that illuminate everyday life, devotional practices, and the social and political world of the period. Direct engagement with these objects encourages reflection on their creation, meaning, and original context.
Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - Pioneering women at the National Portrait Gallery Course start date: Mon 26 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowMeet some of history's most inspiring women, not only well-known pioneers but also women over the past five hundred years whose stories have been forgotten. Discover and celebrate their achievements.Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - An introduction to European decorative arts at the V&A Course start date: Thu 29 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldThe Victoria and Albert Museum has one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of European decorative arts in the world. This course aims to provide an introduction to these rich collections. It will focus on the period 1500 to 1900, but references later developments. The main media will be explored including textiles, ceramics, glass, metalwork, and silver.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00 - London's smaller galleries: Leighton House Course start date: Mon 2 Feb 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowA Palace of Art built for the Olympian Giant of the Victorian art world but also a place to live and work. This short course provides a fascinating exploration of Leighton’s world.Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - Friday lates: Archaeological artefacts from dig to display Course start date: Fri 6 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover what turns an object into a museum-worthy showpiece as we follow the fascinating path from the shadows of the trenches to the lights of the gallery.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Islamic art at the British Museum Course start date: Sun 8 Feb 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Anita ChowdryTake a Sunday afternoon to explore the British Museum’s newly refurbished Islamic galleries and learn the stories behind one of the world’s great collections of Islamic art.
Full fee £29.00 Senior fee £23.00 Concession £19.00 - A day at the Tate Britain Course start date: Tue 10 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Chantal CondronSpend a day at Tate Britain to discover (or re-discover) a selection of works from the permanent collection. We’ll explore a range of historical to contemporary artworks to discuss how the story of art in Britain is reflected in the gallery. This course is gallery based.
Full fee £49.00 Senior fee £39.00 Concession £32.00 - London's smaller art collections Course start date: Mon 23 Feb 2026
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
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