Introductory & General Art History Courses
Our introductory and general art history courses are foundational and designed to give students the skills they need to interpret art across time periods and cultures. These courses are about developing visual literacy, understanding major themes in the history of art and introducing how and why artists make art. Whether you are just starting out in art history or are well-versed in art knowledge, our introductory and general courses will help you develop techniques for visual analysis.
Online, classroom-based and gallery-based art history courses
Many of our courses are also offered online, giving you the freedom to study from anywhere you need to be. We also 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. See our guide to online learning for more information about our live online courses.
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.
- Study day: Design revolutions - Arts and Crafts to Art NouveauCourse start date: Sat 28 Mar 2026
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, architecture and furniture.
Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Ways into art history: interpreting iconographyCourse start date: Tue 21 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elisa StafferiniThis ten-session course introduces students to the tools and methods of interpreting images in art history. Focusing on both religious and secular subjects, including Christian iconography, classical mythology, and allegory, the course helps students read and understand the symbols, narratives, and meanings embedded in works of art.
Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Art history taster
Course start date: Mon 30 Mar 2026 (and 9 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 £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Women in art: 1400-1800 Course start date: Tue 22 Sep 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresThere were a significant number of highly talented female artists active during the 15th to 18th centuries, so why is their work not more famous? This course investigates and redresses this gender inequality.Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £151.00 Concession £123.00 - Introduction to art history Course start date: Mon 11 May 2026 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAre 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.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Ways into art history: understanding painting Course start date: Thu 1 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresThis course will provide you with a visual toolkit that will enable you to understand and analyse the appearance of paintings. You will explore their formal qualities, in other words the things that make paintings look the way they do. You will discover how an artist gets from a blank canvas, wood panel, sheet of paper to a finished artwork, and the visual decisions that have to be made along the way.
Full fee £279.00 Senior fee £223.00 Concession £181.00 - Ways into art history: a study day Course start date: Sat 7 Nov 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Rachel SandersEnjoy an introductory sample of Art History and develop some basic skills in formal and content analysis, material studies, and discussion of determinative factors such as patronage and politics.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art history Course start date: Sun 15 Nov 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Bryony Bartlett-RawlingsUncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Symbols and stories: saints in art Course start date: Thu 7 May 2026
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 £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00
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