Art History courses online and in London

This course looks at key artists, movements and ideas in Western art from the late 1940s to the 1970s. From late modernism into postmodernism, it explores artists responding to World War II and social and cultural shifts. Examining how ideas, materials and form shaped artistic practice, movements covered include Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Arte Povera and Land Art, with case studies on Francis Bacon, Andy Warhol, Eva Hesse and Carolee Schneemann.

Discover the bold beauty of Nordic art from 1880 to 1925-from luminous coastal scenes to vivid abstraction. This 5-week course explores key artists like Gallen-Kallela, Munch, Hjertén, Schjerfbeck, GAN, and Iceland’s Þorláksson, tracing a journey through modernism, from Impressionism and Symbolism to regional variations on Cubism and Fauvism.

A course looking at the role of ideology and patronage under key Islamic dynasties that arose in Egypt and the Middle East during the 10th - 14th century, with important new influences brought by invasions of Turks and Mongols from Central Asia and the Far East.

Enjoy 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.

Explore the work of six influential female and non-binary photographers across a century of practice from 1920. Featuring Claude Cahun, Lee Miller, Dora Maar, Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, and Zanele Muholi, this course examines how each artist challenged convention, documented social realities, redefined the creative act of photography and the experience of being behind the lens.

Explore the first 150 years of photography, an art form that has changed our perception of the world. Learn about key artists, movements and theorists that have defined its history and shaped our contemporary reality.

The golden panels of the Sienese masters are immediately identifiable but why was their work so different? Today we explore the art of Siena, its world, its symbolism and how it was made.

Uncover 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.

Take a Sunday morning to explore the British Museum’s recently refurbished Islamic galleries and learn the stories behind one of the world’s great collections of Islamic art.

Get to know the key artists, art and design of the Bauhaus. After providing a historical context, the course gives an introduction to the movement and its impact on 20th century art and design.