Art History Main Page
Art History and Visual Arts at Barnard
The Art History department teaches the history and practice of visual creativity. All people, at all times, around the world, have expressed their identities and their beliefs through visual art. From temple complexes to tea-cups, from quilts sewn with scraps to sculptures welded with tons of steel, art objects bring to us a knowledge of who we have been and how we shape our environments.
Both our history and studio courses train students to observe the world more closely and interpret what they see. In our history courses, students study how art has occurred at the intersection of personal, technical, and social forces. In our studio courses, students learn to engage those forces using media ranging from traditional drawing to digital design.
Thanks to Barnard’s location in New York City, the Art History department’s classrooms include some of the world’s most important museums and galleries. Courses are regularly taught at or with museums, and visiting artists, curators and critics frequently enrich our curriculum. Students interact with New York’s thriving art world for class assignments and independent projects and, especially during the summer, through jobs and internships. Art History majors have gone on to careers in museums, galleries, auction houses, arts administration, publishing, philanthropy, and as academics and practicing artists.
SPRING 2025 ART HISTORY PROGRAM AND PLANNING
FULL LIST OF BARNARD AND COLUMBIA ART HISTORY COURSES OFFERED SPRING 2025
All Art History seminars and some BC VA courses require an application due by 5pm, NOVEMBER 14th.
(links to Barnard AH and VA course applications below)
AHIS BC2001 Drawing Studio
AHIS BC2006/BC2008 Painting Studio
AHIS BC2015 Synthesis: Mixed Media Studio
AHIS BC3864 Signals: Networks, Publics, And Performance
AHIS BC3861 Memory And Democracy In Latin American Art
AHIS BC3867 Photo As Material
AHIS BC3877 British Portraits, Identity And Empire
AHIS BC3976 Japanese Photography
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON THE COURSE APPLICATION AND REGISTRATION PROCESS.