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Art History

Tina Salowey and students in GreeceThe art history major offers students a knowledge of works of art in the context of the social, political, and intellectual cultures of which they are a part. Students learn to think, read, and write critically about art and to be astute interpreters of visual imagery. Art history majors progress through chronologically oriented survey courses into upper-level seminars and research projects. The art history major culminates in the senior seminar, an overview of the critical issues of the discipline, as well as the writing and the public presentation of each senior's research.
   The curriculum is enriched through lectures and seminars by distinguished visiting art historians as well as by the the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum program. All majors are encouraged to travel. Art history majors are encouraged to pursue internships in fields such as museum work, art galleries and auction houses, arts administration, architecture, historic preservation, and interior design, fields in which many majors find employment after graduation. Students also pursue graduate study in these fields.

Art History Courses:

  • ART 245: Myth and Ancient Art (4)
    Also listed and described as CLAS 245.
  • ART 248: History of Design (4)
  • ART 250: Special Topic (4)
  • ART 261: Ancient Art (4)
    Also listed as CLAS 261.
  • ART 262: Medieval Art (4)
  • ART 263: Renaissance and Baroque Art (4)
  • ART 264: Modern Art (4)
  • ART 266: History of Photography (4)
    Also listed as FILM 266.
  • ART 290: Independent Study (2 or 4)
  • ART 314: Women and Art (4)
    Also listed as WS 314.
  • ART 317: Dress, Gender, and Social Identity (4)
    Also listed as WS 317.
  • ART 324: Feminism and Contemporary Art (4)
    Also listed as WS 324.
  • ART 325: 19th-Century European Art: Revisionist Readings (4)
  • ART 332: Romanesque Art (4)
  • ART 333: Gothic Art: Ambition and Faith (4)
  • ART 341: Northern Renaissance Art (4)
  • ART 345: Portraiture: Faces and Places (4)
  • ART 350: Special Topic - Ancient Greek Religion Through Art (4)
    Also listed and described as CLAS 350.
  • ART 350: Special Topic - Postmodernism and the Arts (4)
  • ART 354: The Art of Marriage, Childbirth, and Death in the Italian Renaissance (4)
  • ART 355: Advanced Topics in Ancient Art (4)
    Also listed and described as CLAS 355.
  • ART 358: Art and Literature in Britain (4)
  • ART 365: American Art (4)
  • ART 390: Independent Study (2 or 4)
  • ART 392: Problems in Contemporary Painting (4)
  • ART 399: Internship (4)
  • ART 420: Critical Methods of Art History (4)
  • ART 471: Senior Art History Paper (2)
  • ART 472: Senior Art History Symposium (2)

Up

Requirements for a Major in Art History:
12 courses (44 credits)

  • One studio art course
  • Three courses from:
    ART 261: Ancient Art (4)
    ART 262: Medieval Art (4)
    ART 263: Renaissance and Baroque Art (4) or
    ART 264: Modern Art (4)
  • A minimum of three 300-level art history courses
  • ART 420: Critical Methods of Art History (4)
  • ART 471: Senior Art History Paper (4)
  • ART 472: Senior Art History Symposium (2)
  • Two additional courses must be chosen from 200- or 300-level art history courses, which may include ART 290/390 with prior approval from the department chair (8)
  • Up to two courses from a Hollins Abroad program may be applied to the major/minor, with approval from the department chair
  • A reading knowledge of French and German is strongly advised, as is the study of allied courses in history and literature

Requirements for a Minor in Art History:
5 courses (20 credits)

  • Three courses at the 200 level in art history
  • Two courses at the 300 level in art history

111307

Art:

Art History

Studio Art

Film & Photography

Faculty

Internships

Special Programs

Student Work

Artists-in-Residence

Eleanor D. Wilson Museum

Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center

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To view the academic catalog course listings, click here.

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"I remember how much I enjoyed debating issues and ideas in Professor Nolan's art history theory class. It was good preparation for graduate school in urban planning."

Christine Holt '97, received a master of planning degree from the University of Virginia, and is currently employed as an associate planner for the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission.


"It's neat to see how I compare to the other interns [at the Metropolitan Museum of Art], and their art historical backgrounds. I was a little nervous about what it was going to be like, working with people from bigger, more well-known universities, but it turns out that I had many more internships and much more interesting and creative classes."

Amy Torbert '05, summer intern at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City



Noted art historians lecture frequently at Hollins. The following artists have recently been discussed.

Artemesia Gentileschi
Clio, Muse of History
oil/canvas, 1.27x.975m (1652)
Private Collection, New York



Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879)
Idylls of the King (1875) Albumen silver print
Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art
David Hunter McAlpin Fund, 1952



Elisabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842)
Portrait of Madame Thérèse Vestris
oil/canvas, 35"x28", 1803
National Museum of Women in the Arts