Art History is the study of the visual arts in civilization. It
examines changing values in all fields of visual culture,
including painting, sculpture, graphics, photography,
architecture, film, the mass media, and forms of popular
expression. Its interdisciplinary reach encompasses literature,
history, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, gender studies,
critical theory, and cultural studies. Art History emphasizes
visual as well as verbal and written literacy, providing more
than the standard advantages to a liberal arts education.
Students majoring in Art History will engage with the
wide-ranging opportunities its curriculum presents for learning
and research. Studying Art History develops visual
literacy, communication skills, critical/creative thinking and an
understanding of diversity.
Professor Katharine Burnett has published a new article on the
artist Wu Bin in the journal Word and Image. In “Mediated
meaning of a magnificent rock: using Wu Bin’s words to understand
his painting Ten Views of a Lingbi Rock,” Burnett
examines the late Ming Originalist artist Wu’s intentions through
an analysis of the artist’s inscriptions, colophons and similarly
commissioned painting On the Way to Shanyin.
Professor Talinn Grigor has been awarded a fellowship by The
Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University.
She will be a Visiting Fellow from January to April, 2027.
Professor Grigor will be working on her project Of
Hyphenated Architects which examines the role of hyphenated
and diasporic Armenian architects and artists in the global
circulation and connectivity of the Modern Movement.
