The minor in art history is designed for students interested in studying the history of visual art as an academic discipline. Courses for the minor have been selected to prepare students in the fundamentals of this discipline and to cover a range of historical periods — spanning prehistoric to contemporary — as well as a variety of media. One studio art class is included to enhance the students’ appreciation of the creative process, and to strengthen their ability to write accurately about art.

Required Courses (9 credits)

Elective Courses (3 credits)

Art History Elective (3 credits)

  • ARTH2265 History of Photography or
  • ARTH3423 Women Artists or
  • ARTH3803 Modern Art in the New York Museum or
  • ARTH4402 Exploring the Great Museums of New York

Studio Art Elective (3 credits)

Course Descriptions

  • ARTH1205 The development of visual art (painting, sculpture and architecture) from prehistoric times to the present (within its historical context). Slides and films. The ideas and philosophies of each culture are considered in order to point out the effect of thought upon art. No attempt is made to define a universal aesthetic; rather, the aim is to interpret and, consequently, enjoy art in the context of culture.

  • ARTH1206 The development of visual art (painting, sculpture and architecture) from prehistoric times to the present (within its historical context). Slides and films. The ideas and philosophies of each culture are considered in order to point out the effect of thought upon art. No attempt is made to define a universal aesthetic; rather, the aim is to interpret and, consequently, enjoy art in the context of culture.

  • ARTH2218 A study of the main movements in modern and con- temporary painting and sculpture: symbolism, fauvism, expressionism, cubism, futurism, dadaism and surrealism. More recent movements such as pop, op, minimal and conceptual art will be discussed.

  • ARTH2265 A look at the social, artistic & political contexts surrounding the history of the photography from its inception to the present day. Lectures will highlight various photographic trends and photographers who have made major contributions to the art form.

  • ARTH3423 The study of the lives and influences, art and techniques of American and European women artists during the period from Impressionism to the preent day, with emphasis on issues of subject matter, historical context and gender.

  • ARTH3803 This course covers the 20th century in painting and art as well as its foundation in late 19th century France.It is taught on site through trips to New York's most famous museums.

  • ARTH4402 Students will have guided tours of the most important art museums in New York. Classroom lectures and museum visits.

  • ART1201 An introduction to, and an exploration of, a selected variety of drawing materials and tech- niques. Emphasis will be placed on the comprehen- sion of the creative possibilities of pencils, charcoal and conte crayon. The course will explore the drawn line as the description of contour, light, darkness and space,as well as the tech- niques of gesture drawing, shading, texture and heightened drawing on stained paper and other drawing surfaces.

  • ART1225 An introductory course in painting, helping the student develop an ability to translate the three- dimensional reality of the outside world into a two-dimensional reality of the painting, i.e., study of a prearranged still life composed on objects to develop techniques suitable to their expression (collage, oil and tempera media).

  • ART1231 Basic elements of visual language in their appli- cation to selected problems. The study is based on formal and ideological analysis of a given object and translation of the resulting material into a two-dimensional visual system of communication. The following are examples of this visual vocabu- lary that are studied and applied to concrete projects: dynamic and static figure-ground relationships, rhythm, scale, color theory and contrasts, rotating patterns, elementary poster design. All criticism and instruction are on an individual basis.

  • ART1235 The student will be introduced to contemporary concepts of sculpture by way of traditional and contemporary materials. Drawing upon his or her own experience, pesonality and background as pri- mary resources, as well as historical considera- tions, the student will create sculpture.

  • ART1315 The art of clay and glazes. Involves the student in the making of sculptural forms, vessels or functional objects. Techniques used are clay, pinching, slab and coil building, throwing on the wheel and glazing.

  • ART2233 A basic course that introduces the student to the ideas and language of three-dimensional design. Because of the wide range of the course, students who may be interested in sculpture, jewelry design, interior and architectural design, as well as stage design, computer animation and 3-D model- ing, can benefit from this course.