Why Study Art History?
As an Art History major, you connect to every field imaginable, exploring religious beliefs, political ideals and human rights, and philosophical principles. You understand art history as a universal language and a global business. To discuss it, we speak multiple languages; to preserve it, we study mathematics, chemistry, and geology. Art History opens the infinitely complex world to you as you discover the creative spirit, the force that makes us human.
Why Study Art History at MMC?
New York City—the capital of the art world, the site of the greatest works of art, the most cutting-edge exhibitions, the most exciting contemporary artists and architects—is your extended classroom at MMC. You’ll examine art in person when your classes meet at museums and art galleries: Egyptian statues and Impressionist paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, medieval stained-glass windows at the Cloisters, Renaissance paintings at the Frick Collection, pop art at the Museum of Modern Art, contemporary art in Chelsea and Brooklyn galleries, and contemporary sculpture on the streets of the city. You’ll live among buildings by brilliant modern architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry and women pioneers in architecture such as Katharine C. Budd and Theodate Pope Riddle. In short, you’ll see, study, and enjoy more works of art in your four years than most people do in their lifetimes.
What You Will Learn
- A great deal of the history of art, the materials of art, and aesthetic practices
- How to analyze and interpret works of art in writing and through public expression
- How art relates to world history and contemporary culture
- How to prepare yourself for a career in art-related professions such as curator, museum administrator/director, registrar, collections manager, art/antique dealer, auctioneer, auction house specialist, authenticator, teacher/professor, art critic/writer, art librarian, visual resources director, fundraiser and publicist for the arts, art editor, art conservator, art therapist, art lawyer, and artist’s representative
- How to advocate for the arts, art preservation, and art conservation.
Student Artwork
As part of the Art and Art History Department curriculum, art majors and minors have the opportunity each year to exhibit in the college’s professional gallery space. Students work with their faculty mentors and peers to produce art exhibitions that showcase their creative work. The exhibits include examples of work from graphic designers, photographers, illustrators and animators, and studio artists. The breadth and scope of media and styles attest to the diversity of approaches and individual visions that are the hallmark of the art program at Marymount Manhattan College.
In recent years, Art History alumni have entered into and/or completed the following national and international academic programs:
Domestic Programs
- M.A., Art History, American University
- M.A., Art History, Hunter College
- M.A., Museum Studies, City College of the City of New York
- M.A., Museum Studies, Johns Hopkins University
- M.A., Behavioral Clinical Psychology, Cal State North Ridge
- M.A., Early Childhood Education, Bank Street College of Education
- M.A., Visual Arts Administration, Steinhart School, New York University
- MSW, Columbia University
- MSW/Art Therapy, Tulane University
- JD, Suffolk Law School
- Ph.D., Art History, Princeton University
- Ph.D., Art History, University of Maryland
International
- M.A., Victorian Studies, Birbeck University, London
- M.A., History of Art and the Art Market, Modern and Contemporary Art, Christie’s
- M.A., Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s
- M.A., History of British Art at The University of York
- M. Phil., Medieval History, Trinity College, Dublin
- Certificate program in Medieval Studies, Catholic University
- Postgraduate Diploma in the Conservation of Easel Paintings, Courtauld Institute of Art
- Programme Histoire de l’art et droit, University of Assas, Paris
- SACI Art Conservation Post-Baccalaureate program, Florence, Italy