Department ofArt History
Historical + Interpretive Studies
A Humanities Major in the Arts
Students can major or minor in art history, pursue a minor in architectural history, or work toward earning a museum studies certificate. Students have the opportunity to hold internships or assistantships at Penn State’s Palmer Museum of Art, known particularly for its strong holdings in American, African American, and contemporary art.
Advanced studies with renowned scholars
Our M.A. and Ph.D. programs provide candidates with the opportunity to pursue advanced study directly with renowned scholars. The department’s faculty are internationally recognized scholars and critics known for their dedication to their students.
Contact + Connect
Research + Publications
Penn State Art History students, faculty, and staff are involved in a broad range of research initiatives. We invite you to explore.
Visit the Research + Publications page
Featured Research
Sad Purple and Mauve: A History of Dye-Making
Please join us for the opening of the exhibition Sad Purple and Mauve: A History of Dye-Making, organized in conjunction with the Center for Virtual/Material Studies. This exhibition will explore the science, art, and history of textile dye-making and dyes and their uses in books and manuscripts.
Curated by Sarah Rich, Associate Professor of Art History and Director of the Center for Virtual/Material Studies. Organized by Clara Drummond, Lead Curator and Exhibitions Coordinator, Eberly Family Special Collections Library.
Join us for the opening reception on Thursday, September 14th, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. in the Mann Assembly Room, 103 Paterno Library.
All are welcome. No RSVP necessary. Appetizers and refreshments will be served.
Dyestuff: Historical Materials of Color
What do wheat bran, hydrangea branches, oak galls, safflower petals, lotus pods, nutritional yeast, snails, coal tar, and mud have in common? They have all been used to make cloth colorful. Come examine these materials, and learn how they have produced extraordinary colors throughout history and around the world.
Dr. Sarah Rich is Associate Professor of Art History and co-curator of the exhibition Sad Purple and Mauve: A History of Dyes, on view until January 6 at PSU’s Eberly Special Collections Library at University Park.
Collecting the Andes
Three-part project probes, celebrates art, culture and history of Andean peoples
Amara Solari, professor of art history and anthropology, and Christopher Heaney, assistant professor of history, are working together on the three-part project celebrating Andean peoples and their art, culture, science, and history
Amara Solari Featured in Research | Penn State Fall 2022
Amara Solari and colleagues have scoured the Yucatán peninsula to document and preserve religious murals painted by Maya Christian artists more than 400 years ago, pairing art history with cutting-edge materials science to gain important new insights about these fragile artworks.
“Yucatán architecture and its associated artworks have remained like a time capsule of the 16th century.”
— Amara Solari
Degrees +
Certificates
B.A. in Art History
The B.A. in Art History offers an opportunity for students to explore and examine art while developing a deep understanding of how and why it brings the world closer.
M.A. in Art History
Program Application Deadline The deadline for applications for AY 2024–25 is January 15, 2024. To be assured full consideration, please apply by this deadline. Review individual program descriptions for details...
Ph.D. in Art History (+Dual Ph.D.)
Advanced study of visual arts spanning periods, cultures, and geographies. The Art History Ph.D. program – with Asian Studies or Visual Studies dual-title options – can deepen your expertise and advance your Art History career.
Art History Minor
Explore art from ancient to contemporary times, in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. This minor relates visual images to the big questions of humanity.
Architectural History Minor
The Architectural History minor teaches exceptional visual acuity and analysis. You will better understand space, design processes, and construction practice within historical periods.
Museum Studies Certificate
Learn the fundamentals of museum studies. Explore the history, theory, and practice of institutional collecting and conservation. Engage in a technical investigation of art.
News from A&A
College of Arts and Architecture to honor Alumni Award winners on Oct. 5
The College of Arts and Architecture will honor its 2023 Alumni Award recipients on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center.
The College of Arts and Architecture will honor its 2023 Alumni Award recipients on Thursday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. at the Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, 146 S. Allen
Learn about flax’s role in the history of art at Ag Progress Days
The Center for Virtual/Material Studies (CV/MS) will exhibit materials about the relevance of flax and flax processing in the history of art at Ag Progress Days, August 8–10. Read More
Thomas to serve as next head of Department of Art History
Robin L. Thomas, professor of art history and architecture, has been appointed head of the Department of Art History, effective July 1. Read More
Faculty Spotlight
Daniel Zolli
Assistant Professor of Art History
Daniel Zolli (he/him/his) is a scholar of early modern European art, with a focus on art in fourteenth-, fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy. His research interests include the materials and techniques of art; workshop practice; art’s theorization in oral tradition and popular folklore; and its interfaces with law. His current book project, entitled Donatello’s Promiscuous Technique, examines that sculptor’s life-long preoccupation with material experimentation. It argues that Donatello cultivated a practice, and a professional persona, willfully at odds with period efforts to locate sculpture among the “liberal arts.” Donatello took his models instead from cunning enterprises aimed at transforming or dissimulating matter (e.g., prestidigitation, cosmetics, alchemy, idolatry, counterfeiting, adulteration), staking his authority on an ability to deceive viewers, and cloud their judgment, through a near-elemental craftiness.
Centers + Venues
Our broad program offerings are supported by rich research, archive, and display spaces.
See All Centers + Venues
Palmer Museum of Art
The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State is a free, vital, and accessible cultural resource for Penn State’s students, faculty, and scholars, as Learn More
Borland Project Space
The Borland Project Space (BPS) illuminates the vibrant research culture of the College of Arts & Architecture. With this initiative we move beyond traditional Learn More
Center for Virtual/Material Studies
The Center for Virtual/Material Studies (CVMS) supports research in both Technical and Digital Art History with the aim of fostering synthetic, collaborative scholarship across Learn More
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Cali Buckley
Ph.D. in Art History (+Dual Ph.D.) 2017Cali Buckley is the Content Manager of Education and Intellectual Property at CAA in New York City. At her multifaceted job she coordinate grants, awards, and juries; affiliated societies; the RAAMP program (Resources for Academic Art Museum Professionals); and will be putting together new programs for education and professional development. She participates in Museums and Humanities Advocacy Days asking Congress to consider funding the Institute of Museum and Library Studies (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and Fulbright-Hays program.
