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
Virtual/Material: Color/Pigment Graduate Workshop
The Department of Art History at Penn State University is seeking applications from doctoral students in art history and related disciplines for the week-long workshop, Virtual/Material : Color/Pigment.
Funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, this workshop will offer an integrated curriculum of Technical and Digital Art History via the special case history of color. Through a combination of seminars, demonstrations, and hands-on labs led by a distinguished faculty of scientists and historians, participants can expect to leave the workshop better equipped to understand historical colorants and their production as well as the ways in which digital cultures can distort or ameliorate historians’ approach to such colorants.
Art History awarded Mellon Foundation grant to develop and host Sawyer Seminar
The College of Arts and Architecture’s Department of Art History in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts has been awarded $225,000 by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a Sawyer Seminar entitled “Transmission, Containment, Transformation: A Comparative Approach to Architecture and Contagion in Early Modern Cities.”
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
The M.A. degree in Art History transforms a passion for the arts and cultural history into a career path. Through the completion of a master’s paper or thesis, foreign language...
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
Keifer-Boyd receives lifetime achievement award
Karen Keifer-Boyd, professor of art education and women’s, gender and sexuality studies, has been awarded the Elliot W. Eisner Lifetime Achievement Award Read More
Solari and Restall co-author book on Maya
Amara Solari, professor of art history and archaeology, is co-author of "The Maya: A Very Short Introduction," recently published by Oxford University Press. Read More
Faculty Spotlight
Koan Mask, by the Nuna (Nunama) of Burkina Faso. Part of the Palmer Museum's African Brilliance collection catalogued by the VRC.
William Dewey
Associate Professor of Art History
William J. Dewey, associate professor of art history in the College of Arts and Architecture, curated the exhibition African Brilliance: A Diplomat’s Sixty Years of Collecting featuring eighty-three objects by twentieth-century African artists from a variety of cultures across the continent. The works include carved and decorated wooden sculptures, natural fiber and beaded textiles, metalwork, and ceramic pots that represent household, community, and ritual practices. Accompanying the exhibition is is the Palmer Museum of Art’s first online catalogue complete with photos and 3D views of each object, essays by the curators, and interviews with Davis.
Dewey was also part of the curatorial team for “Striking Iron: The Art of African Blacksmiths” at UCLA’s Fowler Museum, recently described in The New York Times as one of “three knockout art shows to see in Los Angeles right now.”
Our Facilities
Our broad program offerings are supported by rich research, archive, and display spaces.
See All Our Facilities
Visual Resources Centre
The Visual Resources Centre (VRC) supports the faculty and students of the Department of Art History by fostering the use of new technologies and Learn More
Palmer Museum of Art
The Palmer Museum of Art, a dramatic structure designed by Charles W. Moore, is the most prominent visual arts facility on the University Park 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
Alumni Spotlight
Alumni Spotlight
Kimberly Henrikson
B.A. in Art HistoryKimberly Henrikson is executive director at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking (Norwalk, CT) and president of the Print Club of New York. She is newsletter editor for the International Print Club Societies organization, and held a senior position at Artstor, where she managed training and support services for digital image licensing in higher ed and museum communities around the world.
Dec 3
Insight: Museum Conversations - How Exhibitions Are Made
ZoomInsight: Museum Conversations - How Exhibitions Are Made Thursday, December 3, 4:00 p.m. Link to join: https://psu.zoom.us/j/92103082947 Ever wonder about the process of curating an