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
Nancy Locke elected President of the Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art
Nancy Locke, Associate Professor of Art History, has been elected President of the Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art. Founded in 1993, AHNCA's goal is to foster dialogue and communication
University of Iowa art museum curator to present Dickson Lecture
Dr. Joyce Tsai, chief curator at the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, will present "Museum as Public Good" as part of the Dickson Lecture Series at 6 p.m. on Feb. 11. Read More
Zolli a finalist for 2021 PROSE Award in Art History and Criticism
An anthology of essays co-edited by Daniel Zolli, The Art of Sculpture in Fifteenth-Century Italy (Cambridge U Press, 2020), was one of three finalists for the 2021 PROSE Award from the Association of American
Read MoreFaculty Spotlight
Amara Solari
Associate Professor of Art History
Amara Solari teaches courses in Latin American art from the pre-Columbian through the colonial period. Her research focuses on processes of cultural, visual, and theological interchange between indigenous groups and Spanish settlers of New Spain. She recently received a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities in support of her research project, “Maya Christian Murals of Yucatán: Indigenous Catholicism in Early Modern New Spain,” which focuses on fragile religious murals painted by Christianized Maya artists in Yucatán, Mexico, between 1550 and 1750.
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.
Mar 3
Museum Conversation: Mark Makers
ZoomJoyce Robinson, Assistant Director, with special guests artists Jo Margolis and Mary Judge Join us for a lively discussion led by Assistant Director and curator
