The Art History Program frequently collaborates with curators, art historians, art critics, and other experts in the region and nationally through courses and events. Recent invited speakers who visited campus as part of the School of Art visiting lecture series include Wayne Franits (Syracuse University), Nancy Mithlo (UCLA), and Scott Manning Stevens (Syracuse University). Recent visitors to undergraduate courses include Abbe Schriber (Tyson Fellow, Crystal Bridges), Ariel Evans (Tyson Fellow, Crystal Bridges), Tina Rivers Ryan (Albert Knox Gallery), Lindsay Caplan (Brown University), and Ellen Yoshi Tani (Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art).

We frequently offer innovative courses taught by visiting faculty over the January intersession that relate to Crystal Bridges exhibitions. Most recently, Jenni Sorkin (UC Santa Barbara) taught “American Craft, Material Culture and the Contemporary” in January, 2021; the course responded to the exhibition “Crafting America” at Crystal Bridges and was organized in collaboration with Atlanta University Center Art History and Curatorial Studies Collective. Students from Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University joined University of Arkansas undergraduates for the intensive and immersive seminar. Rachel DeLue (Princeton University) taught “Crystals in Art and Culture” in January, 2020; the course responded to the exhibition “Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today” and incorporated visits to the University’s Geological Collection and even a working crystal mine.

We also collaborate with institutions on public events exploring contemporary issues in art history. In spring 2021, we presented Thinking, Making, Writing: Indigenous Studies and Art History in the Museum, Classroom, and Community, a symposium co-organized with Mindy Besaw (Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art) and Ashley Holland (Cherokee; Art Bridges Foundation). The event included a keynote lecture from Philip J. Deloria (Standing Rock Sioux; Harvard University) and conversations with the artist Dyani White Hawk (Sičangu Lakota), Wanda Nanibush (Anishinaabe-kwe; Art Gallery of Ontario), Georgiana Uhlyarik (Art Gallery of Ontario), Amy Lonetree (Ho-Chunk; UC Santa Cruz), and Sascha Scott (Syracuse University). The roundtable explored interdisciplinary approaches to Indigenous art today.

We hosted “American Art Journals 2020: A Roundtable Conversation” via Zoom in fall 2020. The conversation explored the content, design, and impacts of two key journals for scholars of American art, The Archives of American Art Journal and Panorama: Journal of the Association of Historians of American Art. Participants included Jacqueline Francis (co-executive editor of Panorama), Jennifer Jane Marshall (founding editor of Panorama), and Tanya Sheehan (executive editor of The Archives of American Art Journal). The event was co-organized with Crystal Bridges by Professor Jennifer Greenhill and co-moderated by Chief Curator Austen Barron Bailly.

The Art History program works with students on unique projects that complement traditional coursework. In fall 2021, Oh Mee Lee (Instructor in Art History) curated an exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints from the University of Arkansas Museum collection at Fayetteville Public Library with Laurel Lamb, Curator of Education and Engagement at the Museum, and undergraduate Chloe Biermann. Titled “Navigating Censorship at the End of an Era: 1840-50s Japanese Prints from the UA Museum,” the show examined censorship in ukiyo-e prints.

The Art History program and Crystal Bridges will co-host the Association of Historians of American Art (AHAA) Biennial Symposium in October 2022.

The Bachelor of Arts in Art History prepares students to be analytical thinkers, incisive researchers, and polished writers. It educates students in a multivocal and inclusive art history and gives them the interdisciplinary training they need to thrive in industries that value critical thinking and creativity.

Our courses cover a wide range of time periods, geographic locations, and cultures. In addition to regularly scheduled course offerings, the Art History program teaches Special Topics courses and Seminars in Art History that offer focused examinations based on faculty research; recent Special Topics and Seminars in Art History have spanned diverse subjects, from medieval manuscript illumination to pictorial advertising in the United States. Independent study and the option to complete an honors thesis provide additional enrichment opportunities. Art History is also a common double major, and the Art History Program offers a minor for students majoring in other subjects.

Selected BA Courses:

_ARHS 4423. Roman Art and Archaeology

_ARHS 4573. Artists of New Spain

_ARHS 4613. African Art and Society

_ARHS 4733. Saint Peter's and the Vatican

_ARHS 4773. History of New Media Art

_ARHS 4793. Making the Museum: History, Theory and Practice

_ARHS 4863. Northern Renaissance Art

Selected Special Topics and Seminars in Art History:

_The Mechanics of Magazines

_American Advertising Art: History, Theory, Practice

_Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, and Contemporary Art

_Painted Manuscripts

_Medieval Manuscript Illumination

_Art and Politics

The Art History M.A. degree is an accredited two-year residency program in partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and specializing in the arts of the Americas.

Educating students in a multivocal and inclusive art history, the program aims to give students the interdisciplinary training and robust work experiences that they will need to thrive with an M.A. degree in industries that value visual literacy, creativity, communication, collaboration, and research. The program prepares students for top Ph.D. programs in art history, but also facilitates other trajectories for those seeking to contribute to the arts and society with an MA degree.

Thanks to the transformational gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation, all graduate students accepted into the program will receive funding support during the two years of study.

Learn more about the program and meet art history faculty at the upcoming information session:

>Jan. 11, 2023 at 5 p.m. CST

>Please register in advance for the M.A. Information Session and a link will be provided once registration is completed.

The School of Art application is free and submitted through Slideroom, a web-based portfolio and document submission system.

The application deadline is February 15th at midnight, CST, to start the application click here: http://uarkart.slideroom.com/ .

The Society of Art Historians is a registered student organization (RSO) that offers a community for UA students interested in promoting art history outside of the classroom.

Recent activities organized by art history students include workshops on applying to graduate school, discussions about careers in the arts, tours at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, educational trips to Kansas City and Oklahoma City, and guest lectures from national and international scholars.

Recent graduates have had success in a range of fields spanning the arts and education:

Jazlyn Sanderson (2020) is the Outreach and Interpretation Specialist at the Museum of Native American History (MONAH) in Bentonville.

Jackson Williams (2019) is a Gallery Assistant at David Zwirner Gallery in New York.

Cory Perry (2019) is studying for an MFA degree in sculpture at Northwestern University.

Kristine Massengale (2019) is studying for a Masters of Library and Information Science degree at University College London.

Michael Hartman (2014) is Associate Curator of American Art at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth University.

Dylan Turk (2014) is Special Projects Editor, Architecture and Design, at Crystal Bridges and co-founder of KIN, a creative advisory company based in Northwest Arkansas.

Robin Wallis Atkinson (2011) is CEO of INTERFORM, which produces Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week.