Art historians study the art of the past. The subject embraces a wide range of objects: paintings, drawings and prints of all kinds, including photographs and film; sculpture; buildings and their grouping into towns and cities; graves and tombs; gardens; books and manuscripts; objects made of precious stones and metals; performance; in short, all visual and a great deal of material culture. Art historians across the world form a community of scholars who describe their new discoveries and theories at conferences and symposia, in exhibitions, in articles for the scholarly journals, and in the form of books. Art history students therefore learn how to treat non-verbal objects as evidence, how to use scholarly publications, rare books and manuscripts, and how to explain their insights and findings in words. The end product is critical thinking about this extraordinary and engaging subject, and preparation for entry into a range of academic and professional occupations. The past starts yesterday.
Susan Rather
Associate Professor, Ph.D
Assistant Chair of Art History
The undergraduate program in Art History at the University of Texas offers a foundation for an enduring appreciation and understanding of art as well as the tools necessary to succeed in an array of other academic and professional disciplines. Major coursework is undertaken in the history of art and in research methods relevant to the field.
Since the M.A. degree in Art History was inaugurated in 1959, over 250 degrees have been granted; since the origin of the doctoral program in 1974, 90 Ph.D. degrees have been conferred. Graduates of the program are employed in a variety of museums and universities across the United States and in Europe and Latin America. Twenty scholars make up the art history teaching faculty, which is supplemented by staff of the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art. Approximately 100 graduate students are enrolled in the program each year, of whom half are working toward the Ph.D. and half toward the M.A.
The twenty-plus faculty members within the art history division work in close collaboration to train future generations of art historians. Students, whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, will encounter a rich diversity of methods and approaches in courses taught by our faculty. The faculty’s impressive publication records (books, articles, and editorships), prestigious grants (e.g., MacArthur and Guggenheim grants), national and international conference presentations, and important archaeological work have contributed to our reputation as one of the preeminent programs of study in the history of art both nationally and internationally. Our graduates include professors of art history at every level; we have also trained a significant number of museum professionals. To explore the publications, research interests, and awards of faculty members, please view the biographies on individual faculty web pages.
