Art history students examine a sculpture.

Department of Art History

Historical and 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.

Meet the Art History Faculty and Staff

Art History Department Newsletter

Contact

Department of Art History
240 Borland Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-6326
814-865-1242 (fax)

Robin Thomas
Head of the Department of Art History

Erica Nodell
Administrative Support Coordinator, Department of Art History

Emily Sikora
Administrative Support Assistant, Art History


Research and 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 and Publications Page

Photograph of Palaces of Reason by Robin L. Thomas.

Featured Research

Flyer for Huey Copeland's Dickson Lecture.

Upcoming Dickson Lecture, "Thinking the Unthought: Notes on Discipline and Value"

We are pleased to announce the upcoming Dickson Lecture delivered by Dr. Huey Copeland, BFC Presidential Associate Professor of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania, titled "Thinking the Unthought: Notes on Discipline and Value."

All are welcome to join us Thursday, March 28 at 5:30 pm in 110 Business Building.

Image of two bright red and dark red colors displayed above research text. From the research of Sarah Rich, Political Economy of Colorants.

"Kress Foundation grant to support collaborative research on pigment trade"

Sarah K. Rich, Associate Professor of Art History, and the Center for Virtual/Material Studies (CVMS) at Penn State have been awarded a Kress History of Art Grant of $20,000, along with supplemental funding from Penn State University Libraries, to facilitate research into the transatlantic trade in pigments from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century.

The grant will support a collaborative research project titled “The Political Economy of Colorants in the Atlantic World, 1750-1850.” The project aims to uncover the economic and political contexts of the colorant trade in the Americas, Europe and Africa, highlighting the relationships among artists and different trades while also situating colorants in the context of indigenous-settler relationships and the slave trade. Colorants are dyes and pigments used for coloring materials.

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Strands of died yarn in red, yellow, and green hang from white strings.

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.

Split-screen image. On the left is a brown and red sculpture of clay, underglazes, gold leaf, and wood. On the right is a sculpture of a ceramic bird decorated with a red Coca Cola bottle cap.

Collecting the Andes

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

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Three women stand facing a mural and one points at it.

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.

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faculty spotlight

Amara Solari

Professor of Art History and Anthropology

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.

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Centers and Venues

Our broad program offerings are supported by rich research, archive, and display spaces.

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alumni spotlight

Brisa Smith Flores

Brisa Smith Flores earned three degrees, Art History, History, and Global and International Studies, along with three minors in African American Studies, Latin American Studies, and Latino/a Studies. Brisa received a Masters of Liberal Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Her thesis, "The Art of Ethnic Lynching: The Erasure of The Afro-Mexican from the National Identity of Mexico" analyzes how art and visual culture can be weaponized to maintain white supremacy. During her time in Philadelphia, she worked for the Association for Public Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Now, she is a graduate student at the University of California, Los Angeles in the World Arts and Culture/Dance Department, pursuing a PhD in Culture and Performance. Her dissertation topic explores the ways museums are part of the legacy of colonialism and how communities of the African diaspora across the Global South are challenging or reimaging how museums represent culture and identity. She has presented her research at major conferences such as the Association of Black Women Historians Symposium, the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora, and the International Conference on the Inclusive Museum. Brisa also serves as the Graduate Fellow for the UCLA Prison Education Program, a program that provides interdisciplinary for-credit courses in correctional facilities across Los Angeles.