Pratt’s an exceptional place to study art and design history and theory. From our landmarked campus you’ll have access to NYC’s premier international private collections, libraries, museums, studios, and galleries, as well as the opportunity to work with leading artists, designers, historians, and theorists.
Join us in New York City, the art capital of the United States, for an immersive education in the history of art and design. Explore the effects of gender, class, politics and religion intersect with art and cultures that created it. Gain a wide perspective in theory and design methods and artistic expression in art, architecture, film, and literature. The liberal arts curriculum, including foreign language study, prepares you to research and critically analyze art and literature.
The Experience
IXD students Wuke Zhou, Yuki Shimano, and Olivia Turpin at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (photo by Shih Wen Huang)
Interdisciplinary and socially engaged, the History of Art and Design BA provides a broad foundation from which students build critical and analytical capacities to confront complex questions. Drawing on disciplines ranging from sociology, anthropology, linguistics, and economics, students go beyond aesthetic consideration to consider complex questions and evolving challenges.
With class sizes of just 8-12, you’ll collaborate closely with your team, faculty, and community partners to learn the skills needed to create strategies and systems that meet real-world challenges.
Electives and Seminars
You’ll have the opportunity to take electives in film and design, architecture, non-Western, pre-Renaissance, Renaissance to Rococo, and 19th-, 20th-, or 21st-century art, design, theory and methodology, and chemistry of art. Major-specific seminars are available from your first through senior years, on topics that include the role of New York as a cultural capital, critical and theoretical models, and art and social justice.
Study Abroad
Mosaic restorer Giovanni Cucco explains his work at SS. Maria e Donato to graduate student Amy Ungricht (photograph by Kate McElhiney)
Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the college experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. Study in Paris with the Pratt in Paris summer program. We also recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of Pratt in Venice, which is a 6-week program that occurs each June and July.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of art and design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learn about resources.
Our Faculty
Pratt’s distinguished faculty of outstanding creative professionals and scholars share a common desire to develop each student’s potential and creativity to the fullest. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives they provide a rigorous educational model in which students make and learn. See all History of Art and Design faculty and administrators.
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
Monthly Art Quote
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."
— Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas reminds us that art is more than just a visual experience—it's about evoking emotion, sparking imagination, and shaping perception. How do you interpret this quote in your own creative journey? Let’s discuss in the comments!
#MonthlyArtQuote #EdgarDegas #ArtInspiration #ArtHistory #CreativeVision
This week’s art term: Trompe-l'œil (French for 'deceive the eye'). A brilliant example is Escaping Criticism (1874) by Pere Borrell del Caso. This masterpiece uses perspective and hyperrealism to create the illusion of a boy stepping out of the frame, challenging the boundaries between art and reality.
Trompe-l'œil exemplifies the artist's technical skill and their ability to engage the viewer in an interactive visual experience. Where else have you encountered this technique? Share your insights!
Image: By Pere Borrell del Caso - Collection Banco de España, Madrid, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12968243
#ArtTermOfTheWeek #TrompeLOeil #EscapingCriticism #ArtHistory #DesignEducation
Prof. Amarachi Attamah-Ugwu will be giving a presentation about “Identity and Sense of Place in Igbo Performance Art” on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 6 pm via Zoom.
* This event is for Pratt community.
About the Presentation:
Amarachi will be having a guest presentation on Identity and Sense of Place in Igbo Performance Art. She will discuss form and meaning in Igbo performance costumes, and chant, and its role in the preservation of culture and identity.
About the Speaker:
Prof. Amarachi Attamah-Ugwu is an instructor in the Harvard African Language Program, Harvard University. and the Directed Independent Language Program (DILP), at the Yale center for language study, Yale University. She is an African Chant Performer, Performance Artist, and Poet. Her academic interests encompass the form and context of Igbo language and chant, the curation of cultural expressions, and the preservation of intangible heritage.
She has performed in universities and cultural institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom (where she completed a four-month performance fellowship with the British Royal National Theatre), Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. Her more recent performance arts focus on preserving and sustaining Igbo cultural identity and sense of place in the diaspora. She is a Graduate of Syracuse University, New York, USA, and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
#arthistory #visualart #artlecture #artevent #historyofart
Artist of the Day: William Sidney Mount (1807–1868)
Happy Birthday to William Sidney Mount, one of the most beloved genre painters of 19th-century America! Today, we celebrate his legacy and remarkable contributions to American art. Born on November 26, 1807, Mount was a master of capturing everyday life, from lively social gatherings to rural traditions, with warmth, realism, and a deep sense of movement.
Known for his iconic depictions of music, dance, and community, Mount's paintings reflect the spirit of 19th-century rural America, celebrating its simple joys and hardworking people. His works continue to inspire and captivate.
#WilliamSidneyMount #ArtistBirthday #AmericanArt #GenrePainting #19thCenturyArt #ArtHistory #MusicInArt #AmericanArtists
Image 1: By The Long Island Museum - https://longislandmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/C4032368-F542-4422-AB3D-446341310062, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66604760
Image 2: By William Sidney Mount - eQELGDWyasKgMQ at Google Cultural Institute maximum zoom level, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21982753
Image 3: By William Sidney Mount - https://clevelandart.org/art/1991.110, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75999947
Image 4: By Mathew Benjamin Brady/ Adam Cuerden - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs divisionunder the digital ID cph.3g06547.This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31528133
Image 5: By William Sidney Mount - From the book "Dance and American Art" by Sharyn R. Udall., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22996809
Image 6: By Original work: William Sidney MountDepiction: The Long Island Museum - The Long Island Museum's collection database., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=66605454
Chiaroscuro — the art of light and shadow. This technique brings drama and depth to paintings, creating a play of contrasts that draws the eye. Look closely, and you'll see the power of light shaping our perception.
Image: The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600), Caravaggio, Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome.
#ArtTerms #Chiaroscuro #ArtHistory #pratt
HAD’s Weekly Design History: Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (1956)
Designer: Charles and Ray Eames
The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1956, redefined mid-century modern design with its innovative use of molded plywood and leather. A perfect blend of form and function that still inspires designers today.
#DesignInspiration #EamesLoungeChair #MidCenturyModern
Resources
Image 1: Herman Miller https://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/lounge-seating/eames-lounge-chair-and-ottoman/design-story/
Image 2: Herman Miller https://store.hermanmiller.com/living-room-furniture-lounge-chairs-ottomans/eames-lounge-chair-and-ottoman/5667.html?lang=en_CA&sku=100077567
Image 3,4: Eames Office https://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/lounge-chair-and-ottoman/
The evolution of Western art is a story of creativity, innovation, and cultural transformation. From the idealized forms of ancient Greece and Rome to the spiritual intricacies of the Middle Ages, and finally to the humanistic revival of the Renaissance, each era brought new ways of seeing and depicting the world. Join us as we explore key moments and masterpieces that shaped art history, highlighting timeless works and groundbreaking techniques that continue to inspire today.
A journey through the foundations of Western art:
Classical Era: Idealized beauty & mythological themes.
Example: "Laocoön and His Sons" (c. 40-30 BCE)
Middle Ages: Art turned spiritual with intricate designs.
Example: The Book of Kells (c. 800 CE)
Renaissance: A rebirth of humanism, realism, and perspective.
Example: "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli (c. 1485)
Innovations: Leonardo da Vinci redefined art with works like Mona Lisa (1503-1506) and The Last Supper (1495-1498).
#ArtHistory #RenaissanceArt #WesternArt #pratt
The BA program affords a grounding in the philosophy, literature, and criticism of the history of art and design. Students will take specially designed foundation courses and the survey classes. They will continue with additional credits in liberal arts (English, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and foreign language) and electives. Majors will take upper-level electives in film and design, architecture, non-Western, pre-Renaissance, Renaissance to Rococo, and 19th-, 20th-, or 21st-century art, theory and methodology, and chemistry of art. The BA also features major-specific seminars from the first year through the senior year. Seminar topics include the role of New York as a cultural capital, critical and theoretical models, and art and social justice.
Undergraduates have an understanding of their own cultural environments as well as their places within them.
Undergraduates are able to use tools of critical inquiry to explore gender, class, politics, religious practices, conditions and materials of production, aesthetic expression, and the economics of the market within their larger geographic, historical, theoretical, and social contexts.
Undergraduates in the B.A. degree will be familiar with a foreign language after four semesters of study.
