Here you can carry out art historical and design research; apply the theories and practice of information science; design and curate digital libraries, archives, and exhibitions; and communicate arts content and design effectively across diverse cultures and societies.
Pratt students at the Morgan Library Reading Room (courtesy Polly Cancro, History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science '18)
History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science at Pratt
The MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design dual-degree program prepares you for careers in art and design, museum, and academic libraries. In this program, you will become an expert on the intersection of art and design and information, going deep into art, design, and historical archives, art and design collections, and more. With fellowship opportunities at NYC’s leading museums, libraries, and archives, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Art Reference Library, and MoMA, the dual-degree program offers unique experiential learning opportunities.
Students in the dual-degree MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design program get to experience all Pratt has to offer by taking half of their program (30 credits) at the School of Information based in Manhattan, and the other half in the Department of History of Art and Design on the Brooklyn campus (30 credits). The first two years students take courses in both departments, with much of the thesis work taking place in the third year. With class sizes of just 8-12, you’ll collaborate closely with your cohort and faculty and be learning at the nexus of NYC arts and culture communities.
Internships
Internships at museums, libraries, nonprofit art organizations, and galleries provide professional opportunities in your area of interest and prepare you for future careers. Recent students have interned at prestigious institutions such as the New York Public Library, Franklin Furnace, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Study Abroad
We are pleased to offer study abroad options for dual-degree students, including a new course offered for the first time during spring break 2024: “Artist Archives: Rome/New York”. We also recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of Pratt in Venice, which is a 6-week program that occurs each June and July. For more information on Study Abroad, see where you can go.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learning 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 and School of Information faculty and administrators.
Our Alumni
Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.
Where They Work
Librarian, Photographs and Prints Division, New York Public Library
Archivist, Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library
IT Project Manager, J. Paul Getty Trust
Head, Reference & Reader Services, Teachers College, Columbia University
Web Collection Librarian, Columbia University Libraries
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.
"Did you know? The Arts and Crafts Movement, which emerged in the late 19th century, was a response to the industrial revolution, emphasizing handcrafted quality over mass production.
The movement celebrated traditional craftsmanship, often featuring intricate patterns inspired by nature.
It influenced architecture, promoting designs that were in harmony with their surroundings, using local materials.
Arts and Crafts also left a lasting mark on interior design, with an emphasis on functional yet beautifully crafted furniture.
Notable figures like William Morris and John Ruskin were central to promoting these ideals, which continue to inspire today's sustainable design practices.
Image 1: By William Morris - Scanned from Gillian Naylor, William Morris by Himself: Designs and Writings,Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4624510
Image 2: The Sussex Chair by William Morris, 1860s.
Image 3: The intricate floral wallpaper design by William Morris, 1876, known as 'Strawberry Thief.'
Image 4: Handcrafted ceramic tile by William De Morgan, featuring vibrant colors and intricate patterns, 1880s."
"Creativity takes courage." – Henri Matisse
Innovation and bold ideas don’t come from playing it safe. Matisse, a pioneer of color and form, knew that true creativity means stepping beyond the expected and embracing the unknown.
This month, let’s celebrate the fearless artists and designers who challenge conventions and push boundaries.
#HenriMatisse #CreativityTakesCourage #ArtInspiration #DesignHistory
You are invited to an HAD Faculty Conversations by Marsha Morton, “Ernst Haeckel’s Travels through Nineteenth-Century Ceylon: Eurocentric Views of Race and Place”
* This event is for Pratt community.
Date: Tuesday, March 25th, 2025
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 pm
Venue: Main 212
About the Project: The marine zoologist Ernst Haeckel was renowned as the “German Darwin” and author-illustrator of Art Forms in Nature. Less well known is his activity as an amateur anthropologist following his trip to Ceylon and publications of the travelogue Indische Reisebriefe (1883) and picture book Wanderbilder (1905) that contains his painted tropical scenes and photographs of the native population. As I will demonstrate, these convey alterity and evolutionary hierarchy from a privileged gaze with texts characterized by essentialized descriptions and racial bias resulting from a non-diaologic “rhetoric of vision.” Wanderbilder is informed by the Eurocentric perspective of picturesque theory and the nature-culture binary of the Lebensreform movement and colonialism.
About the Speaker: Marsha Morton’s work is centered on German and Austrian cultural history with a focus on the interdisciplinary topics of art, science (Darwin), anthropology, Orientalism, and music. In addition to numerous published essays, including three on Ernst Haeckel, her books are: Max Klinger and Wilhelmine Culture (Ashgate 2014) and the co-edited anthologies Visual Culture and Pandemic Disease since 1750 (Routledge 2023), Constructing Race on the Borders of Europe: Ethnography, Anthropology, and Visual Culture, 1850-1930 (Bloomsbury 2021), and The Arts Entwined: Music and Painting in the Nineteenth Century (Garland 2000). She is the recipient of grants from the National Endowments for the Humanities and DAAD.
You are invited to “A Conversation with Heiny Srour.”
* This event is for Pratt community.v
Thursday, March 13th, 2025
5:45 – 7:00 pm
Myrtle Hall, 4th Floor, MH 4E-03 DDA
Open to the Pratt community
On the occasion of two new restorations screening at BAM, Lebanese director Heiny Srour will visit Pratt to discuss her work with faculty and students.
Born in 1945 in Beirut, Srour studied Social Anthropology in Paris, where she worked as a journalist and developed an interest in Third World Cinema. To make her first film, The Hour of Liberation Has Arrived (1974), Srour documented a revolutionary feminist uprising against the British-backed Sultanate of Oman. Her next feature, Leila and the Wolves (1984), combines fictional drama, archival footage, and fantasy sequences, and follows a young Lebanese woman in modern London as she time-travels through the 20th century, observing the place of Arab women in anti-colonial movements.
Organized by Olivia Crough (Visiting Assistant Professor, HAD) for the course History of Film, in collaboration with Graham Carter (Several Futures) – contact ocrough@pratt.edu with questions.
Celebrating the masterful Charles Le Brun, born February 24, 1619! Known as the 'Great Decorator,' Le Brun's visionary work defined the grandeur of the French Baroque era, leaving an indelible mark on the Palace of Versailles and beyond. His legacy continues to inspire. #ArtistOfTheMonth #charleslebrun #baroquemastery
Art History 101: Part 2 - Baroque to Romanticism
The Baroque Era
The Baroque period (1600-1750) introduced drama and emotion in art, with artists using bold contrasts and movement to engage viewers.
Example: Rembrandt van Rijn, The Night Watch, 1642, oil on canvas, 379.5 x 453.5 cm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)
Chiaroscuro Technique
Caravaggio was a master of chiaroscuro, creating striking contrasts between light and dark that added depth to his compositions.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Calling of Saint Matthew, oil on canvas, c. 1599–1600 (Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome)
Neoclassicism Emerges
In reaction to Baroque excess, Neoclassicism revived classical ideals, focusing on simplicity and symmetry while drawing inspiration from ancient Rome and Greece.
Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784, oil on canvas, 3.3 x 4.25 m, painted in Rome, exhibited at the salon of 1785 (Musée du Louvre)
The Rise of Romanticism
Romanticism (late 18th century) celebrated emotion, nature, and individualism, often depicting dramatic landscapes and historical events.
Example: "The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" by Caspar David Friedrich (1818)
It's our last information session for prospective students until the fall this coming Tuesday at 6pm ET (March 25) at Pratt Manhattan Center or on Zoom. To join, please RSVP via the link in our bio.
With the spring upon us, take some time to get outside and enjoy the sunlight and water. The piers in Hudson River Park are the perfect place. Brought to you by the @prattischool Wellness Committee.
Visit @aamersofficial and @americanlibraryassociation for ways to respond to the gutting of @us_imls, the federal agency in charge of providing funding to libraries, archives and museums. The @us_imls has provided fellowships/scholarships to dozens of @prattischool students over the last 20 years.
Current Students - we are pleased to announce that we are now accepting fellowship applications for the 2025-2026 academic year! The fellowship program supports 2-semester practicum-internships that are designed to provide students with exceptional professional-level experience in NYC's great cultural institutions. The fellowships include:
Brooklyn Public Library Center for Brooklyn History Art & Artifact Collection Fellowship
Brooklyn Public Library Children’s & Young Adult Services Fellowship
Brooklyn Museum Archives Fellowship
Franklin Furnace Fellowship
Frick Art Research Library Fellowship
Lesbian Herstory Archives Fellowship
MoMA Library Fellowship
MoMA Archives Linked Open Data Fellowship
MoMA Product Design Fellowship
Met Museum Watson Library Fellowship
Whitney Museum Digital Asset & Preservation Fellowship
Metropolitan Museum Data Analysis & Visualization for Collections Information Fellowship
Metropolitan Museum Digital Product Design Fellowship
Museum of the City of New York Digital Media Fellowship
Hauser & Wirth Institute Archives Fellowship
Please note that the application deadline is Monday, April 7, 2025 at 5pm EST. For detailed fellowship descriptions, eligibility requirements, and applications, please refer to the fellowship webpage- link to it is available via our bio.
Our block on West 14th St is starting to come together after years of construction. Our neighbor at 132 West 14th St got a facade change, creating a contrast with Pratt Manhattan’s Renaissance Revival style with a more modern look. #manhattan #nyc
The MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design dual-degree program prepares students for careers in art, museum, and academic libraries. With fellowship opportunities taking place at NYC’s leading museums, libraries, and archives, such as the Brooklyn Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the dual-degree program offers unique opportunities for experiential learning.
This program consists of 30 credits at the School of Information and 30 credits at the Department of History of Art and Design for a total of 60 credits, which must be completed with a B average or higher. Students in the dual-degree program generally take one or two classes in each program per semester (3–4 courses, 9–12 credits).
Students in the dual-degree MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design satisfy the learning outcomes of each of the respective degrees.
MS Library and Information Science
Throughout the LIS program, students will create a digital portfolio to highlight the work they have completed and demonstrate they have met the program’s five student learning outcomes:
Foundations of Library and Information studies – Apply core concepts and theories to information collection, organization and access in multiple environments.
User-centered services – Students can meet information needs of diverse user communities across multiple communication formats (e.g. oral, written, visual, interactive).
Technology – Students can select and apply tools and technologies used in the field to improve information functions.
Research – Investigate information environments and users’ needs, behaviors, and experiences through appropriate research methods and analysis.
Ethical/Creative/Critical practice – Apply core ethical principles to professional practice and understand the broad impact of information on society. Students can raise critical questions about information, its production, dissemination, storage and preservation.
MA History of Art and Design
Graduates are able to articulate the mutually constitutive nature of historical changes in social, political and economic conditions in the fields of art, design, and cultural production.
Graduates are able to describe, research and analyze the forms of cultural artifacts and monuments.
Graduates demonstrate a critical engagement with the discipline’s tools and methods.
Graduates have the skills to craft lines of inquiry and perform in-depth research, including the use of relevant languages, that results in original analysis and interpretation.
