Fine Arts Building | Room 102 | 406.243.4607 | { Support the School of Art }

Students may take introductory Art History and Criticism as well as a variety of upper-level courses in Western and Non-western art history. Subjects include: African, Ancient American, European Art of the 19th and 20th centuries, Ancient Greek, Latin American, Medieval, Renaissance, Spanish Art, specialized topics such as Art and Insanity, and Women Artists and Art History.

Undergraduate Art Majors may also minor in Art HIstory/Criticism. 

The school offers a joint MA/MFA degree and a 30-credit MA degree in Art History for individuals wishing to deepen their knowledge of the field. The degree is designed to provide students with a broad knowledge of the history of the visual arts. It serves as preparation for advanced graduate work at the PhD level and careers in art-related professions in museology, gallery work, and conservation. It is intended to foster a dialogue between art history, the fine arts, and other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. The degree has a thesis and non-thesis option. Art History and Criticism classes are taught in two refurbished classrooms in the historic Fine Arts building, a landmark structure built in 1935 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the rooms is a state-of-the-art multi-media classroom. The school also has an Art History and Criticism Resource Center.

The school also encourages and oversees internships in museums and galleries across campus and in the community.

Faculty 

H. Rafael Chacón, Professor
Valerie Hedquist, Associate Professor
Edgar Smith, Adjunct Assistant Professor
Lisa Jarrett, Adjunct Assistant Professor

Graduate Students

Anna Buxton
Randi O'Brien
Kevin Wright

Courses

Rotating courses offered in Art History and Art Criticism:

• Art Appreciation (Course Titled Global Visual Culture ARTH 160L)
• Art of World Civilization: Ancient to Medieval Art
• Art of World Civilization: Early Modern to Contemporary Art
• History of Architectural Design: Pre-history to 1850
• Art of the Ancient Americas
• Latin American Art
• Ancient Greek Civilization and Culture
• Roman and Early Christian Art in Context
• Art of the Renaissance
• American Art 1860 to the Present
• Advanced Research in Art History
• Seminar in Art History and Criticism.
• Women Artists and Art History
• African Art
• Spanish Art
• Art of the 19 Century
• Art of the 20th Century
• Graduate Studies/Art History
• Research in Art History
• Methodologies in Art History
• Introduction to Art Criticism
• Contemporary Art and Art Criticism
• Renaissance Theory and Criticism
• Advanced Research in Art Criticism
• Critical Theories in the Visual Arts
   

Art History and Criticism Resource Center

The School of Art Resource Center contains materials for the use of students and faculty in the School and the University community. Its holdings include: 26 subscriptions to studio art, art history, and art criticism journals, over 1,000 books, videos, and DVD’s, and a comprehensive collection of almost 50,000 art history slides. In addition, it houses a collection of some 800 archival photographs and glass plates as well as the school archives. The Resource Center is located in a suite in the Fine Arts building (Rooms 201-204) that includes a public reading room, slide library and work room, a study room, and faculty offices.

Hours* (Fall 2011)

*The resource center is closed on weekends and all UM holidays.

Policies

The center is operated by work study students and keeps regular weekly hours. It is closed for all University holidays. Members of the community and students and faculty with a valid Griz card or I.D. may check out materials whenever the center is open. Books, videos, DVD’s, and journals may be checked out for one week by undergraduate students and one month by graduate students. Archival materials do not circulate and new journals are for in-house use only. Clients are held responsible for the replacement of materials not returned by the due date. The center does not lend Audio/Visual equipment, including slide trays and/or projectors. (For equipment scheduling, please contact the Presentation Technology Services at 243-4072.) University classes and groups are welcome to schedule meetings in the center. Please contact us at art.history@mso.umt.edu or speak with one of the center assistants if you have any questions.