Art history degree students study works of art in their social, political, and intellectual contexts. They learn to think, read, and write about art and interpret visual imagery.
Each year, our artist-in-residence program brings to campus a nationally recognized artist who produces work and teaches a special seminar. The program honors Frances Niederer, a beloved art historian who taught for many years at Hollins.
Tracks
Art History Major
Students progress through chronological survey courses into upper-level seminars and research projects. The art history major culminates in the senior seminar, which includes the public presentation of research. A degree in art history builds strong analytical and visual skills.

Art History Minor
The art history minor gives you a broad overview of some more advanced courses. Specialize in a particular period or style, or expand your knowledge to multiple topics.
Arts Management Certificate Program
This certificate in arts management connects your major in one of the arts with career interests in various fields of arts management. You鈥檒l take courses in business and communication studies and complete two internships in an area of arts management. A certificate in arts management strengthens your qualifications for roles in galleries, museums, and cultural institutions, especially when combined with a degree in art history. You’ll then create a final project. You can meet the certificate in arts management requirements through prudent choices in your general education courses and electives without adding to your total credit hours. Contact us today to begin the process of earning your certificate in arts management.
Art History Majors Build Careers
Click for just a few examples of our student and alumnae/i experiences below.
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Internships at Hollins
Eleanor D. Wilson Museum, January or semester-long internships
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Signature Internships
The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Washington, DC
International Spy Museum, Washington, DC
Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Winston-Salem, NC -
Internships beyond Hollins
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, VA -
Graduate School Placements
Many art history majors find Hollins connections beneficial in getting into top master鈥檚 programs.
Williams College
George Washington University
Bryn Mawr College
American University
University of Virginia
Northwestern University
University of Texas
The Courtauld Institute of Art -
Art World Employment
Graduates work in prominent galleries, museums, and auction houses.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC
DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, VA
University of Virginia, Historic Preservation, Charlottesville, VA
Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
Baylor University LibraryART HISTORY
Art History Majors Build Careers
Program Faculty
Hollins
Senior Art Symposium
Students write an original research paper and then present it during the annual symposium.
Associate Professor of Art History Genevieve Hendricks says, 鈥淭he Art History Symposium provides the whole Hollins community with the chance to share in our students’ success and celebrate them as emerging art historians.鈥
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Recent Topics
鈥淒orothy Gillespie: A Forgotten Chapter of the Women鈥檚 Art Movement鈥
鈥溾楢 Beautiful Body and a Beautiful Mind:鈥 Florentine Women in Quattrocento Portraiture鈥
鈥淯nbuilt Modernity: Florence and the Visionary Architecture of Superstudio and Archizoom鈥
鈥淐l茅mentine-H茅l猫ne Dufau鈥檚聽Deuxi猫me D茅but: Reintroducing a Forgotten Female Artist鈥
鈥淭he Implications of Architectural Style in the Gilded Age: Biltmore House and Maymont Mansion鈥
鈥淎 Matter of Class: Sin Yun-bok鈥檚 Depictions of聽Kisaeng聽as Participants of Everyday Life鈥
鈥淢inimalism to Sustainability Practice: the Work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe鈥
鈥淎 Matter of the Family: The Macdowell-Eakins Collection鈥
鈥淔ood: Crossing the Binary鈥
鈥淎rtificial Archives: Memory and Ephemera in Installation Art鈥
鈥淏inary Opposition: Greek Myths on Greek Pottery and Etruscan Hand Mirrors鈥
鈥淓cho and Narcissus鈥
鈥溾楾ake This as an Example, You Maidens鈥: Lessons of Decorum in Santa Maria Novella鈥
鈥淓ternal Wanderer: Displacement and Fragmentation in Chagall鈥檚 Jerusalem Windows鈥
鈥淥n Her Knees. Wyeth鈥檚 Helga Portraits Through a Feminist Lens鈥
鈥淎 Paradox of Forms: Feline Goddesses as Protectors and Destroyers鈥
鈥淪amuel H. McVitty: The Passionate Collector鈥
鈥淪ex, Slumming, and a Striptease: Robert Henri鈥檚 Salome鈥
鈥淎 Lack of History. A Lack of Land. A Lack of Art? Jewish Art in Diaspora鈥
鈥淢argaret Rosalie Culligan: Half Sick of Shadows:聽Reexamining the Pre-Raphaelite Lady of Shalott鈥
鈥淎riel K. Rudy: Between Heaven and Earth: Collective Memory Across Time and Place in the Quilts of Harriet Powers鈥

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