Appreciate art through learning

Our Art History courses will give you a deeper understanding of what you're looking at. When it comes to art, everyone's has their own opinion on which artist is better than the other, and what their most famous work signifies.

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Through exploring the world of art history, you'll be learning about why pieces are made in the first place and what the pieces mean. You will also examine how that’s changed over a period of time, as well as the impact it’s had on society. 

You’ll be taught about many of the aspects from the art creation process, such as the materials used in artworks, and how different kinds of artists contribute differently in expressing their ideas through freehand drawing or digital media. 

Whether you're a seasoned art appreciator or a newbie, there's something here for everyone. From exploring art painted by Salvador Dali or learning all about the history of Nordic Art from the Viking era, we have a selection of online and in-person art history courses from different decades to choose from.  

Attend an Art History course near you  

Whether you choose to learn from the comfort of your own home, or opt for a space in your local community, you’ll be taught by a talented tutor who is an expert in their field. 

The support you’ll receive on our Art History courses

Your tutor will encourage you to develop an understanding of Art History that goes beyond what's on the surface, motivating you to truly immerse yourself in the subject. It’s our learning experience that sets us apart too, with an encouraging environment that ensures you attend each session with the excitement to learn.   

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Art Appreciation: Early Italian Renaissance Art

Exploring amazing artworks is central to this course, and we look at fascinating and beautiful paintings by Giotto, Masaccio, Masolino, Fra Angelico, Filippo Lippi, Mantegna and more. We look, too, at 15c sculpture, including the first ever sculpture competition. Other themes include patronage (crucial for artists to make a living) and the process of making art, including the great skills of fresco and of bronze casting.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 17/09/2025 -
Wed 22/10/2025
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Billericay Reading Rooms (Billericay)
73 High Street
Billericay
CM12 9AS
Tutor:
Rosanna Eckersley
Course code:
Q00022308
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £96.00

Art Appreciation: St.George in Renaissance Art: England, Italy and Germany

With Guest-Tutor Alison Barker we will examine how the image of St George crossed boundaries and was disseminated across Europe. St George’s status as a chivalric hero and Christian martyr made him uniquely qualified to cross boundaries, especially through the networks of courts and court culture.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 17/09/2025 -
Wed 01/10/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
St John the Baptist Church Meeting Room
55 Main Road
Danbury
CM3 4NG
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00022312
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £48.00

Art Appreciation: Delacroix to Turner: Art & Romanticism

Ideas of natural feeling, imagination and subjectivity were central to Romanticist artists from Eugene Delacroix, Theodore Gericault and Richard Parkes Bonnington to Francisco Goya, Caspar Friedrich, John Constable and JMW Turner. In this course we explore the Romantic impetus behind the work of these fascinating artists who argued that passion and intuition were crucial to understanding the world and that beauty was more that an affair of form but, rather, something that evokes a strong emotional response.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 17/09/2025 -
Wed 29/10/2025
Times:
1:30pm - 3:30pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
Rutland Adult Learning & Skills (Oakham)
Unit 16A
Oakham Enterprise Park, Ashwel
Oakham
LE15 7TU
Tutor:
Janis Baker
Course code:
Q00022697
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £112.00

Art Appreciation: 20th Century British Art and Design

British 20th century art is as complex and contradictory as British history, responding to international art, retreating to the English landscape. Course themes include responses to the horrors of two World Wars, quirky English Surrealism, art made by women, and elegiac Neo-Romanticism. We end with Lucien Freud’s painterly nudes and David Hockney in 1960s America.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 23/09/2025 -
Tue 02/12/2025
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
9 sessions
Location:
Writtle Village Hall (Writtle)
The Green
Writtle
CM1 3DU
Tutor:
Rosanna Eckersley
Course code:
Q00022586
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £144.00

WEA Membership

WEA membership is changing: more information is coming soon!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
£15

Art Appreciation: Exploring Art and design between 1890 to 1960: Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modernism

This exciting course explores and encompasses three very prominent art movements from 1880 to 1960.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/09/2025 -
Wed 03/12/2025
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Billingshurst Community and Conference C
Roman Way
Billingshurst
RH14 9QW
Tutor:
Kerry Van Der Schraft
Course code:
Q00022318
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £176.00

Art Practical: Landscape painting

This course gives students the opportunity to explore and experiment with different acrylic painting approaches and techniques in landscape painting. The aim is to give students the skills and confidence to make individual and original paintings, for improved mental health, well-being and enjoyment.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 24/09/2025 -
Wed 10/12/2025
Times:
2:30pm - 4:30pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Frank Ferrie
Course code:
Q00023207
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £160.00

Art Appreciation: Nordic Art 1850 - 1950

This course will focus on the development of modern painting in the Nordic countries. In week 1 there will be a brief study of Nordic art in the first half of the 19th century, whilst the remainder of the course will focus on the period 1850-1950 and will feature work by artists such as Harald Sohlberg, P S Krøyer, Anna Ancher, Vilhelm Hammershøi, Edvard Munch, Hilma af Klint, Finnur Jónsson, Karl Nordström, Helene Schjerfbeck, Asger Jorn and many more.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 30/09/2025 -
Tue 09/12/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Bedhampton Community Centre (Havant)
21 Bedhampton Road
Bedhampton
Havant
PO9 3ES
Tutor:
Michaela Cranmer
Course code:
Q00022319
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £176.00

Art Appreciation: Masterpieces of the Kröller-Müller Museum: Neo-Impressionists and Modernists

Helene Kroeller-Mueller’s passion for art led her to create a museum in the Netherlands to house her outstanding collection of paintings which range from the Barbizon school until the Second World war. This course explores the origin and history of the museum. Selected art works from Van Gogh to Mondrian are examined in detail together with bronzes by Barbara Hepworth and Rietveld’s Pavilion in the museum’s sculpture garden. The course coincides with the National Gallery’s exhibition dedicated to the Kroeller-Mueller collection of Neo-Impressionist works. This course will be taught by Dalila Castelijn.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 08/10/2025 -
Wed 22/10/2025
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
3 sessions
Location:
The Cornerstone (Wokingham)
Norreys Avenue
Wokingham
RG40 1UE
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00022287
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £48.00

Art Appreciation: The Art of the Illustrator

The Illustrators could be called artists of the magazine or newspaper, as that is where their work normally appears. Enjoy this survey of a large group of illustrators from the 18th century to the present day. Beginning around 1800 with James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson whose political witty and satirical cartoons attracted a huge following, the course will reach to the preset day, to the modern equivalents of Gillray and Rowlandson such as Martin Rowson. The illustrations you will see often contain witty observations on family life. Often they contain a pithy observation which contains a general truth – and as such could be called visual aphorisms.

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 20/10/2025 -
Mon 17/11/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
5 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Colin Lomas
Course code:
Q00022367
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £80.00

Art Appreciation: The Art of the Landscape

Some of our best loved paintings are landscapes - the idyllic country scenes of Constable, the atmospheric creations of Turner and the delightful Dutch and Flemish canals and windmills. This course will trace the development of landscape art from early Northern Renaissance backgrounds via picturesque and Impressionist interpretations to recent landscape artists such as Eric Ravilious and Peter Lanyon. We will also look at the influence on European landscapes from Chinese and Japanese artists and from aboriginal art. The course contains extensive illustration of the works, and opportunities for questions and discussion.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 05/11/2025 -
Wed 10/12/2025
Times:
11:00am - 1:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
St Lukes Church Hall (Tiptree)
66 Church Road
Tiptree
CO5 0SU
Tutor:
David Brindley
Course code:
Q00022305
How you'll learn:
Online and in venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £96.00