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.

Skip to courses

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.   

Please enter your postcode

In order for us to give you accurate results for your courses, please click on the Search options and enter your postcode and the mile radius for your search.

Refine search

How you'll learn

Your location

Please enter your postcode

In order for us to give you accurate results for your courses, please enter your postcode and the mile radius for your search.

Sort by start date

Choose to sort the course start date in ascending order (furthest away dates first) or descending (most recent dates first)

Results per page

Days

Other Filters

Part of day
Level of study
Availability
Search for the branch name/location, without adding branch e.g. Barnet

Art Appreciation: American Artists in Britain

A number of American artists forged successful and influential careers in Britain, and we will discuss examples of their work dating from the 1760s to the 1910s. Come along and join this engaging and informative online course where you can learn something new and socialise with other like-minded people.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 09/03/2024 -
Sat 09/03/2024
Times:
9:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Tutor:
Prasannajit De Silva
Course code:
Q00009549
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £12.90

Art Appreciation: The Art Historical Canon

Why are some artists and artworks regarded as more ‘important’ than others? Who decides and on what basis? What criteria underlie such judgements, and how stable are they? What are the implications of all this? If you want to know the answers, come along and join the class discussion. This course gives you the ability to learn something new and meet new people.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 14/03/2024 -
Thu 14/03/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Caterham Baptist Church (Caterham)
4 Beechwood Road
Caterham
CR3 6NA
Tutor:
Prasannajit De Silva
Course code:
Q00009397
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £8.40

Art Appreciation: Art and Design in the Chilterns

Designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Chilterns has played host to many artists and craftsmen. This course celebrates artists and designers of the twentieth century who have lived, worked and been inspired by the Chilterns. Artists discussed during this session include Paul and John Nash, John Piper, Eric Gill, Clare Leighton, Agnes Miller Parker, E. McKnight Kauffer and textile designer, Marion Dorn. Come and join this fascinating session to further your knowledge of these artists, increase your enjoyment of art and design as a whole, and enhance your visits to Chiltern landmarks. The session is open to everyone regardless of prior experience of art history.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 16/03/2024 -
Sat 16/03/2024
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Location:
Kings Langley Community Centre (Kings La
The Nap
Kings Langley
WD4 8ET
Tutor:
Guest Speaker
Course code:
Q00012255
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £10.00

Art Appreciation: The Colour Blue in Western Art Throughout the Years

How have painters used blue throughout the years? Where did the blue pigments they used come from? When did Mary start wearing a blue dress? Join us to find the answers to these questions, and learn all about the colour blue in art. This lecture retraces the story of blue in Western arts, from Antiquity to the present. We will reflect upon the changing meaning(s) given to this colour. We will also evoke the different materials used to create a whole range of blue pigments: from ultramarine and cobalt to Prussian blue and Yves Klein Blue.

Course Information

Dates:
Sat 16/03/2024 -
Sat 16/03/2024
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
1 sessions
Tutor:
Caroline Levisse
Course code:
Q00009786
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
5 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £7.40

WEA Membership

For just £15 a year, you can:

  • Join our popular, award-winning weekly lecture series,
  • Access an archive of over 100 past lectures,
  • Get priority online and phone booking for autumn courses (England only),
  • Receive our Highway magazine and access back issues,
  • Attend our members’ annual conference.

Just add us to your basket to sign up today!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
WEA Membership

Art Appreciation: Art in the 21st Century

This is an exciting new course which views art produced in the twenty-first century. The course will put an emphasis on paintings and sculpture to include developments of figurative and abstract painting, and installed sculpture. There will be views of artists already prominent in the twentieth century and newly emerging artists from a wide range of attentions. From those born in the 1930s to those born in the 1980s. The course will attend to direct visual experience of reproduction of the works involved linked to elements of comprehension and understanding through a considerable range of exciting encounters and engagements.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 16/04/2024 -
Tue 04/06/2024
Times:
11:15am - 12:45pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Tutor:
Allen Fisher
Course code:
Q00011868
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
1 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £44.40

Art Appreciation: Vermeer and the Dutch Interior

In this course you will explore the forces which were at work creating the 'golden century' of Dutch culture and art, from c.1580 - c.1680. Focusing on the kinds of connection visual artists were making with their publics, we examine the gradual transformation from a public art celebrating public events, through groups who both satirised immoralities and (sometimes simultaneously) celebrated personal and social pleasures, into a rising concern for the portrayal of their own culture, mores and private lives. Through the paintings themselves we will examine changing attitudes to the state, to religion, to morality, to private life, and to pleasure.

Course Information

Dates:
Wed 17/04/2024 -
Wed 22/05/2024
Times:
10:30am - 12:30pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
St John the Baptist Church Meeting Room
55 Main Road
Danbury
CM3 4NG
Tutor:
Adrian Eckersley
Course code:
Q00012243
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Art Appreciation: Introduction to Early Renaissance Painting

This course is an introduction to ways of viewing paintings made in Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The course that uses a selected number of paintings to provide a basis for the beginnings of an appreciation and understanding of some of the seminal ideas in aesthetics and philosophy of the period. The selection will encourage a focus on the paintings with specific themes and attentions; from the early use of artificial perspective and proportions to involvement in a world that represents the complexity of thought with feelings The course will include a study of selected works by Giotto and Masaccio, Jan van Eyck. and Rogier van der Weyden, Piero della Francesca and Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini.

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 18/06/2024 -
Tue 09/07/2024
Times:
11:15am - 12:45pm
Duration:
4 sessions
Tutor:
Allen Fisher
Course code:
Q00011869
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
6 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £22.20