Programs of study in the Department of Art are deeply integrated with Wellesley College's overall liberal arts educational mission. The ability to understand the way visual information and physical space have been constructed, presented, and construed throughout history is vital in today's world. The Department of Art is committed to equipping students with the knowledge and skills to navigate, understand, and shape the increasingly mediated and complex visual and physical environments around us. A critical awareness of visual culture, a breadth of knowledge of art in its historical and global contexts, and explorations in practice enable students to make unexpected and transformative connections among images, ideas, materials, and histories. The Department's close relationship with the Davis Museum is critical to our goals, as are the study trips to Boston, New York, and elsewhere that we arrange for our students.
Within the Department of Art, students may choose to major in Art History or Studio Art. Students may also consider pursuing a major in one of the related interdepartmental majors: Architecture, Media Arts and Sciences, and Cinema and Media Studies.
The study of art is an integral component of a strong liberal arts curriculum. Those majoring in the Department of Art develop:
- A more critical awareness of visual culture as well as enhanced visual literacy
- A sophisticated understanding of art, its history, and the philosophical and cultural conditions that shape it
- An understanding of the breadth of knowledge and complexity of art and its global practices
- A well-considered, original body of work, written and/or visual, in preparation for advanced study