Art History, University of Toronto

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Art History, University of Toronto

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The official page of the Department of Art History, University of Toronto. The Department of Art History is located in the Sidney Smith Hall Building.

The Department of Art History at the University of Toronto is devoted to investigating the ways in which individuals and civilizations have expressed themselves through the ages in architecture, painting and sculpture, printmaking, photography, and the various arts of design. Founded in 1934, it was the first model for such department at a Canadian university and has achieved an international reputation for scholarly and creative excellence. The Department offers both graduate and undergraduate degrees in Art History, exploring a wide chronological and geographic scope, ranging from the Bronze Age to the present, from Europe to Asia to the Americas. Extensive library resources, on-campus art collections, and a Federated Academic Digital Imaging System (developed completely within the Department of Art History and now used widely at other Canadian Universities) are enhanced by access to the country’s most vibrant, diverse, and well-represented art community.

10/05/2026

TOMORROW EVENING: The Fondation DRG Visiting Scholar Lecture Series resumes on Tuesday, featuring Nathan Schlanger (L'École Nationale des Chartes)!

Free event. All are welcome.

'Art and Craft in Human Evolution: Reading André Leroi-Gourhan'

🗓 Tuesday, October 6, 2026 🕓 5:00-7:00 PM ET 📍 Paul Cadario Conference Centre
University College
15 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON

Full details at the link in our bio.

09/30/2026

STARTING SOON: Please join us at 5 PM for our Fall workshop on applying to MA programs! 🎓

When: TODAY at 5-7 PM
Where: Art History Common Room, SS6029
Hybrid: Online Via Zoom (Details Below)

During the workshop we will explore best practices and strategies for preparing the application, personal statement, CV, and the writing sample. Our graduate chair will join us to share how admission decisions are reached and what to expect after submission. The session will conclude with a discussion and Q&A with all panelists.

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Unable to attend in-person?
Join online via Zoom 💻:

https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/89123168084
Meeting ID: 891 2316 8084
Passcode: 215247

09/29/2026

📣 Join us for the Fondation DRG Visiting Scholar Lecture Series, featuring Nathan Schlanger!

'Art and Craft in Human Evolution: Reading André Leroi-Gourhan'

🗓 Tuesday, October 6, 2026 🕓 5:00-7:00 PM ET 📍 Paul Cadario Conference Centre
University College
15 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON

Full details at the link in our bio.

Talk Description:

Art and Craft in Human Evolution: Reading André Leroi-Gourhan

The remarkably diverse and productive intellectual career of the French ethnologist and prehistorian André Leroi-Gourhan (1911-1986) is characterised by his fluctuating engagement with such fields as philology, palaeontology, orientalism, comparative psychology, museology and heritage management. The resulting “inspired eclecticism” is also at play at the confluence of his two main domains of research and publications, namely that of technology (beginning in the mid-1930s), and that of art; folkloric, far-eastern and finally prehistoric. While Leroi-Gourhan mostly established connections between Palaeolithic parietal art and the expression of religious sentiments, he occasionally also alluded to a modernist-sounding aesthetics of functionality, linking beauty and utility. Above all, however, as his technological and anthropological reflections matured, he came to conceive of the technical actor as an immemorial artisan, a version of Homo faber engaged body and mind in what Leroi-Gourhan once termed “materially creative activities.”

09/28/2026

UNDERGRAD JOB OPPORTUNITY: Social Media Assistant - "Roving Reporter" 🤳📸 
Department of Art History, University of Toronto 8–10 hours/week

The Department of Art History is hiring an undergraduate student to be our roving reporter. You'll move through the department with a camera — into classrooms, galleries, lectures, and events — and turn what you find into short, lively posts for our social media channels.

Expect to produce 1–2 posts per week: course and class highlights, "a day in the life" features, event coverage, and informal interviews with faculty, students, and staff. The work is creative and largely self-directed, with support and a content calendar from departmental staff.

What we're looking for:
* Strong photography skills — a good eye for composition and light, and the ability to shoot in unpredictable conditions (dim lecture halls, crowded receptions, gallery spaces)
* Comfort shooting and editing short-form video
* Solid writing and a good sense of tone
* Reliability and the confidence to approach people and ask for a few minutes on camera
* Art History major, minor, or coursework preferred

To apply: send a brief note about your interest and a link to or sample of your photography or video work (e.g., an edited TikTok / Instagram Reel) to Professor Christy Anderson at [email protected] by October 7.

09/25/2026

Marco... Polo! 👋 The students of Prof. Purtle’s FAH 196: ‘Marco Polo's World’ kicked off the semester with a game in King's College Circle before diving into the real journey ahead.

This week and in the weeks to come, they're in the classroom, where they'll trace Marco Polo's travels across the medieval world through the cartography, art, architecture, and cities he encountered! 🗺️☀️

09/22/2026

PUBLIC TALK: 'The Battle of Plataea: Experimental Archaeology & Historical Research' a talk by Christian Cameron, bestselling author of the 'Tyrant' and 'Long War' series, historical re-enactor, and practitioner of experimental archaeology.

WHEN: Tuesday, September 29 · 6:00 PM
WHERE: Sidney Smith Hall, Room 2102
University of Toronto

Reception and *book signing* to follow, with books available through Bakka-Phoenix Books.

This event is presented by AIA Toronto Society, University of Toronto Department of Art History and Archaeology Centre!

Free and open to the public.

Christian And Miles Cameron Bakka Phoenix Books

09/21/2026

ART HISTORY WRITING LAB: The Art History writing lab runs from September–April and offers workshops and 1-on-1 tutoring sessions to help students with idea development, writing, and editing art history papers! 🖼️💻

The writing lab operates under the direction of Dr. Colin Murray! Get Help with: 
* Structuring essays, visual analyses, catalogue entries & more
* Strong intros and conclusions (they matter more than you think!)
* Spotting recurring grammar, word choice & syntax issues
* Citations, footnotes & endnotes
* Better reading notes
* Explaining readings in your own words
* Slide IDs & comparisons on tests
* Building your visual analysis vocabulary
* Seminar presentations
 🔗 Book a tutoring session via the link in bio (more time slots added all semester!)

08/12/2026

FAH380: This Woman’s Work: The Role of Women in Art History 🎨💁‍♀️

Wednesdays at 3-5 PM this Fall!

Who were the muses, makers, and patrons behind the canvas? Uncover the women who shaped art history.

Enrol in FAH380 on ACORN Now. 🏫

A&S Breadth: Cultural Representations (1)

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This course will explore the presence of in the world of by examining the role of women as creators, as subjects, as collectors, and as patrons. will investigate these conceptual functions within various geographic contexts including, Italy, France, England, Spain, and the Netherlands, covering a period from ca. 1300 to the 17th century. The course will look at various media such as illuminated manuscripts, paintings, tapestries, ceramics, jewellery & lace, and prints & drawings.

08/07/2026

*NEW* INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES: Three new Fall-term 2026 internship opportunities in Art History have just dropped! 📣
Earn course credit (FAH481H1), learn new skills, and make professional connections. 🖼️

Apply today for your chance to work with:
corkingallery
Franz Kaka
Steelcase Art Projects

Applications due by August 19, 2026. See the link in bio for details! 🔗

Address

100 St George Street
Toronto, ON
M5S3G3

Website

https://arthistory.utoronto.ca/

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