Art stands at the intersection of culture, politics, religion and philosophy, making it an ideal place from which to understand the liberal arts and the world at large.

At Dickinson, the Department of Art & Art History offers students two tracks for study: studio art and art history. Both concentrations foster rigorous, critical investigation through active processes of learning in which students connect historical discourse with an engagement of art from multiple contemporary perspectives.

The senior year capstone experience allows studio and art history majors to pursue intensive, original research in their respective concentrations. Senior studio majors, benefiting from individual studio spaces, each create a body of work for an exhibition in The Trout Gallery accompanied by a museum catalog they create.

Senior art history majors undertake advanced scholarly research in co-curating and producing a published museum catalog for an exhibition in the Trout Gallery drawn from works in the college's permanent collection or from work lent by established galleries and museums.

Contact Info

Chair

Todd ArsenaultAssociate Professor of Art

Department Coordinator

Michele Karper

Phone

717-254-8705

Fax

717-245-1937

Social Media

Location

Rm. 226 , Weiss Center for the Arts Mailing Address

Department Gallery

Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 8
Photo 9


Student Outcomes

Where Our Students Go From Here

Jobs

  • One River School of Art + Design  
  • American Folk Art Museum 
  • New York Public Library 
  • Children’s Museum of New York 
  • The Pennsylvania State University 
  • Philadelphia Museum of Art 
  • National Gallery of Art  
  • National Museum of American History 
  • Michener Museum of Art 
  • Barnes Foundation 
  • Museum of Modern Art 
  • Sotheby's  

Graduate Schools

  • Columbia University 
  • SUNY Purchase 
  • Lewis & Clark  
  • University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 
  • Cranbrook, Academy of Art 
  • SAIC (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) 
  • University College of London, Slade School of Fine Art 
  • Virginia Commonwealth University 
  • New York University, School of Law 
  • McGill University 
  • University of Toronto 
  • Yale University 
  • Harvard University 
  • Rhode Island School of Design 
  • Boston University 
  • MICA (Maryland Institute of Contemporary Art) 
  • PAFA (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts) 
  • University of Delaware 
  • UPenn 
  • Temple University 
  • The Courtauld 
  • University of Maryland, College Park
  • Cardiff University
Where Our Students Have Interned
  • Atlantic Records 
  • The Biscuit Factory 
  • New York Arts Practicum 
  • Metropolitan Museum of Art 
  • Whitney Museum of Art 
  • Philadelphia Fabric Workshop and Museum  
  • Princeton University Art Museum 
  • Wadsworth Athenaeum 
  • Philadelphia Mural Arts 
  • State Museum of Harrisburg  
  • Brandywine River Museum of Art 
  • Hirschl & Adler Galleries, Inc. 
  • Christie’s  

Department Features


Firenze___Giuseppe_Moscato.jpg
Study Abroad
art_history_seminar1_700w_1.jpg
Current Courses
Goodyear_Gallery.jpg
Submit Your Portfolio

Will_Preman_Poster_JPEG_1.jpg
Artist in Residence

This exhibition features work by Will Preman, the 2019 studio-art artist-in-residence. A multidisciplinary artist currently working in Philadelphia. Preman earned a BFA in ceramics and art history from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2012 and an MFA at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Read More

Student Perspective

"It is one thing to write a paper for a professor, but writing knowing that your work will be published and read is an entirely new kind of pressure. That said, the seminar remains the most consistently engaging class I have ever taken. While a large portion of the work was original research, that research was then condensed and clarified into wall labels, introductions, and brochures for general reference. We learned how to render information accessible to a diverse audience, a skill which translates into any number of fields post-graduation."

—Fiona Clarke ’19


Events All events


Art & Art History News

All News Department News
Student Snapshot: Caitlyn Longest ’23

Student Snapshot: Caitlyn Longest ’23

Studio art major Caitlyn Longest ’23 has interned in NYC and Italy, and she's created art in Jordan. "I've learned to adapt to different places quickly and make the most of my time," she says.

read more
An Autumn to Remember: Fall Arts Announced

An Autumn to Remember: Fall Arts Announced

Open your calendar app! You don’t want to miss the public arts events at Dickinson this fall.

read more
Graduate Story: Kimberly Drexler ’15, Sotheby’s Fiduciary Client Group

Graduate Story: Kimberly Drexler ’15, Sotheby’s Fiduciary Client Group

The art & art history major comes full circle, as an assistant vice president of business development at one of the world's largest art brokers.

read more
Rocking the World: Sylvia Smith

Rocking the World: Sylvia Smith '73 Named Among 'Women Who Changed Architecture'

Art department alumna Sylvia Smith '73 'rocks the world,' according to a definitive new book, "The Women Who Changed Architecture."

read more
Student Snapshot: Bethany Petrunak

Student Snapshot: Bethany Petrunak '22

Meet Bethany Petrunak ’22, a double major in studio art and art history who co-curated two capstone exhibitions at Dickinson this year.

read more
Art & Art History Major Jobs and Scholarships 2022

Art & Art History Major Jobs and Scholarships 2022

Graduating seniors secure jobs with the New York Jets and Brandywine River Museum of Art.

read more