SOTHEBY'S INSTITUTE OF ART

Program Details

Art History Professional Certificate

This course explores the history of art through its distinctive formal and philosophical phases, from ancient civilizations to the digital space. While focused on Western art, it also introduces modern and contemporary art from Asia and Africa. Apart from lectures from leading industry professionals, site visits feature strongly throughout the experience.


The course schedule includes...


  • Week 1: Art history overview, basic introduction to the art market. Visit the British Museum
  • Week 2: Medieval and Renaissance art. Visit the National Gallery.
  • Week 3: Baroque, Rococo, Enlightenment and Neoclassical art. Visit the Wallace Collection and Sir John Soane's Museum
  • Week 4: Romanticism, Landscape and the Barbizon school. Transition from Realism to Impressionism. Visit Tate Britain
  • Week 5: Japanese art and Photography. Visit the Courtauld Collection
  • Week 6: Cubism, German Expressionism, Dada and Surrealism. Visit the Estorick Collection
  • Week 7: Visit Tate Britain and Tate Modern
  • Week 8: Post-War art movements and Postmodernism. Visit Whitechapel Gallery and contemporary art curator
  • Week 9: Modern and Contemporary Art in China and Southeast Asia, and Africa. Visit commercial galleries.
  • Week 10: Digital Art, New Media, Street Art. Walking tour of London's street art
  • Week 11: Provenance research, ethics. All-day visit to Oxford’s Pitt Rivers and Ashmolean Museums
  • Week 12: Conservation practices, technological developments. Visit a conservation studio. Present final projects and wrap-up the course

Schedule

  • 12 weeks, Mondays and Tuesdays, 10:30am - 4:30pm, at Sotheby's Institute of Art

Examination

  • There is no final exam, though assigned papers and projects must be submitted during the course to pass

Sabbaticals.com Thoughts

  • Though 2 days a week may seem 'light', there is so much to London's art scene that the extra time can be a gift
  • Your mentor will be instrumental in helping you understand and access this scene, otherwise it can feel overwhelming

Art Business Professional Certificate and Art History Professional Certificate

This course combines the creative aspect of Art History with the practical side of Art Business for a deeper understanding of the art world. Art Business explores the industry by introducing key players, infrastructure, and art's vast cultural and economic history.


In addition to Art History (see separately), the Art Business course schedule includes...


  • Week 1: Current art market overview, including auctions
  • Week 2: Market analysis tools and research methods
  • Week 3: Chinese art market, curation and production of exhibitions and enterprises. Visit a contemporary gallery
  • Week 4: Art law, from intellectual property laws to selling art online
  • Week 5: Art fairs, photography market. Visit to Sotheby’s Auction House
  • Week 6: Financial side of art business through case studies. Day trip to Margate's galleries
  • Week 7: Entrepreneurship for commercial galleries. Discussion with actual gallery director
  • Week 8: Marketing strategies and approaches to PR
  • Week 9: Sustainability, buying and selling at auction, and patronage and artists
  • Week 10: Art advising, collecting in the 21st century. Hear from experts
  • Week 11: New technologies, performance art
  • Week 12: Final presentations

Schedule

  • 12 Weeks, Mondays and Tuesdays (Art History) plus Wednesdays and Thursdays (Art Business), 10:30am - 4:30pm, at Sotheby's Institute of Art

Examination

  • There is no final exam, though assigned papers and projects must be submitted during the course to pass

Sabbaticals.com Thoughts

  • If you prefer to have a wider scope of learning with greater schedule intensity, Art Business will adds a fascinating lens

Short Courses

If 12 weeks feels too long, another option is to take short courses during your sabbatical, ranging from 1 week to 6 weeks in duration.

Course Examples


6 Weeks (Tuesday evenings)


  • Art History: Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism
  • Art History: Ancient Greece to the early Renaissance
  • Perspectives on Art Business
  • Art and Finance in a Global Market


3 Weeks (Full days)


  • Introduction to Art Business, Art and its Markets I, Art and Its Markets II


1 Week (Full Days)


  • Art, Finance, and Investment
  • Gallery Management
  • Introduction to Art Business
  • Art Advising
  • Art History: Key Concepts
  • Art and Its Markets I
  • Art and Its Markets II
  • Art Marketing
  • Introduction to Auctions

Examination

  • There are no exams for short courses

Sabbaticals.com Thoughts

  • Many course timings are staggered, allowing you to design your own multi-week curriculum to fit your sabbatical schedule