Art / Art History

Our art curriculum centers on generating insightful and creative thought. You’ll develop the necessary skills to begin a practice of creative problem solving. You’ll prepare for careers in higher education, museum work, the art and design market, architecture, historic preservation, publishing, and a variety of other fields. We’ve designed the major to be flexible, allowing you to initiate your own focus while building from strong formal and perceptual skills founded in intensive practice. Our light-filled studios in Voney Art Center have the best views of any academic building on campus. Together with the new James K. Schmidt Gallery, our facilities offer excellent resources for study and creative endeavors.

Our interdisciplinary art history program allows you to bring ideas from various fields to help elucidate the original meaning of works of art. You’ll reach back at least to ancient Rome in this time-honored discipline to develop research and writing skills and to learn current standard methodologies.

Major and Minors Offered

• Art: Studio Art (BA major, minor)
• Art: Art History (BA major, minor)

Why Study Art and Art History at Principia College?

• Our 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio allows invaluable access to faculty, who keep mentoring students beyond graduation.
• Our faculty maintain individual artistic or writing practices.
• You can take courses in art theory, art of the Italian Renaissance, history of 20th century architecture, color studies, drawing, graphic design, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, and medieval art.
• We approach the visual arts with the expectation of spiritual reflection and a metaphysical basis of creativity, and we reject any sense of limitation.  
• Our students develop transferable skills such as visual problem solving and communication, original and independent thought, critical thinking, and an awareness of the social, political, and religious contexts of the art world.
• We prepare students to continue their education in some of the top graduate schools in the country, including School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of the Arts, University of Texas, Washington University in St. Louis, and the Art Center College of Design.
• We’ve developed outstanding internship opportunities at companies and organizations.
• Art History students have opportunities to give gallery talks at art museums in St. Louis in all art history courses, teaching students how to speak with authority and insight about works of art.
• Our new James K. Schmidt Gallery offers students exhibition and curatorial experience.
• Our students develop portfolios in preparation for graduate school and careers.

Abroads

Principia abroad programs are open to all majors, and students are encouraged to apply for any abroad program that interests them. All abroads involve individual research that students can tailor to their interests. Of particular interest to our art and art history students are the abroads to the Czech Republic and to Greece and Italy.

Note: See the College Catalog for more detailed information about our program and departmental learning outcomes.