Discover Classes. Earn Rewards.

Art History Classes Chicago

Explore the vibrant art scene of Chicago through art history classes, where participants can delve into the rich cultural heritage of the city and gain a deeper understanding of various artistic movements and masterpieces.

1 class in-person in Chicago has spots left, and 3 classes live online are available.

The EAC Book Club

Evanston Art Center @ 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL

Join The EAC Book Club for an enriching journey through literature that intertwines with the world of art. Engage in lively discussions centered around novels that delve into the lives of renowned artists and the essence of creativity. Whether you're a seasoned bibliophile or an art enthusiast, immerse yourself in a welcoming community that celebrates the captivating intersection of literature and visual expression.

(83) All levels 18 and older
$85

3 sessions

Gift it!

Cabaret Conversations

92nd Street Y @ Live Interactive Online Classroom

Immerse yourself in the vibrant world of cabaret as industry insiders and performers gather to discuss the rich history and current state of this unique art form. Join award-winning cabaret performer Michael Kirk Lane at 92nd Street Y for a series of insightful conversations that will leave you inspired and entertained.

(1060) All levels 18 and older

Certificate in Applied Color for Interiors

New York School of Interior Design

Learn the art of interior design with the Certificate in Applied Color for Interiors at the New York School of Interior Design. Master the skill of choosing paint colors, creating successful color schemes, and transforming existing spaces with color in this comprehensive online workshop series. Gain valuable insights and elevate your interior design expertise.

(176) All levels 18 and older
$500

3 sessions

Gift it!
Discover Classes. Earn Rewards.

Art History Classes Gift Card

Thousands of classes & experiences. No expiration. Gift an experience this holiday season and make it a memorable one. Lock in a price with the Inflation Buster Gift Card Price Adjuster™

Buy a Gift Card

Explore Art Private Group Events

Explore private group events and team building activities ranging from cooking to art, escape rooms, trivia, and more

Explore Art Private Group Events
Animated gif slider: slide 1: a person in a meditative pose with paint on their apron; slide 2: person making a pizza; slide 3: 3 people drinking wine and smiling; slide 4: two people competing in a sack race while others look on

The Alchemic Union of Text and Image

Los Angeles Center of Photography @ *Virtual Classroom

Uncover the art of blending words and visuals seamlessly with a course that explores the synergy between text and images.

(41) All levels 18 and older
$615

6 sessions

Gift it!
37 art history classes that have ended
Add to your wish list to find out about new dates

Macbeth's Art (Ages 16+)

Evanston Art Center @ 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL

Love to read Shakespeare? Love to create art? Perfect! In this course, you will do both. We will read one act per week, discuss the readings in class, and then create art in response to Shakespeare's "Macbeth".  All reader levels, artistic levels, and art mediums are welcome. 

(83) All levels 16 and older
No upcoming schedules
$265

6 sessions

Gift it!

Painting, Not Painting

Evanston Art Center @ 1717 Central St, Evanston, IL

In this seminar we’ll explore a constellation of modern and contemporary artists who have redefined the practice of painting by exploring what it is not. From Tibetan sand mandalas to Joan Miro’s burnt canvases to Katharina Grosse’s paintings/sculptures, we’ll learn how artists use ideas of absence, silence and erasure to push the boundaries of painting as we know it.

(83) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$170

5 sessions

Gift it!

Art Seminar: Intro to Performance Art (Online)

Evanston Art Center

What happens when art becomes more about actions than a physical result? How does art relate to us and the wider social world? How do we negotiate the gap and blur the boundaries between art and life? Learn the history of performance art and a wide spectrum of performance forms including performance in everyday life, rituals, folk forms, artists' actions, experimental dance and theatre, activist performance, and intermedia forms. Important Notes:...

(83) Beginner 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Art Seminar: Monuments of Power

Evanston Art Center @ Interactive Online Classroom via Zoom, Chicago, IL

As protests against systemic racism continues, the significance of monuments has been thrust into the cultural spotlight. Who or what should they represent? Can or should they be removed? And what is to replace them? In this course we’ll focus on artists of color who address these questions by exploring ideas of history, identity and power. Skill Level: All Levels Notes: This interactive online class is presented via Zoom. Please download...

(83) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$175

6 sessions

Gift it!

Art Seminar: The Body in Art: A History of Presence

Evanston Art Center

Art Seminar: The Body in Art: A History of Presence & Absence The body has been both a subject and a medium of art for millennia. We’ll look at multiple forms of art that explore the body as both a visceral location and a representation of identity. Looking beyond portraiture, our focus will include feminist and queer histories, ritual practices, the white gaze, and so-called “Outsider Art.” This interactive online class is presented...

(83) Beginner 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Art Terms in Action: Art History and You

Evanston Art Center

Learn art historical references, styles and artists each week, and then experiment with the various technique introduced for yourself. We will study and view the history, and then be set free to work on a piece in that particular form or technique.  Additional time will be given if a learner requires more instruction on how to use the materials. Learners will be encouraged to post work onto the class’s Facebook Page. This interactive online...

(83) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Moby-Dick: Reading and Envisioning an American Epic

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

From the most famous first sentence in American literature to the climactic chase scene, reading Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick is a great challenge—and memorable experience—in the life of any reader. This class will help participants chart an exciting course through the novel. We will also explore many of the beautifully illustrated editions of the book held in the Newberry’s collection, as well as adaptations into film, theater, and other...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$270

9 sessions

Gift it!

The Artists of the Ballets Russes

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

Explore the work that great visual artists and set designers did to elevate Diaghilev’s legendary Balles Russes performances. The seasons of ballet presented in the West by Serge Diaghilev from 1909 to 1929 thrilled audiences and blazed new directions in choreography, music, and the visual arts, creating masterpieces including Schéhérazade, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, and many others. We will explore the work that great visual artists created...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$255

6 sessions

Gift it!

Curtain Up on Broadway: Magic of Great Musicals

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

Curtain Up on Broadway: Exploring the Magic of Great Musicals This class will explore the magic of Broadway musicals from the turn of the century up through the present. Everyone enjoys a great Broadway musical! The miracle of this repertoire is that it's so spectacularly varied, with a show to suit every taste. This class will explore the magic of Broadway musicals. The evolution of Broadway musicals is fascinating, moving from the operetta-like...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$205

5 sessions

Gift it!

From Chicago to LA: Art along the Santa Fe Railway

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

The storied train route has inspired a range of works of art over the years. CLASS DESCRIPTION From architecture and artistry of Indigenous people to paintings, photography, posters, and postcards drawing travelers to the Southwest and beyond, this class investigates the many artistic modes related to traveling along the famous train route from Chicago to Los Angeles. Margaret Denny is an independent historian with a PhD in Art History (UIC 2010)....

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$205

3 sessions

Gift it!

Walking Chicago's Literary Gold Coast

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood contains a great number of important literary associations, including the Newberry Library and authors connected to it. The neighborhood’s rich history is intertwined with the notable writers and thinkers who’ve made the Gold Coast home over the past century and a half. This class will combine site visits (all within walking distance) with reading that explores the neighborhood—its evolution, its lasting...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$215

5 sessions

Gift it!

Literature & Art in the Midwest Metropolis

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

Liesl Olson, Chicago Renaissance: Literature and Art in the Midwest Metropolis This remarkable cultural history celebrates the great Midwestern city of Chicago for its centrality to the modernist movement. Author Liesl Olson traces Chicago’s cultural development from the 1893 World’s Fair through mid century, illuminating how Chicago writers revolutionized literary forms during the first half of the twentieth century, a period of sweeping aesthetic...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
Free
Gift it!

Suminagashi: Japanese Marbling

Infinity Foundation @ 1280 Old Skokie Valley Rd, Highland Park, IL

Suminagashi means floating ink. This traditional art form originated in eighteenth century Japan. Marble-like patterns are created by floating ink on water. Dip one brush in ink and one in colorless ink—a mixture of water and wetting agent. Using a brush, you touch the tip of the ink brush to the surface of the water. A puddle of ink will form. Touch the colorless brush to the center of the puddle. Repeat until the surface is covered with rings...

(33) All levels 16 and older
No upcoming schedules

The Clown—Kemp’s Jig

The Newberry

The Newberry Consort presents a bawdy stage jig in the spirit of Will Kemp, Shakespeare’s star clown and one of the actors who appeared in his earliest plays. Offering a glimpse into the street theater tradition of Elizabethan England, Kemp specialist and actor/singer/dancer extraordinaire Steve Player joins us from England, rounding out an ensemble of singers and lute and violin players.

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
Free

3 sessions

Gift it!

Integrating the Inner City

The Newberry

Integrating the Inner City: Chicago Public Housing Past, Present, and Future In the most thorough examination of mixed-income public housing redevelopment to date, Robert J. Chaskin and Mark L. Joseph draw on five years of field research, in-depth interviews, and volumes of data to demonstrate that while considerable progress has been made in transforming the complexes physically, the integrationist goals of the policy have not been met. They provide...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

The Apotheosis of Self-Reflection

The Newberry @ 60 W Walton St, Chicago, IL

Philosophers typically attribute the foundation of modern thought to René Descartes, who in his Discours de la méthode (1637) extensively deploys metaphors of “founding” for his theory of how the edifice of knowledge is regrounded on the clear and distinct certainty of the cogito: “I think, therefore I am.” Cultural historians sometimes locate a remoter starting point for modernity in Luther and in the Protestant Reformation. There, too,...

(4) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
Free
Gift it!
Reset all filters.

No results found

Try removing some filters.

Reviews for Art History Classes in Chicago

Art History Classes in Chicago are rated 4.5 stars based on 1,397 verified reviews from actual CourseHorse.com purchasers.

CourseHorse Gift Cards

  • Creative & unique gift for any occasion
  • Thousands of classes & experiences
  • No expiration date
  • Instant e-delivery (or choose a date)
  • Add a personalized message
  • Lock in a price with the Inflation Buster Gift Card Price Adjuster™
Buy a Gift Card
gift card with the CourseHorse logo gift card with the CourseHorse logo
Loading...