This intensive one-semester programme is designed for those who are interested both in art history and the business practices of the art world. Through lectures and visits to specialist museums and collections, students are introduced to the history of art and design and the ways in which art has been made, sold and collected. Students choose to focus either on the period from 1600 to 1900 or on Modern and Contemporary art. The business component of the programme starts with fundamentals and examines the history, management and legal ramifications of both public and private art organizations, and the international art market and its workings. Students explore legal issues related to the art market and the relationship between contemporary management theories and the art world. Established and emerging markets also are considered. The programme offers practical skills connected to accessing and analyzing art market data.
The teaching approach emphasizes the acquisition of practical skills from an object-based perspective, enabling students to gain confidence in analyzing and identifying a wide range of art objects, both in a classroom setting and in numerous study visits to London’s world-class art collections. Students meet museum curators, auction specialists and art dealers. The unique opportunity to learn about objects close-up enhances students’ critical and visual skills, while immersion in the art world offers them an insight into a booming 21st century industry. The teaching is intensive and supportive, with an emphasis on individual and small-group learning. Students also gain valuable practical experience in delivering visual presentations and preparing a business plan.
The programme equips students with knowledge and skills appropriate to a wide range of careers in the art world or for further study on one of our postgraduate programmes.
Structure
The programme is divided into two units, one in art history and one in art business. The business unit, entitled Foundations of Art Business, contains a further two components: Established and Emerging Art Markets, and Cultural Delivery: Strategies and Management. These classes are taught on two days a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays) across the entire semester. For the art history component, students in the Spring semester are offered the choice of focusing on the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, or on Modern and Contemporary Art. In the Autumn semester only the Modern and Contemporary Art option is offered. Each choice involves classes taught on two days a week (Thursdays and Fridays) across the entire semester. Part-time students can choose to study one unit only during the semester, or two units over more than one semester.
Credits and Validation
For students interested in acquiring credits, the programme is validated as Continuing Professional Development by the University of Manchester, one of the UK’s leading universities. Students who complete the programme successfully will gain 60 University of Manchester undergraduate credits.
This generally translates to 16 undergraduate credits or 12 graduate in the US system and 30 credits in the European (ECTS) system. Students currently enrolled at other colleges or universities should be aware that transfer of credit is always made at the discretion of the accepting institution. Therefore, applicants should confirm the feasibility of credit transfer with faculty advisors at their home school in advance of registration.
Credit summary:
1. Established and Emerging Art Markets
(25% of programme – 15 UK credits; 4 US undergraduate credits; 3 US graduate credits; 7.5 ECTS credits)
2. Cultural Delivery: Strategies and Management
(25% of programme - 15 UK credits; 4 US undergraduate credits; 3 US graduate credits; 7.5 ECTS credits)
3. 17th and 18th Century Art and Culture
(25% of programme – 15 UK credits; 4 US undergraduate credits; 3 graduate credits; 7.5 ECTS credits); 19th Century Art and Culture (25% of course – 15 UK credits; 4 US undergraduate credits; 3 US graduate credits; 7.5 ECTS credits)
4. The Modern Period 1900-59
(25% of programme – 15 UK credits; 4 US undergraduate credits; 3 US graduate credits; 7.5 ECTS credits);
Contemporary Art and Design
(25% of programme – 15 UK credits; 4 US undergraduate credits; 3 US graduate credits; 7.5 ECTS credits).
Note: In the Spring semester students take nos 1 and 2 above, and choose between nos 3 and 4 ; in the Autumn semester only nos 1, 2 and 4 are offered. Foundations of Art Business Sample Topics
- Auction and Art Market History
- The Old Master Print and Painting Art Market
- The Impressionist and Modern Art Market
- Indian Modern and Contemporary Art Market
- The Rise of the Contemporary Art Market
- Middle-Eastern and Latin American Modern and Contemporary Art Market
- Chinese Modern and Contemporary Art Market
- The Emerging Market in Design
- Historical and Contemporary Russian Art Market
- Non-art Commodities at Auction (e.g. wine)
Art and Auction Legal Framework - International Business Frameworks
- Contractual Relations: Legal and Management Issues
Art Market Analysis Consumption of Fine Art
- An Analytical Framework for Understanding the Art Market
- Analytical Tools: Seeing the Art Market Through Numbers
Legal, Strategy and Management Issues - International Business Frameworks
- Management and Strategy
- Galleries, Museums and Collections: Business and Legal Structures
- Contractual Relations: Legal and Management Issues
- Intellectual Property
- Stakeholders in Management, including ‘Investor’s Briefing’
- Marketing for the Arts
- Branding and the Art Market
- Feasibility
- Art Business Enterprise Case Studies
- Art Business Strategic Development/Planning
Vocational and Contextual Studies - Presentation Skills
- Art Business Proposals: Feasibility Study
- Public Sector Artwork Commissioning
- Conservation Issues
- The Exhibition Process
Study Visits
London is a major centre for the art world. A wide variety of faculty-led visits to museums, galleries, auction houses and other locations forms an integral part of the learning experience. Sample venues:
- 20/21 Art Fair (Royal College of Art)
- Bonham’s Auction House
- British Museum
- Christie’s Auction House
- Contemporary commercial alleries
- Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Estorik Collection
- Tate Britain/Tate Modern
- Saatchi Gallery
- Frieze Art Fair
- Sotheby’s Auction House and Warehouse
- The National Gallery
- The Wallace Collection
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- The Courtauld Galleries
- Whitechapel Gallery
Assessment
Students are assessed in the art history unit by a combination of slide tests, essays and oral presentations. In the business unit they are assessed by an examination on international art and auction law, and a detailed and comprehensive group business proposal.
Admission to the Programme
There are no formal admission requirements except a good level of English language competence (a minimum IELTS score of 6.0). Applicants are interviewed in person or by phone. Our students are of all ages and come from a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds. The international make-up of the student body at Sotheby’s Institute of Art generates a rich and dynamic learning environment.