Sotheby's | Institute of Art | London, New York, Singapore

Sotheby's Institute of Art

For forty years Sotheby's Institute of Art has been preparing students for distinguished careers in the international art world, offering a number of Master's Degree programmes that combine professional training with academic study.

Sotheby's focus reflects a commitment to interactive "hands-on" education that draws creatively upon the resources of important art centres worldwide

Being associated with Sotheby's gives you an enormous advantage in the art world, and having the opportunity to learn from top experts in the field will pave the way for an excellent career.

LEE DOWDY, MA American Fine & Decorative Art, 2007

Master of Arts Degree Programmes

Sotheby's Institute of Art is committed to providing students with the knowledge to achieve their professional goals, offering several Master of Arts Degree programmes that serve a variety of student needs and interests.

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  Art Business:

  The Master's Degree programme in Art Business prepares students for careers in the commercial art world. This is not a business degree, but rather a degree in the business side of art. The Art Business programme is designed for students with an art historical background who want to understand business theores and practices as well as the technical and structural elements of the art market. Relevant professional art-world practice is studied, including marketing, the media, information technology, art content production, business communications, investment, insurance, valuation, art law, and economics.

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  • Offered in New York and London.
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  Contemporary Art:

  The Master's Degree programme in Contemporary Art places emphasis on the artwork itself and how to critically approach and interpret contemporary art. Graduates benefit from the international perspective of the programme and go on to pursue a variety of fascinating careers in the contemporary art market: They open their own galleries; become curators, editors or critics; or are employed in commercial contemporary galleries or public museums throughout the world.

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  • Offered in New York and London.
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  Fine and Decorative Art:

  The Master's Degree programme in Fine and Decorative Art offers an intensive immersion into the challenges of connoisseurship and the documentation of art. Based on the curriculum developed by Sotheby's some forty years ago to train professionals for the auction house, this programme is taught from the perspective of an art expert rather than an academic art historian. It provides students with an understanding of art history and teaches connoisseurship, a skill rarely featured in other academic settings.

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  • Offered in London.
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  American Fine and Decorative Art:

  The Master's Degree programme in American Fine and Decorative Art is taught from the perspective of an art expert, thus preparing graduates for careers in galleries, auction houses, consultancies, and museums, in which knowledge of the work of art is key. Based on Sotheby's venerable Works of Art Course, the American Fine and Decorative Art course has been taught in New York for over twenty years and has produced graduates now active in myriad art professional careers. Students study the full range of American fine and decorative arts from 1630 — 1945.

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  • Offered in New York
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  Contemporary Design:

  The Master's Degree programme in Contemporary Design combines academic study of 20th century and contemporary decorative arts with an exploration of the professional design world. Furniture, ceramics, glass, patterns, metalwork, jewellery and dress from the Art Nouveau period to the pluralism of the present day are examined in relation to architecture and interiors, and wider theoretical and contextual issues. The course promotes an object-based methodology and develops visual, analytical and interpretative skills that are relevant to a range of careers.

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  • Offered in London.
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  East Asian Art:

  Focusing on the art history of China, Japan and Korea, the Master's Degree programme in East Asian Art is designed for those who wish to become Asian art specialists with a knowledge of auction house, art market, and museum and gallery practices. Lectures and seminars are organised in three tracks: ritual and religious art, decorative art and pictorial art. Handling sessions and fieldwork include visits to major collections in Europe and a study trip to East Asia.

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  • Offered in London.
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  Photography:

  The Master's Degree programme in Photography offers an in-depth study of photography and its significance in modern visual culture. Intended for students wishing to pursue a career as a specialist in photographic imagery, theory and object, this program examines the place of photography in the art world, focusing on the critical analysis of the earliest to the most recent photographic experiments.

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  • Offered in London.