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Art History

Available as a major or minor

Sail up the Nile. Worship in Rome. Stroll the boulevards of Paris. Study art history and archaeology to explore the rich visual and material legacy of cultures from ancient Egypt, Renaissance Italy and modern France. Whether in the classroom, on May Term, or studying abroad, travel to different places and times as you discover some of the most spectacular contributions to the history of civilization.

art gallerie

Curriculum & Courses

Sample Course Offerings

ARTH 151: Art, Culture & Society 
ARTH 256: Baroque: Popes, Kings & Busin 
ARTH 391: Ancient Egyptian Arts

shattered pot

Learn By Doing

Pouring Themselves into Interesting Work

Jacob Friedrich poses for a lighthearted photo with the caption: Archeology to die for

Art History major Jacob Friedrich received a Jones scholarship to learn how to excavate at an archaeological field school at Cahokia, IL. Cahokia is an urban settlement of the 13th century AD - the largest settlement north of Mexico. It's one of only 23 UNESCO Word Heritage sites in the US.

Brieanah Gouveia's was awarded a travel scholarship to study the ancient Greek collection at the Met. Her project "Slaves, Foreigners, Barbarians: Class and Ethnicity in Athenian Law and Life" looked at how different types of foreigners were depicted on pottery and in sculpture.

Brieanah Gouveia's was awarded a travel scholarship to study the ancient Greek collection at the Met. Her project "Slaves, Foreigners, Barbarians: Class and Ethnicity in Athenian Law and Life" looked at how different types of foreigners were depicted on pottery and in sculpture.

Caitlin Wright interned for the Castletown Foundation in Dublin, Ireland. "Hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives, I worked directly with a conservator to surface clean and assess the condition of Castletown House's paper collection. One of the documents in the collection dated to 1598 and held the seal of Queen Elizabeth the First. I didn't clean that document, of course, but I did get to hold it!"
Close-up image of handwritten calligraphy on faded paper with a wax seal

Caitlin Wright interned for the Castletown Foundation in Dublin, Ireland. "Hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives, I worked directly with a conservator to surface clean and assess the condition of Castletown House's paper collection. One of the documents in the collection dated to 1598 and held the seal of Queen Elizabeth the First. I didn't clean that document, of course, but I did get to hold it!"
Caitlin Wright smiles for a picture outside a historical building

Caitlin Wright interned for the Castletown Foundation in Dublin, Ireland. "Hosted by the Irish Architectural Archives, I worked directly with a conservator to surface clean and assess the condition of Castletown House's paper collection. One of the documents in the collection dated to 1598 and held the seal of Queen Elizabeth the First. I didn't clean that document, of course, but I did get to hold it!"

Roanoke students join professor on archeological dig in Egypt

Researchers working at a dig site

Several Roanoke students have gone digging for ancient artifacts in Egypt alongside Art History Professor Leslie Warden, a leader of archeological digs in this part of the world. Warden is one of few Egyptologists in Virginia. In Egypt, she has unearthed pottery and stone tools that reveal the presence of an ancient industrial zone. She hopes that during an archeological dig, Roanoke students gain experience in the field and an appreciation for studying small clues of life left behind from ancient civilizations.

Study Abroad

Art historians learn through travel

Students and professors pose for photo in front of a historical site in Turkey

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.
Faculty and students hold a Roanoke pennant flag outside an archeological site

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey.
Student walk through an archeological site

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey. 
Students roll up their pant legs to wade into the ocean

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey. 
Brieanah Gouveia smiles for a photo next to a palace garden fountain

Brieanah Gouveia visiting the palace of Frederick the Great in Germany and getting a full dose of Rococo art and architecture.
Students and faculty pose for a group photo next to a tall wall made from large stones

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey. 
Photo of the elaborately molded, golden palace ceiling

Brieanah Gouveia visiting the palace of Frederick the Great in Germany and getting a full dose of Rococo art and architecture.
Students and faculty pictured alongside a canal with a view of mountains in the background

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey. 
Brieanah Gouveia pictured from a distance gazing out a tall window many times her size

Brieanah Gouveia visiting the Bauhaus in Germany. 
Students and faculty pictured on the sweeping stone steps of a historical site

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey. 
A student holds up their sketchbook to reveal their drawings

Roanoke students experience great art firsthand in a May Term trip to Turkey. 

Careers & Outcomes

Roanoke research project inspires grad study of the history of fashion and textiles

The 5,000-year-old funeral garb of Pu-abi, a queen in the Sumerian city of Ur, captivated Bella Moritz ’22 so much when she was at Roanoke College that she decided to recreate the elaborate ensemble for her art history honors thesis.

As she designed a Fintel Library installation to present her research, Moritz knew she’d found her purpose – and a path to graduate school.  

Now, Moritz is wrapping up her final year at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, where she is completing a master’s degree in the history, theory and museum practice of fashion and textile studies. She and her classmates have just opened an exhibition about the history and symbolism of the humble bow and its journey from shoelaces to the highest levels of personal style. 

“I know that I would not be where I am today without Roanoke,” she said. “I got so many opportunities to do hands-on, one-on-one guided research and self-guided research, and I got funding to support those projects.”  

After earning her master’s, Moritz hopes to land a position doing exhibition design or garment conservation with a museum in the nation’s capital.  

Bella at Gallery Fit

Our grads land exciting jobs after Roanoke

Logos for Roanoke County Public Schools, Piedmont Arts, and Millennial Media

Faculty

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News

  • Workshop: Communicating Your Research in a Nutshell

    This interactive workshop, the first of a two-part event, is intended to train researchers to better communicate their work with people outside of their field. Folks from all programs are encouraged to attend!

    Date:
    March 27, 2026
    Time:
    4 - 6 p.m.
    Location:

    Antrim Chapel

    Workshop: Communicating Your Research in a Nutshellevent image

  • Nutshell Games Competition

    Engaged in research? Consider competing in this year's Nutshell Games Competition for a chance to win an Amazon e-gift card.

    Date:
    April 21, 2026
    Time:
    6 - 7:30 p.m.
    Location:

    Antrim Chapel

    Nutshell Games Competitionevent image

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