Why Choose Art History and What Can You Get Out of It?
The history of art is an incredibly long one with man having evolved from cave paintings and drawings to the more modern art pieces by artists such as Andy Warhol or Anthony Gormley.
A degree in art history will give you a deep insight into how art has evolved over time and tastes have changed. Moreover, it will allow you to engage in deep intellectual conversation with other intellectuals on art and the benefits of it in modern society.
All art history degrees are BA for obvious reasons, however each University will offer a slightly different area of study although you will study many periods in some detail. It is best to do some research into which era interests you the most and find out what each course offers and then apply to those that are the most interesting.
Where can Art History take you?
Unless you land a job as an art historian in a museum or other establishment, then there isn’t an obvious job route straight after graduation. As you can imagine, following a mixture of a degree in history and art, the most obvious positions to enter into are those as a museum curator or official, where you can advise or choose which art gets displayed and how to set out the gallery. However, other jobs include becoming an archivist, a librarian or an arts administrator.
Commercial Art Gallery Manager
Managing your own gallery is a common role after an art history degree, but the job itself will vary depending on the specifications of the gallery. In a public gallery, you may be in charge of making sure exhibitions are set-up correctly and ensure the smooth running of the gallery. However, when you’re managing a private gallery, you may be working more on sales of art work and marketing for the gallery. Starting salaries are in the area of £17500 and then can rise to around £40000 once you become an established gallery manager, but this all depends on the size of the gallery you are managing and whether it is public or private.
Arts Administrator
Very similar to an art gallery manager, an arts administrator will manage services in the art sector varying from traditional paintings to dance and theatre. In a small organisation arts administrators often have a variety of tasks depending on the nature of the organization, whereas in a larger company, they could be involved in front-of-house management, marketing, sponsorship etc. Salaries start at £15000 and will then rise to up to £60000 depending on the size of the company and the level that you have reached within the organization.
Have a look around all of the potential jobs and even those not related to art history and see if you think you have the skills to complete the work.