Dear Art History community,
The field of art history is always evolving, but at its core is a sense of wonder at images and objects that speak to us across time. Since our department’s founding in 1934, our work has been guided by a passionate belief in art history as a humanistic enterprise. Today we interpret this mission broadly, while remaining committed to our discipline’s core pursuits: close visual analysis, historical contextualization, and engagement with primary sources. We love art and we study it vigorously, from the widest range of perspectives.
In December, I appeared on CBC News to discuss the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral. It took me back to my time as a visiting scholar at Sorbonne University last spring through our University of Toronto–France Art History Partnership. This program, supported by a generous donation, enables 30 undergraduate students to study in France each summer and includes opportunities for graduate student and faculty exchange. Over the past year, the department has hosted distinguished French scholars such as Barthélémy Jobert (Sorbonne Université) and Anne Lafont (École des hautes études en sciences sociales), strengthening our longstanding connections with European intellectual networks.
Other highlights of this year included hosting the 40th annual Brieger Memorial Lecture, our series on mediaeval and Renaissance art named for the renowned Prof. Peter H. Brieger (1898–1983), and participating in the honorary degree ceremony for Jane Corkin, a Toronto gallerist who transformed the art world by championing photography as fine art. Inspired by Corkin’s achievements, we convened the international symposium “Camera/Women: Rewriting the History of Photography.”
Events like these help us connect students with living art history. The department’s undergraduate program, one of North America’s largest, provides comprehensive training in the artistic canon—the Western tradition and beyond—and rigorous historical methods. We are also part of a tri-campus graduate program that prepares scholars for careers in academia, curating, heritage, and cultural journalism. The success of these programs is a team accomplishment. I offer my special thanks to our faculty, our administrative staff, and our academic leaders: Prof. Kajri Jain, Graduate Chair; Prof. Jennifer Purtle, Director of Undergraduate Studies; and Prof. Louis Kaplan, Director of Graduate Studies.
We’re delighted you are part of our intellectual community. Please stay connected through this newsletter, our social media channels, and our public programming. Let us know about news and achievements you’d like to share. Thank you for supporting our mission to prepare the next generation of art historians.
Warm regards,
Joseph L. Clarke
Chair, Department of Art History