Art History Teaching
October 21 2025
Picture: The Spectator
Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:
I'm slow to the following opinion piece by the art historian Richard Morris published in The Spectator last week. It concerns the teaching of Art History in British universities and the balance of looking (ie connoisseurship) vs. theory. Richard has published the full text on his account on 'X', in case you're not a subscriber.
__________
I hope readers don't mind me providing a small plug for the Master's Degree in Fine, Decorative Art and Design course I lecture on for the Sotheby's Institute in London. It remains one of only courses which teaches the practical skills required of a picture specialist. The skills you'll learn there are the same you'll need to catalogue pictures in the art trade, which all begin with looking and understanding these complex artworks. I had the great pleasure of organising the course's Old Master and British Paintings for the 'auction house project' there last year, which I dedicated lots of time to gathering pictures from old auction catalogues which aren't discoverable via Google images (much harder than it sounds - as it happens). I was gladdened to see how many students relished the task of, let's say, looking through hundreds & thousands of Flemish / Dutch landscapes on the RKD to pin point the attribution of their pictures. Surfing through such resources is never a waste of time (if you're looking properly), and really is one of the best ways to get to grips with an artist or specific genre.
