Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York MASTER’S DEGREE CURRICULUM FOR 2018–19

Art Business (MAAB) (MACA) Fine & Decorative Art & Design (MAFDAD)

3.0 Navigating the 3.0 Navigating the Art World 3.0 Navigating the Art World

3.0 Materials & Methods in Contemporary Art or 3.0 Business Skills for the 3.0 Business Skills for the Art Market 3.0 Art & Design: The Emergence of Global Trades

3.0 Introduction to Art 3.0 Materials & Methods in Contemporary Art 3.0 Introduction to Art Valuation

3.0 Principles of Business I: Finance & Accounting 3.0 Contemporary Art 1960–1990s 3.0 Art & Design: The Emergence of Global Trades

3.0 Art Law I: The Legal Life Cycle of Art from the Studio to 3.0 Histories & Theories I: From to Post-Modernism 3.0 Methods of Research the Market

1.0 MAAB Field Study: Miami 1.0 MACA Field Study: Mexico City 1.0 MAFDAD Field Study: Shanghai

3.0 Principles of Business II: Strategy & Marketing 3.0 Global Art Production: Contemporary Art 2000–present 3.0 Fine Arts: 1775–1900

3.0 Art Law II: Ethics & Policy in the Art Profession 3.0 From Salon to Biennial: History of Exhibitions & Display 3.0 Decorative Arts: 1775–1900

3.0 Professional Practice in Art Business* 3.0 Introduction to Art Valuation 3.0 History of Connoisseurship

3.0 Elective 3.0 Elective 3.0 Elective

1.0 Master’s Project / Thesis Proposal Seminar 1.0 Master’s Project / Thesis Proposal Seminar 1.0 Master’s Project / Thesis Proposal Seminar

1.0 MAAB Field Study: Maastricht 1.0 MACA Field Study: Havana 1.0 MAFDAD Field Study: Paris

6.0 Master’s Project or Thesis 6.0 Master’s Project or Thesis 6.0 Master’s Project or Thesis

3.0 Elective** 3.0 Elective** 3.0 Elective**

3.0 Elective** 3.0 Elective** 3.0 Elective** SEMESTER 3 SEMESTER 2 SEMESTER 1 SEMESTER

* Select one: Business; Gallery Business; Museum Management & Nonprofits ** Electives are optional in 3rd Semester. Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York MASTER’S DEGREE ELECTIVES* ELECTIVES MAY BE TAKEN IN ANY PROGRAM

Art Business Electives Contemporary Art Electives Fine & Decorative Art & Design Electives

Advanced Topics in Art Business Disruptive Technology from the Daguerreotype to Instagram Collection Management

Collection Building & Art Advisory Art & the Moving Image of China: An Introduction to Chinese Works of Art:

Collection Management Art of the Americas Shang to Qing Dynasties

East Asian Art Markets Art Practice: From Studio to Post-Studio Chinoiserie: European & American Interpretation of Asian Motifs, Techniques, & Materials & Finance Estates & Foundations Gems & Jewelry: A History of Adornment from Byzantium to Hot Topics in Art Law & the Market Curating Contemporary Art I: History & Practice Modern Times Professional Practice in Art Business: Museum Management & Curating Contemporary Art II: Project-Based Modern & Contemporary Art & Design Nonprofits , the Press & the Public

Professional Practice in Art Business: Auctions Business Giant Crystals: American , 1960-1980

Professional Practice in Art Business: Gallery Business Intro to : From Ancient to Contemporary

Social Media & Marketing for the Arts 1860s-1950s

Seers & Makers: Creating the Culture of Art

Histories & Theories II: From Post-Modernism & Beyond

* Not all electives are offered each semester and are contingent upon sufficient enrollment Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

ART BUSINESS through the Baroque and Rococo periods, fine art and aid in understanding and applying legal concepts and concepts of design were in a continuous dialog with principles in a global art world context. Contemporary Advanced Topics in Art Business Europe, the Americas, and the Orient. This course legal controversies in the United States and abroad focuses on the range of materials and processes inform the discussion. Students are assessed by This seminar course provides a unique opportunity reflecting the global reach of fine and decorative art of examinations and class participation. for faculty and students to dive deep into a particular the period, and provides a broad overview of artistic area of research and interest for art business. Faculty production in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, the Art Law II: Ethics & Policy in choose the specific topics based on their current course offers a foundation for critical examination and research and / or recent events impacting the art the Art Profession understanding of the emergence of global trades. trade, allowing students to synthesize and apply the This course focuses on ethics and policy issues that material covered in other parts of the curriculum to affect the running of an art business in the interna- Art Business Field Study a timely, relevant issue. After the ISIS destruction of tional art world. Topics include First Amendment and This course is an integral part of the program, rein- Palmyra, for example, a faculty member might design controversial art; trademark; restitution, including Na- forcing on-campus learning with practical lessons in a course on cultural heritage and illicit trade. Similarly, zi-era art; cultural property; museum acquisition and the field led by faculty and local experts. Each year, this course provides an opportunity for visiting schol- ; taxation; trusts and estates; moral new destinations are selected to provide real-world ars and professional leaders to work closely with the rights; and artist’s resale rights. Comparative and in- experience in the most important art trade and Institute’s students in their areas of expertise. ternational law are also examined. Contemporary legal international collecting centers of the US and abroad, controversies in the United States and abroad inform Art & Design: The Emergence of providing an international network of professionals the discussion. Students are assessed by examina- for future career development. The course combines Global Trades tions and class participation and may have the option preparatory lectures in the classroom with on-site, to write a research paper in lieu of a midterm exam. “Globalism” has become a catch-phrase in the 21st object-based learning. Past trips have included major century, dominating discussions of contemporary art art fairs, exhibitions and private collections in Venice, Collection Building & Art Advisory and economics with little attention paid to its long his- Maastricht, Bogota, Shanghai, Dubai and Miami. There are now more collectors worldwide than ever tory in art production and consumption. This course before. Not only have emerging economic markets aims to correct that, and to dismantle long-standing Art Law I: The Legal Life Cycle of Art around the globe spawned new art markets, but the nationalistic biases in art history by focusing on the from the Studio to the Market digital age offers unprecedented ease of discovering birth of global art - the early period of globalism that This course introduces students to the legal and and collecting art, bringing in more participants at began with the chartering of the VOC (the Dutch East ethical issues specific to the art market, including every level. Owning art (and, for that matter, parting India Company) in 1602. Through the study of paint- the artist-gallery relationship, private disposition of with art), requires thought, time, and, frequently, a sig- ing, sculpture, furniture, silver, ceramic, glass, carpets art, warranties, auctions, expert opinions, theft and nificant sum of money. Collectors must consider how and textiles, this course maps the history of fine and forgery. A significant portion of the course is devoted to sustain the physical integrity of their artworks as decorative arts through the 17th and 18th centuries. to copyright, with a focus on appropriation art, moral well as how to protect themselves from potential liabil- This study demonstrates the global reach of design rights, and rights of privacy and publicity. Class ity and financial loss. In the case of larger collections, and the role transatlantic trade played in creating an discussions, debate and mock contract negotiations management can be a sizable burden or even a full- international phenomenon. From the late Mannerist Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

time job. Collection Building & Art Advisory focuses Japan, Korea, etc, have influenced each other and at Hot Topics in Art Law & the Market on how private art collections are conceived, built and the same time developed their own preferences in art This seminar course will focus on cutting edge legal is- maintained. Through lectures, readings, site visits, and collection. The course will also discuss how the East sues affecting the art world. The curriculum will be in- talks by top experts in the field, students will investi- Asian art markets interact with the rest of the global formed by current hot button topics and may include gate collection building and care from the perspective art market. In addition, the course will introduce key a site visit to a gallery, museum or house. of individuals, corporations, and their agents. We will stakeholders in the East Asian art markets, including Guest speakers will address specialty areas. Assess- trace the “life cycle” of a collection, from the acquisi- , galleries, auction houses, art fairs, public and ment will be based on a research paper and class tion of works of art to their relinquishment. Special private museums, art critics/ and the art me- participation. Enrollment is limited to 12 students. This attention will be given to the role professional services dia. The primary focus is to examine their individual will be a no laptop class. (Prerequisites: Art Law I and (e.g., art advisory) play in collection building. Through- roles in the shaping of the art markets and how they II or permission from the Faculty) out the course of the semester, students will create are influenced by and interact with their counterparts and catalogue a private art collection. in the western world. Introduction to Art Valuation This course begins with two intensive lectures that Collection Management Fine Art & Finance introduce research methods and resources in fine This course introduces the materials and techniques Building on the foundation of Principles of Business I: arts and business. Traditional sources, including used to make works of art and their practical rela- Finance and Accounting, students take a deeper look catalogues raisonnés, encyclopedias, indexes, and da- tions to concerns of exhibition, storage, and transit. at the investment potential of fine art, with a focus tabases are reviewed, and principles of advanced da- Emphasis will be placed on the identification of on the similarities and differences between art and tabase searching are examined in detail. The remain- materials, the evaluation of a work’s physical condi- more traditional investment assets such as stocks der of the semester is devoted to an exploration of the tion and handling requirements, and an understand- and bonds. Students are asked to consider the differ- process of valuation. Students hone their research ing of the various logistical needs of a work during its ence between “price” and “value,” whether more, less skills each week as they are introduced to valuation lifecycle from fabrication to exhibition and storage. In (or different) regulation of the art market should be concepts. In small group workshops, they assign basic addition, students will explore the roles and strate- introduced, and how one can make good investment fair market values to a range of artworks, and by the gies of art conservation, registration, and insurance decisions in the art world. In addition to broad invest- end of the term, students will have assigned monetary while sharpening visual acuity by examining works of ment concepts and philosophical considerations, this values to at least twelve works of art. art first hand during visits to museum collections and course addresses the construction of art investment conservation studios. funds, using art as collateral, and the nuances of Materials & Methods in auction house guarantees. Students become familiar Contemporary Art East Asian Art Markets with financial market tools and vocabulary, learning to The course provides a technical and historical intro- This course aims to provide students with a holistic analyze market data to formulate their own opinions duction to the media of contemporary art. It examines understanding of the East Asian art markets, which and projections while gaining an understanding of art media ranging from the traditional, such as includes one of the largest art markets in the world, in the broader context of investing, wealth manage- and prints, to newer forms like installation sculpture, China. The course will review the long term collecting ment, and portfolio theory. (Prerequisite: Principles of video and film, and, fundamentally, aims to enable history and connoisseurship of art in East Asia and Business I). students to identify materials, techniques and object- discuss how different countries in the region: China, Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

types. Students will also gain an insight into budgets, Principles of Business II: lectures are complemented by guest speakers from conservation, storage, and other limitations and pos- Strategy & Marketing key departments at Sotheby’s auction house and out- sibilities guiding fabrication. The course explores how Complementing the exploration of market principles side art-world professionals. A field trip to Sotheby’s technological change has advanced various media, in Principles of Business I: Finance and Account- will help reinforce understanding of the movement of but it also considers how that same change has ren- ing, this course focuses on strategy, marketing, and a from the loading dock to auction block. A dered other materials and techniques obsolete, and communication, with an emphasis on entrepreneurial central question throughout the course will ask: How how artists have responded to that obsolescence in thinking. The semester begins with business strat- does an auction house competitively position itself in the so-called “Age of the Post-Medium Condition”. egy frameworks, followed by a unit on marketing. the constantly shifting landscape of the art market? Throughout the semester, students work in groups Although the focus of the course will revolve around Principles of Business I: to develop their own ideas for art businesses. Within the traditional auction , private sales and the Finance & Accounting those teams they explore the connection of strategy growing role of online auctions in the industry will be This course provides a fundamental understanding and business models to all types of communication— addressed. As a final project, students will divide into of three subjects—economics, finance, and account- from financial statements and advisory board letters groups to “compete” for a collection. Each team work- ing—that bridge the theory and practice of business. to press releases and art reviews. Entrepreneurs, ing under deadlines, will develop and write a formal The semester is divided into three discrete modules, business strategy experts, and practitioners in many proposal, marketing and sales plan that will culminate focusing on connections between them that are con- areas of the art world participate as guest speakers in a mock catalogue and a 3-D diorama gallery exhibi- tinually explored. Students cultivate a solid knowledge and coaches throughout the semester. tion to be presented at the end of the course. of basic economic principles, learning their use in the explanation and analysis of a range of phenomena. Professional Practice in Art Business: Professional Practice in Art Business: They also develop familiarity with the tenets of finance Auctions Business Gallery Business and how they are employed in the structures and as- This course offers students a comprehensive intro- This course helps students understand what it takes sessment of investment decisions. Upon completion, duction to the inner workings of the auction business to open and run a commercial gallery, from build- students will be able to build and analyze standard fi- and the competitive, high-stakes world of buying and ing a program to finding a space and managing the nancial documents (budgets, income statements, and selling art on the global stage. The semester begins myriad relationships that keep this highly specialized balance sheets). While the course’s primary emphasis with an introduction to the history of auctions from business going. In addition to reviewing the historical is on a broad understanding of financial principles their earliest beginnings in open air marketplaces development of the gallery, students study current and practices, it uses examples from the art world to the sophisticated sale rooms of the present day. galleries specializing in different media and histori- to illustrate core concepts and to highlight specific The course seeks to present a snapshot of life inside cal periods and operating at different scales and in differences between art businesses and other types of the auction house from the front-facing public role a range of contexts. Guest speakers from diverse commercial enterprises. of the specialists and client advisors to the behind- venues provide first-hand insight into how successful the-scenes operational side dominated by business galleries manage the complexity and dynamism of the managers and executives. The mechanics of a live art market. Students also explore the impact that from behind the rostrum as well as from the fairs and online sales platforms have had on brick and audience perspective will be studied in detail. Faculty mortar gallery operations. A semester-long project Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

takes students through the process of planning and Social Media & Marketing for the Arts Art of the Americas preparing to open a gallery, allowing them to synthe- Building on Principles of Business II’s exploration of Are modernism and postmodernism Western con- size and apply their learning throughout the semester. strategy and marketing, this course takes a closer structions? Is contemporary art global? These ques- look at the evolving role played by social media in arts tions are considered through the lens of modern and Professional Practice in Art Business: marketing. The course first examines the historical contemporary Latin American art. Throughout the Museum Management & Nonprofits development of social media and surveys the contem- twentieth century, as Central America, South America, Though museums and other non-profits share many porary landscape of social media platforms, paying and Mexico built independent modern nations, their management concerns with their commercial coun- close attention to marketing successes and failures on visual cultures struggled to imagine an alternative to terparts, they also face a range of unique advantages each. The ways in which arts organizations, especially the legacy of colonialism. Today, those older cultural and constraints. This course begins by reviewing the in the , use social media to build and engage representations are increasingly stripped of their structure of non-profit organizations and the ratio- audiences as well as to promote artists and their mar- identity by the complex demands of a transnational nale for tax-exempt status. Special attention will be kets, are examined. Based on that analysis, students art market, and diverse visual cultures are homog- given to U.S. museums, although alternative models propose social media marketing strategies for specific enized into the monolithic categories of Latin Ameri- such as multi-disciplinary art centers, non-collecting organizations and consider how emerging social can art and global art. This course reconsiders “Latin institutions and community based organizations media technologies will shape the future of marketing. American art” through a comparative study of the will be introduced. Weekly reading and exercises will (Prerequisite: Principles of Business II) modern and contemporary practices of Mexico, Brazil, focus on topics relevant to museums, including public Argentina, and Cuba. Students map the encounter of programming, board governance, organizational CONTEMPORARY ART Latin American artists with the historical avant-garde structures, operations, performance evaluation, and in pre-war Europe and look at the formative moment strategic planning. Students will explore case studies of the Mexican Revolution and Mexican muralism. Also Art & the Moving Image and create plans to ensure long-term sustainability by explored are the radical art discourses that broke with This course traces the prehistory, precedents and maximizing earned and contributed income, devel- post-war European and North American modernism current status of film and video art with a particular oping audiences, and engaging partners. Current (for example, in Brazil in the 1950s and Argentina in emphasis on projected, moving images that chal- topics such as building expansion, deaccessioning, the 1960s), and contemporary phenomena such as lenge the conventions of industrialized cinema. It will and working with contemporary artists will also be the surge of artistic activity in Mexico after NAFTA. examine the philosophical questions this new medium addressed. Presentations, team work and active has posed historically, and outline the nexus of prac- engagement with guest speakers will be integral to Art Practice: From Studio to Post- tices from which film and video art grew in the 1950s learning. Practical knowledge and approaches will be Studio and sixties. With an emphasis on case studies and introduced into the classroom through a semester- This course follows the trajectory of the art object, site visits, this course aims to provide students with long project that walks students through the process performance or event from the studio, through the theoretical and historical knowledge required to ad- of visioning, planning and managing a museum. exhibition—whether gallery, , art fair or auc- dress and interpret the most significant developments tion—through to its final resting place in museums in this rapidly evolving medium, including the recent and private collections. It combines both lectures and establishment of both public and private institutions visits. The goal is to learn the systems of the art world, geared to collecting, preserving and exhibiting it. Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

including the context of New York within the interna- key readings, legal cases, and precedents. Visits to Contemporary Art 1960–1990s tional art market. The course provides an overview foundations in and around (for example, This course examines major developments in Ameri- of the contemporary art scene and serves as an the Judd Foundation at 101 Spring Street; The Helen can art from 1960 through 1990. Organized chrono- important foundation to further courses in curating, Frankenthaler Foundation; the Rauschenberg Founda- logically, the lectures focus on a group of artists managing collections, and art criticism. Assignments tion, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and the Brood- associated with a given movement or practice whose include a variety of written projects, including studio thaers Society) are complemented by gallery visits to historical, aesthetic, and theoretical parameters are visit responses, exhibition reviews, presentations and meet dealers who represent estates. Faculty from all mapped accordingly. The readings include historical a case study analysis. three New York MA programs will contribute to this documents as well as more recent texts that place unique course, which culminates in a practical project each subject in its social, economic, and political con- Art Criticism, the Press & the Public in the form of a proposal for a foundation or estate, or text and/or situate it in relation to specific theoretical This course probes the changing ways in which a research paper. issues. Structured as a critical survey, the course the press has mediated between art and its public. attends closely to visual images, while familiarizing the What should art criticism do? How can critics make Business Skills for the Art Market student with methodologies in contemporary art his- themselves heard? What is the difference between From auction houses to museums and everywhere in tory. Its aim is to develop critical skills of interpretation academic criticism and the journalistic profiles that between, certain business skills are critical for profes- that encourage the student to mobilize theory in the appear in glossy magazines? The emergence of art sional success. This course helps students build those reading of visual art. This course includes a seminar criticism in response to the Salon exhibitions of 18th- skills through clear, accessible readings and practical, component. century France is examined. This course also explores engaging applications. We’ll learn how to build and criticism’s role in today’s art world, where collectors analyze budgets for different ventures (e.g., a new Contemporary Art Field Study and museums have usurped the position as arbiters business, an exhibition) and how to create a business This course entails travel to local and well as inter- of taste and the web has shattered the traditional plan to attract investors or, in the case of non-profits, national art destinations and events. The class is reading public. Students learn to navigate the philo- donors. From there, we’ll learn how to identify and designed to integrate into the MA Contemporary sophical bases of art criticism, putting themselves in reach key audiences (or markets) through compelling Art curriculum. The course combines preparatory the position of an editor at a newspaper or magazine. advertising, publicity, and other marketing tactics. lectures in the classroom with on-site, object-based They develop sensitivity to varying kinds of criticism For the final portion of the course, we’ll cover the learning. Students visit artists’ studios, non-profit and hone their own voice by writing about contempo- legal norms governing the art market. By the end of spaces, galleries, museums and private collections in rary art exhibitions. the course, students will have a solid grasp of the key order to hone observational and analytic skills, and business skills necessary for advancing their careers to deepen their knowledge of contemporary art. Field Artist Estates & Foundations in the art world. Study is also designed to help students create a net- This course examines the historical, curatorial, legal, work of professionals for future career development. ethical, and market issues related to artists’ founda- Past trips have included Milan and Venice Biennale; tions and estates, an increasingly important share of Dubai Art Fair and Sharjah Biennial; Sao Paulo Bienal; the contemporary art market. In addition to lectures, Havana; Mexico City. students participate in seminar discussions about Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

Curating Contemporary Art: History & Disruptive Technology from the Land Art. This course examines those changes in de- Practice Daguerreotype to Instagram tail, analyzing how the phenomenology of sculptural An introduction to the history and practice of curating, New technologies have provided a means to repro- experience shifted its orientation from autonomous this course follows the profession from the initial age duce photographic images mechanically and have had objects to a focus on the land and even the cosmos. of the to the post-war as auteur. a dramatic impact on contemporary art and culture We also track how the socio-political context of the pe- Key international figures and events that have shaped since the 19th century. Looking at the disruptive influ- riod propelled change, the upheavals of the late 1960s, the discipline are presented through classroom based ence of such developments provides insights into how and the country’s involvements in Vietnam, souring lectures, including those given by renowned guest artists work and the ways in which society absorbs the earlier optimism about technology and systems. curators. These sessions are complemented by field the effect of cultural production. This course focuses We touch on some of the period’s other enduring visits to artist studios, museums, archives, and stor- on the post-war period until the present, with a strong fascinations, such as those concerning historical time age facilities. By the end of the semester students emphasis on the Internet age. and science fiction (interests that once led Robert should gain an understanding of what it means to be a Smithson to describe a sculpture by Donald Judd as cultural producer in the twenty-first century. Assess- From Salon to Biennial: History of “a giant crystal from another planet.”) Finally, we look ment is based on papers, analysis, and a group project Exhibitions & Display in detail at institutions like Dia, which provided vital to this generation of artists, and the Judd that takes the form of a curatorial proposal. This course examines the history and practice of dis- and Chinati Foundations, and the Panza Collection, play, from the invention of the French Academy salon which have helped safe-guard their legacy. Curating Contemporary Art: and the proliferation of contemporary international Project-Based biennials through the ever increasing use of new tech- This class takes a skills-based approach to curatorial nologies. Students will learn about key concepts in ex- Global Art Production: Contemporary practice. As their final project, students work indepen- hibition history, for example the salon hang, the artist Art 2000–Present dently to produce a unique exhibition in the Institute’s as curator, and the notion of the white cube. Global in What is contemporaneity? Beginning at the turn of the gallery space and present it to a community of peers scope, the class will investigate how major exhibitions millennium, this course considers how the category and guests. Students develop and complete the entire and events intersect with developments in art produc- of contemporary art falls somewhere outside the curating and commissioning process, from research tion and the contemporary art market. In addition to a narrative of modernism and the paradigm of post- and selection of artists and artworks; to mounting the weekly lecture, students visit various exhibitions and modernism. This course investigates the advanced ; developing a public program; and market- collections throughout New York City during a weekly of Western and non-Western regions. It surveys recent ing and hosting the event. Students gain first hand ex- field study seminar led by a professor. practices, while introducing the student to new meth- perience working with living artists, writing curatorial odologies for their assessment. This course includes a publications, and all other aspects of exhibition mak- Giant Crystals: American Sculpture, seminar component. ing. By the end of the course, students are literate in 1960–1980 the range of skills necessary to produce a professional American sculpture went through radical and con- Histories & Theories I: From exhibition, a series of events, and artist . sequential changes in the 1960s, moving rapidly Modernism to Post-Modernism from the Modernism of artists such as David Smith, Focusing mainly on American art, this course offers through , Site-Specificity, Process Art and a concise survey of significant developments in art Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

from 1945 to the present, tracing a particular history readings of texts will be emphasized, as will compara- Modern Art 1860s-1950s of artistic practices through a close examination of tive analysis. This course is organized around major themes in the the ideas that drove them, while introducing debates history of Modernism, from Impressionism to Abstract that remain influential in shaping critical discussion Introduction to Art Valuation . Significant works, figures, and move- and art making today. Through a structuralist/semi- This course begins with two intensive lectures that ments in the are presented chrono- otic lens, the class begins with concerns associated introduce research methods and resources in fine logically and students learn to identify and critically with abstract painting, and goes on to address issues arts and business. Traditional sources, including evaluate them as they progress through the course. such as commodity culture, the everyday, mechanical catalogues raisonnés, encyclopedias, indexes, and da- In addition, the primary social and political contexts reproduction, context, authorship, and concludes with tabases are reviewed, and principles of advanced da- for the changes in art over the period 1860–1950 are Postmodernism. Class meetings will consist primarily tabase searching are examined in detail. The remain- studied, and students engage with relevant theoreti- of group discussions of assigned readings but will also der of the semester is devoted to an exploration of the cal issues in the history of art and visual culture. This include presentations, screenings and outside visits. process of valuation. Students hone their research course will include museum visits. Assessment will be Close readings of texts will be emphasized, as will skills each week as they are introduced to valuation based on classroom discussion and participation, one comparative analysis. concepts. In small group workshops, they assign basic essay, and a final exam.” fair market values to a range of artworks, and by the Histories & Theories II: From Post- end of the term, students will have assigned monetary Seers & Makers: Creating the Modernism & Beyond values to at least twelve works of art. Culture of Art This course explores a selection of issues and ideas Visual information saturates contemporary culture in relevant to recent artistic production. Through a series Materials & Methods in a manner and quantity that is unprecedented. How of readings, films, and other materials, we will examine Contemporary Art does the work of art occupy a special place within this a variety of practices, with emphasis placed on the The course aims to give a technical and historical flood of visual imagery? This course offers a method- theories that inform them. The goal is not a compre- introduction to the media of contemporary art. It ology for encountering and interpreting works of art, hensive overview or survey, but rather, detailed topical examines media ranging from the traditional, such as with an emphasis on direct encounter and focused en- analyses that focus on issues of representation, sub- painting and prints, to newer forms like installation gagement with primary source material. Participants jectivity and other current trends in artistic discourse sculpture, video and film, and, fundamentally, aims will study the history of observation and interpreta- through a post-structuralist framework. The course to enable students to identify materials, techniques tion, from the historical role of connoisseurship to the is designed to expand students’ critical vocabulary and object-types. Students will also gain an insight fast-moving consumption of photography and moving to reflect an ever-changing set of exigencies. Topics into budgets, conservation, storage, and other limita- image in the current day. Special emphasis will be range from Art and Design, to Simulation, the Post- tions and possibilities guiding fabrication. The course given to emerging conversations about participation, Internet, Post-Representation, New Materialism, and explores how technological change has advanced performance, identity, and theatricality. Readings the Anthropocene. various media, but it also considers how that same and case studies will be complemented by a series change has rendered other materials and techniques of intensive, hands-on components. Participants will Class meetings will consist primarily of group dis- obsolete, and how artists have responded to that ob- travel into the field to study, interpret, speak and write cussions of assigned readings but will also include solescence in the so-called “Age of the Post-Medium about works of art. presentations, screenings and outside visits. Close Condition”. Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

FINE & DECORATIVE sional success. This course helps students build those acquired, managed and maintained, shared, and ulti- skills through clear, accessible readings and practical, mately, relinquished. Through lectures, readings, site ART & DESIGN engaging applications. We’ll learn how to build and visits, and talks by experts, all aspects of collection analyze budgets for different ventures (e.g., a new building and care are investigated, including acquisi- Art & Design: The Emergence business, an exhibition) and how to create a business tion, insurance, conservation, shipping, installation, of Global Trades plan to attract investors or, in the case of non-profits, and deaccessioning. Students create, catalog and “Globalism” has become a catch-phrase in the 21st donors. From there, we’ll learn how to identify and budget a private art collection throughout the semes- century, dominating discussions of contemporary art reach key audiences (or markets) through compelling ter. These individual student projects are assessed and economics with little attention paid to its long his- advertising, publicity, and other marketing tactics. through submitted written materials as well as an oral tory in art production and consumption. This course For the final portion of the course, we’ll cover the presentation. aims to correct that, and to dismantle long-standing legal norms governing the art market. By the end of nationalistic biases in art history by focusing on the the course, students will have a solid grasp of the key Decorative Arts: 1775–1900 birth of global art - the early period of globalism that business skills necessary for advancing their careers A comprehensive survey of decorative arts, patterns began with the chartering of the VOC (the Dutch East in the art world. and design in Europe and America during the 19th India Company) in 1602. Through the study of paint- century. This class outlines the major artistic move- ing, sculpture, furniture, silver, ceramic, glass, carpets Chinoiserie: European & American ments of this period in England and Europe and their and textiles, this course maps the history of fine and Interpretation of Asian Motifs, Tech- analog as manifested in the United States. Decora- decorative arts through the 17th and 18th centuries. niques, & Materials tive vocabularies articulated through the language of This study demonstrates the global reach of design This class will investigate the artistic consequences material culture are the result of socio-economical and the role transatlantic trade played in creating an of the Great Silk Road and the origins of imports from circumstances, monarchs and civil rulers, the devel- international phenomenon. From the late Mannerist China, Japan and the Near East within the categories opment of industries, mechanization, fashion trends, through the Baroque and Rococo periods, fine art and of architecture, painting, , ceramic, furniture, global trade and the growing importance of World’s concepts of design were in a continuous dialog with lacquer, textiles, objets d’art and metalwork. What im- Fairs. With the intent to familiarize students in recog- Europe, the Americas, and the Orient. This course pact did these trade objects have on the imagination nizing forms, materials and techniques from Neoclas- focuses on the range of materials and processes of European and American collectors and craftsmen? sicism to early Modernism a selection of categories reflecting the global reach of fine and decorative art of How far was the intented iconography of these items including but not limited to interior architecture, the period, and provides a broad overview of artistic manipulated in order to create a new stylistic genre? furniture, silver, ceramic, glass, textiles will be studied production in the 17th and 18th centuries. As such, the Classes will be supplemented with site visits to muse- and contextualized. course offers a foundation for critical examination and ums and gallery exhibitions. understanding of the emergence of global trades. Fine & Decorative Art & Design Collection Management Field Study Business Skills for the Art Market Exploring the practical dimensions of the art business, First-hand encounters with art works, exhibition spac- From auction houses to museums and everywhere in focuses on the “life cycle” es, and the people who run them are an integral part between, certain business skills are critical for profes- of private art collections: how they are conceived and of the learning experience and key to this program. Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

This field study takes students to the most important object-based sessions, and site-visits to museums Methods of Research art trade and international collecting centers. Past and galleries. This course examines the fundamental question that trips have included exhibition and object research in unites the commercial art world, the museum world, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Our History of Connoisseurship and academics: what do objects mean? In short, we educationnal group targets curated selections of fine Connoisseurship is fundamental to object-based will explore how—without an audience—the object is and decorative and design within museums, house learning. An examination of the historical roots of mute; telling us nothing and having no inherent mean- collections, art fairs and specialized art galleries. Stu- connoisseurship will provide the context for continued ing. Over the course of the semester we will explore dents are assigned a written project to further their debates over its relevance and practice. The connec- ways to create meaning for objects in order to forge command of art history and connoisseurship. tion between the rise in collecting (in contradistinction connections with audiences by employing numerous to patronage) and the development of methods for theoretical approaches including Formalism, Femi- Fine Arts: 1775–1900 authenticating and judging quality will be examined. nism, Marxism, Semiotic and Post-Modern Theories. Designed to expose students to European and Ameri- The essential elements of object cataloguing – the Students must be prepared to read critically, partici- can fine arts trends during the long nineteenth cen- identification of materials and techniques and prov- pate in discussions, make class presentations, and tury, this course explores the significant artistic move- enance research –will be taught. Although this course engage in research for the written assignments. ments of this period. Neo-classicism, Romanticism, will focus on drawing, painting, and prints, all media Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism and will be discussed. Classroom learning will be supple- Modern & Contemporary Art their proponents will be discussed, as will thematic mented by site visits to conservators and profession- & Design issues related to the evolving importance of different als in related fields. Designed to expose students to the major develop- genres, such as portraiture, landscape, and scenes of ments in decorative arts and design, this course everyday life. By exploring the context in which these Introduction to Art Valuation traces impactful artistic contributions from the Crys- objects were and are displayed, the course develops This course begins with two intensive lectures that tal Palace Exhibition of 1851 through contemporary students’ tools for the critical examination of installa- introduce research methods and resources in fine production. Students learn about the principal trends tions in sale rooms, galleries, and museum. arts and business. Traditional sources, including of the period, including Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art catalogues raisonnés, encyclopedias, indexes, and da- Deco, Streamline Design, Scandinavian Modern, Ital- Gems & Jewelry: A History of tabases are reviewed, and principles of advanced da- ian Radical, Post-Modernism and other styles that in- Adornment from Byzantium to tabase searching are examined in detail. The remain- formed the visual culture of the Western world. Focus- Modern Times der of the semester is devoted to an exploration of the ing on the development of modernism and studying This course will lead students in an exploration of process of valuation. Students hone their research the major figures and their contributions, this course relationships between East and West and how this re- skills each week as they are introduced to valuation provides students with the tools for a critical examina- sulted in the development of new forms and design in concepts. In small group workshops, they assign basic tion of installations in museums, house museums, and jewelry. The class will discuss historical shifts in fash- fair market values to a range of artworks, and by the sales rooms by exploring the context in which these ion, newfound interests in exotic stones as well as the end of the term, students will have assigned monetary objects existed. Discussion will be centered on the evolving function and symbolism of jewelry through values to at least twelve works of art. role of design as it responds to its place in a shifting time. Classroom learning will be supplemented with cultural/technological fabric. Throughout the course, Sotheby’s Institute of Art—New York

students will develop a methodology for evaluating ALL PROGRAMS lecturers are included for this purpose. The course the cultural significance of design, which can then be emphasizes individual project development. Prior to applied to historical and contemporary examples. This Master’s Project / Thesis Proposal submission of final projects, students will be required same methodology will help anticipate the continual to make detailed yet concise, formal presentations Seminar evolution of design practices. that include visual and textual information. These will This seminar will prepare students to organize their receive close scrutiny and feedback from peers and Master’s Project and Master’s Thesis. It will introduce The Arts of China: An Introduction to faculty, and will be open to members of the Institute them to the fundamentals of research and writing as Chinese Works of Art: Shang to Qing community. well as successful models of past projects and theses. Dynasties Other curricular components will include reviews, For the Thesis Independent Study, the student will This survey course aims to introduce students to presentations, and workshops on possible topics. The work with an advisor from the faculty or outside significant decorative arts manifestation in mainland course will conclude with the submission of a formal experts in the field. The student will consult with her China from tomb discoveries to imperial workshops. project or thesis proposal to be developed in the third advisor throughout the semester to evaluate progress Understanding the underlying philosophy of Chinese semester. rulers is primordial in acquiring the tools to assess the and review two chapter drafts. The final thesis should represent the student’s ability to respond to a specific level of sophistication displayed within the country’s Master’s Project or Thesis material culture of bronze, ceramic, jade, furniture, scholarly question or problem with a rigorously ar- The Master’s Project Workshop is dedicated to the lacquer and cloisonné. Site visits to museums and gued academic and scholarly statement. The Master’s development and successful completion of projects specialized galleries will complement the art historical Thesis should make an original contribution to the satisfying the Master’s Degree requirement. Projects lectures. field and fulfill the highest academic and professional may take multiple forms concerning various topics, standards. each demonstrating a serious commitment to explo- ration, original thinking, research and organization of Navigating the Art World materials. The works will be presented orally, as well Designed to introduce students to key concepts, texts, as submitted in written form. The project should serve institutions, and professionals, this course investi- as a bridge to the “real-world,” with an emphasis on gates the inextricable connections between art and practical applications of the highest professional mea- business in today’s economy. Featuring lectures by sure. Projects will be judged accordingly. The work- Institute faculty, artists, gallerists, fair organizers, and shop will begin with informal presentations of project other art world professionals, and complemented by proposals. Next, specific materials will be introduced panel discussions, the overarching purpose is to fa- relating as broadly as possible to the multiplicity of miliarize students with art in New York—past, present, projects. These include discussion of enterprise plans, and future—and its relationship to global trends in the entrepreneurial approaches, exhibition strategies and art world. procedures, and curatorial models, each stressing both theoretical and methodological aspects. Guest