We study the art, architecture, and visual culture of the global past and present to understand our world today and create better futures. We adopt a capacious definition of art that explores all human creativity, regardless of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, or ability. Our mission is to expand our field which has entrenched an elitist and exclusionary worldview.
The Frick Fine Arts Library has an outstanding research collection containing over 90,000 volumes.
The University Art Gallery (UAG) is an open, flexible, and immersive laboratory for studying and displaying how art and visual objects generate knowledge and understanding of the world.
The Constellations at the University of Pittsburgh are hubs of innovative practice that unite faculty and students across subfields in the Department of History of Art and Architecture.
Collecting Knowledge Pittsburgh fosters opportunities for collaboration between Pitt faculty, students, and the local cultural sector.
The Visual Media Workshop is a humanities lab focused on the investigation of material and visual culture.
Discover what makes the Department of History of Art & Architecture a standout program.
News
Nygren's forthcoming book awarded Meiss Prize by CAA
Christopher J. Nygren received the Millard Meiss Prize from the College Art Association for his forthcoming book, Sedimentary Aesthetics: Painting on Stone and the Ecology of Early Modern Art (Yale, 2026).
Bertagnolli Begins Public Lectures Series
Isaiah Bertagnolli (Ph.D. 2025) has partnered with a local theater in Bozeman, Montana to deliver a public lecture series through October. The series, "Art! With Dr.
López begins Will Barnet Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship at SAAM
PhD candidate Janina López has joined the Smithsonian Institution's Fellowship Program as the Will Barnet Foundation Predoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.