Main picture:

Antiquity has provided a standard by which all subsequent periods have tended to be judged. The Jenkins Venus was thought during the neoclassical period to be the embodiment of love and beauty, so fundamental to contemporary ideas of art appreciation.

The appreciation of traditional folk art and the creative expression of contemporary self-taught artists has only recently become an academic discipline. This decoy duck is an exceptional and rare red-breasted merganser hen, one of only six known to have been made by Lothrop Holmes (1821-1899). His shorebird species include yellowlegs, black-bellied plover, with the rarest being only two known examples of the ruddy turnstone. The duck sold for over $850,000 at Christie’s New York, in 2007. A carved and gilded pine spread-wing eagle, 19th century, carved in the half-round with spread wings grasping the shield of the United States with arrows and a laurel wreath. A pieced wool Amish crib quilt, Indiana, late 19th-early 20th century, worked in the Log Cabin pattern in various pink, blue, purple, brown, black, cream, grey, and crimson wools with teal sashing, Joseph's Coat border and black bound edge, with sawtooth and channel quilting.
The integrated curriculum is designed to build a strong working knowledge of American folk art, through understanding of materials and techniques. A black duck, by Charles 'Shang' Wheeler, Connecticut, considered the leader of a third generation of the 'Housatonic School' of Stratford, Connecticut carvers. He produced decoys in the classic Stratford style that today are highly sought after by collectors. A Scrimshaw Whale Tooth, American or English, 19th Century. The theme of the sea and the sailing ships that the whaler who carved this piece would have known intimately, is often depicted on these massive teeth, which when carved became known as scrimshaw. An Amish pieced wool quilted coverlet from Pennsylvania, with a ‘Bars and Nine-Patch combined pattern’ with rope and channel quilting, surrounded by an inner border of rosette quilting.

Master's Degree - Folk Art Studies

Program Objectives

The Master of Arts in Folk Art Studies is designed to prepare students for the following:

  • Visual Analysis, Identification, Interpretation and Description of Works of Art
  • Assessment of Quality
  • Art Historical Knowledge
  • Cataloguing
  • Research
  • Promotion of Independent Thinking
  • Knowledge of the Art Market and the Auction House
  • Preparation for Employment

Program Components

The master’s program is made up of the following components:

  • Folk Art Survey: This lecture class provides a comprehensive survey for Folk Art Studies of the last three centuries, offering an in-depth study of Folk Painting, Sculpture, Textiles, Ceramics and Furniture.
  • Connoisseurship Seminar: Explores issues of connoisseurship, to develop visual analysis, help with written description and practical connoisseurship skills. Emphasis is on art historical material under consideration in the Folk Arts Survey.
  • History of the Art Market: Provides an introduction to the history of the art market and its practices; special emphasis is placed on understanding the auction house.
  • Professional Practices: Organized around a series of panel discussions, lectures, and occasional trips to public and private collections, designed to build awareness of the arts in a wide range of arts related professions.
  • Historiography and Methods of Art History: The goal of the seminar is to help students identify and to begin to utilize art historical methodologies appropriate to the field of Folk Art in general, and to their chosen thesis topic in particular.
  • MA Thesis: Theses address topics in the history of folk art from the late 18th century to the present with emphasis on problems of connoisseurship and/ or the history of the art market and art patronage.
  • International and National Study Trips: Christie’s Education students and faculty go on study trips relevant to the field of Folk Art, such as to the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, and the Museum of International Folk Art in Sante Fe.
  • Internship Program: An opportunity for students to use the skills that they have obtained through the program. Typical internship opportunities include Christie’s, commercial galleries, museums, non-profit arts institutions, and elsewhere. Christie’s Education also selects one qualified applicant to intern with the Peggy Guggenheim collection in Venice.

 

 

Master's - Folk Art Studies

Course Dates

To be announced

Course Fees

To be announced