Visual Arts

Art History: Major, Minor
Museum Studies: Minor
Architectural Studies: Self-Designed Major, Self-Designed Minor
Studio Art: Major, Minor

The study of the visual arts provides a powerful lens through which you can better see, evaluate and understand the world that surrounds you. 

Encompassing multimedia studio explorations, art historical research, and specialized opportunities in architectural and museum studies, the Department of Visual Arts empowers the broader examination of the liberal arts at the College. You will hone your sensitivity to visual culture and the built environment, refine your skills of visual expression and critical analysis, and engage the surrounding community as points for visual inspiration, reflection, and advocacy.

In the classroom, you will study the rich heritage of global artistic and cultural traditions through specialized lecture and seminar courses. In the studio, you will engage traditional and new methods of art-making, becoming absorbed in the process of creating original work. Outside the College, you will immerse yourself in the architecture, galleries, and museums of Worcester and nearby Boston. The New England region’s rich cultural resources form an integral part of the visual arts curriculum, and will provide you with abundant learning, community engagement, and internship opportunities.

The department — comprised of the divisions of art history and studio art — is composed of a group of highly respected scholars and artists who regularly lecture, publish, exhibit, and curate nationally and internationally. The faculty place great emphasis on student mentoring in the classroom and in the field, facilitating student research projects and exhibitions, and leading excursions to area sites, galleries and museums.

Program Highlights

Art history areas of study include:

  • Introductory
  • Pre-1800
  • Cross-cultural
  • Modern and contemporary
  • Architectural studies
  • Museum studies

Studio art areas of study include:

  • Drawing
  • Painting
  • Photography
  • Printmaking
  • Sculpture
  • Digital media and new media
students in cantor art gallery
Studio Concentration Seminar

Senior studio art majors participate in a yearlong course centered on the development of an individual body of work.

Sun rising over a city
Study Abroad

Study abroad in programs that support both art history and studio art.

group in the worcester art museum looking at art on a wall
Visiting Artists and Excursions

There are frequent visiting artists and lecturers and regular field trips to museums and galleries throughout the region.

Visual Arts News

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Remembering Vito Acconci ’62: Influential Performance Artist, Poet and Architect
Acconci: The Student Edward F. Callahan, professor emeritus of English who taught at Holy Cross for more than 30 years until his retirement in 1990, first encountered the young Acconci in his own classroom in 1959. It was the late …
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How the Arts Prepare Holy Cross Alumni for Success in Every Field
What happens when we bridge the gap between the real world and our imagination? “Balance,” says chief executive James “Jim” Keyes ’77, “and the ability to move forward in wonderfully creative ways.” When technical know-how is coupled with art, the …
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Blog: Goddard ’19 Excited to Experience Everything Peru Has to Offer
NAME Margaret Goddard ’19 HOMETOWN Locust, N.J. AREAS OF STUDY English and visual arts studio double major, Latin American and Latino Studies concentration WHERE SHE’S STUDYING Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in Lima, Peru DURATION Full academic year WHY SHE CHOSE …