There are a lot of courses to study in the university,  but most of the ones people go for are those that have a booming employment market and will offer them quick jobs when they are done with their programme. This also applies to people who want to study art history. One of the likely question anyone might be ‘what jobs can one get after earning a degree in art history’?

Arts history as a discipline is a specialized branch of history that deals with the evolution of culture through artistic productions like architecture, tombs, sculptures, and graphics arts, and even in performance. It is one of the fields that are very broad in the ‘humanities,’ and it is related to several other disciplines like philosophy, visual arts amongst many others. 

As a field, it is very stimulating and endows you with various fascinating skills such that you are enormously fulfilled and will be highly sought after by a range of professions. By the way, one way to see if this discipline is for you, maybe you consider taking a gap year abroad to study art history.

Some of the skills that you will have successfully built after getting a degree include:

  • Constructing logical argument and judgment based on physical evidence.
  • Using relevant materials to such an in-depth analysis of a topic or subject matter.
  • Convincingly present a case both orally and verbally.
  • Creative thinking

 

The course will make sure that you are knowledgeable when it comes to social, cultural and intellectual history. They will mean that you can interpret the reasons and hidden motive behind several pictorial and written document. So when you are seeking for an art history career or jobs, all these values and skills that you would have acquired over the years will be significant in making sure that you are prepared to make an impact at even the highest level and in any work environment. 

Some students go on to do a masters programme in art history while other start building a career and this means they start seeking jobs in places of employment where they can work and make a living. 

When it comes to art history jobs, there are a lot of places that require the services of a graduate. Some of these places, and what you will be required to do, include;

 

Museum jobs

A museum can be defined as the palace of art. There are several paintings, artworks, and materials that have historical reference to art, inside and outside its walls. Most museums in their selves have art, and historical relevance and the architecture of this building is always artistic. Since the museums are a lot about art, most of the materials in the building are made of artworks (paintings, drawings, sculptures, statues and many more) that relate history to its audience. The essence of all these might not be immediately visible to the average person who has insufficient knowledge about artworks. 

An art historian is also needed to oversee the display of artworks, digital files, and other art-relating materials. This is why the services of an art historian are needed to make sure that the relevance is well explained to people who come to the museum, both for sightseeing and for educational purposes. Art history jobs in the museums include (but are not limited to);

  • Museum curators
  • Commercial art gallery managers
  • Museum/ gallery managers
  • Museum/ gallery exhibition manager
  • Museum educator officer

 

Education jobs

Art historian career can also be built in education. Art is a course that is studied all over the world and in a lot of schools (both in high schools and colleges), there will be a need for art teachers. There are also schools who are profoundly about art, while some are in performing arts, others are in visual arts. All these schools will require a teacher or lecturer to teach the course. And this simply means that you can get an art history job in the education sector. They include;

  • University professors
  • Art history teacher
  • Academic librarian
  • Further education lecturer
  • Archives and records management

 

Advertising and public relations jobs

Art historians can use their knowledge to promote the sales of a particular good. They can use their expertise in visual art to create ad campaigns and make sure that the public can relate to the advert. They are also responsible for the photos and every visual aspect of the advertisement, they control the budget and make sure that the timelines work.

  • Art directors
  • Policy advisers, policy analyst, and public relations.
  • Foreign affairs

 

 

Jobs in other fields

Apart from the museum and the education sectors, there are also a lot of sectors that you can build a career in as an art historian. Some of them do not necessarily conform to the traditional job prospect, they are still very lucrative and even grant you a chance at building an art history career for yourself. Some of this other jobs are;

  • Art crime investigator
  • Art exhibit installer
  • Art insurance adjustor
  • Art economist
  • Architectural conservator
  • Art investing / art lending
  • Art lawyer
  • Fine arts expert witness
  • State art agency director/staff member