• Offered by School of Art and Design
  • ANU College ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
  • Course subject Art History
  • Areas of interest Art History, Creative Arts

This course examines the history of art collecting and collections from their origins in temple treasuries, through the private collections of the mediaeval worlds of Europe and Asia, to the role of patrons and princes, past and present in the establishment of art collections and policies. The impact of world exploration and empire on the development of collections and the evolution of public collections are major themes. In addition, contemporary issues regarding collection development will be addressed. The impact of social, political and ethical environments on museum collecting, display and documentation will be explored with particular reference to Australian collections.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Outline and present orally and in written form major themes of collecting history.
2. Use electronic resources to find and share information regarding international laws relating to cultural heritage, and discuss their impact on collecting.
3. Interpret and critique commentary, written and oral, related to art collecting internationally.
4. Develop hypotheses regarding potential subtexts within the material itself.
5. Identify, analyse and describe contemporary factors affecting art collection development.

Indicative Assessment

2 x Research Papers, 2000 words each (35% each for a total of 70%) Learning Outcomes 1-5
2 x Tutorial presentations, 15 minutes each (10% each for a total of 20%) Learning Outcomes 1-5
Participation - tutorials and online activities (10%) Learning Outcomes 2-4
 

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

130 hours of total student learning time made up from:
a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials; and
b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must have completed 24 units of Art History and Theory (ARTH) courses. You are not able to enrol in this course if you have previously completed ARTH2057 or ARTH6057.

Preliminary Reading

Jonathon Brown. "Kings and Connoisseurs. Collecting art in seventeenth century Europe", Princeton: University Press, 1994.
 
Sarah Thornton. “Seven Days in the Art World”, W.W.Norton and Co: New York, 2008.

Journal of the History of Collections (available as electronic full-text journal through the ANU library).

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees

Student Contribution Band:
14
Unit value:
6 units

If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $3840
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2022 $4980
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

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The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

First Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
4385 20 Feb 2023 27 Feb 2023 31 Mar 2023 26 May 2023 In Person View

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