The Courtauld Institute of Art commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist colleges for the study of the history of art in the world and is widely known for the disproportionate number of directors of major museums drawn from its small body of alumni.
The art collection is known particularly for its French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings and is housed in The Courtauld Gallery.
The Courtauld is based in Somerset House, in the Strand in London. In 2019, The Courtauld’s teaching and research activities temporarily relocated to Vernon Square, London, while its Somerset House site undergoes a major regeneration project.
History
The Courtauld was founded in 1932 through the philanthropic efforts of the industrialist and art collector Samuel Courtauld, the diplomat and collector Lord Lee of Fareham, and the art historian Sir Robert Witt.
Originally The Courtauld was based in Home House, a Robert Adam-designed townhouse in London’s Portman Square. The Strand block of Somerset House, designed by William Chambers from 1775–1780, has housed The Courtauld since 1989.
The Courtauld has featured several times on the BBC’s arts programme Fake or Fortune. In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Institute offered digital “mini festivals” called Open Courtauld Hour.
Academic profile
The Courtauld Institute of Art is the major centre for the study of the history and conservation of art and architecture in the United Kingdom. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate teaching to around 400 students each year. Degrees are awarded by the University of London.
The Courtauld was ranked first in the United Kingdom for History and History of Art in The Guardian ‘s 2011 University Guide and was confirmed in this rank for research quality in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework. The Independent has called it “probably the most prestigious specialist college for the study of the history of art in the world.”
The Courtauld was ranked, again, first in the United Kingdom for History and History of Art in The Guardian’s 2017 University Guide.
Research
According to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, The Courtauld hosts the highest proportion of the UK’s world-leading and internationally excellent research among all higher education institutions with 95% of research rated in the top two categories (4*/3*), 56% of which was rated in the 4* category, tied for highest in the UK with London Business School.
Undergraduate study
The only undergraduate course offered by The Courtauld is a BA in the History of Art. This is a full-time course designed to introduce students to all aspects of the study of art history.
Postgraduate study
Several taught courses are offered at postgraduate level: master’s degrees in history of art, curating the art museum, the history of Buddhist art, and the conservation of wall painting are taught alongside diploma courses in the conservation of easel paintings and the history of art. Students in the history of art master’s programme have to choose a specialisation ranging from antiquity to early modern to global contemporary artwork. Special options are taught in small class sizes of 5–10 students.
Study resources
The Courtauld has two photographic libraries which started as the private collections of two benefactors: the Conway Library, covering architecture, architectural drawings, sculpture and illuminated manuscripts, named after the Lord Conway of Allington and the Witt Library, after Sir Robert Witt, covering paintings, drawings and engravings and containing over two million reproductions of works by over 70,000 artists. In 2009, it was decided that the Witt Library would not continue to add new material to the collection, and in 2017 a mass digitisation project which will make both Witt and Conway items available online commenced as part of Courtauld Connects.
The book library is one of the UK’s largest holdings of art history books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues.