The BA in Art History provides a solid background in the humanities, develops skills in writing and critical thinking, and, above all, enhances one’s understanding and appreciation of creative accomplishment. On the practical side, art history degrees can lead directly to employment in numerous art related fields, such as editing, publishing, travel and tourism, as well as to work in art galleries, auction houses, and numerous other for-profit and not-for-profit arts organizations. Combined with the requisite post-graduate degrees, a BA in art history can also effectively prepare students for careers in law and business administration, architecture and historic preservation, library science and archival work, development, design, teaching, and art education. The BA in art history also prepares students for post-graduate work within the discipline, which is normally required for careers in academia and museums.
Alumni from the History of Art undergraduate program have gone on to successful careers in all of these fields. Below, a few alumni speak in their own words about their current careers and how Ohio State’s art history program prepared them for their postgraduate work.
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RACHEL MIHALKO (BA 2012)
“I graduated with a BA in History of Art in 2012, and currently have a rewarding job in the registrar's office at the Yale University Art Gallery. Because I help manage our collections, which frequently involves organizing loans to and from other museums, I work daily with a wide array of materials ranging from traditional oil paintings to sculptures, photographs, and prints. At a basic level, a background in art history was an educational requirement for this position, but, more significantly, my coursework at Ohio State helped prepare me to research materials in Yale's collection and archives. This research is some of the most exciting work that I do. While at Ohio State, I also worked as a student employee in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library and took an internship at the Columbus Museum of Art; both experiences provided important professional experience and complemented my classes quite well. The History of Art faculty at Ohio State always encouraged me to challenge myself, and I have no doubt that this helped me get where I am today.”
MOLLY WARNOCK (BA 2000)
“I took my first art history courses at OSU out of sheer curiosity, and soon decided to major in the discipline. My professors in the department combined sustained attention to specific works of art with a searching consideration of broader, philosophical and theoretical implications. I was drawn to their conviction that art thinks: that works of art are not simply objects of knowledge, but actively create knowledge. It was while completing an Honors Thesis under the supervision of Professor Stephen Melville, on philosopher G.W.F. Hegel’s Aesthetics, that I decided to pursue graduate study.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from OSU in 2000, I went on to complete a joint PhD in History of Art and Intellectual History at the Johns Hopkins University, subsequently teaching modern and contemporary art history and theory at Princeton University, the University of Chicago, and Emory University, before returning to JHU as an assistant professor in History of Art in the fall of 2013. In recent years, I’ve published a book on the Hungarian-born French painter Simon Hantaï (Penser la peinture: Simon Hantaï, Gallimard, 2012), curated a double exhibition of Hantaï’s work for galleries in New York and Paris, and written for numerous exhibition catalogues and journals, including Nonsite, Art in America, and Artforum. I still count my former professors in OSU History of Art among my most important mentors, take extraordinary pleasure in introducing my students to their writing, and believe my own teaching and research to be profoundly indebted to the examples they set and continue to set.”
JENI BRITTON BAUER is the founder and chief creative officer of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. Before she started making ice cream, she studied art and art history here at Ohio State.
“When you study art history, you begin to acquire the skills to identify patterns of human behavior. I cannot think of anything more beneficial to a would-be entrepreneur than that.
“Art history is not the study of art or history per se. It is the study of what people believed and how they reacted to events of their time. And apart from being infinitely interesting and incredibly challenging, it is a superb foundation for a career, and for a life well lived.
“People who study art history gain awareness of who a people are or were, what motivated them, and why. If you are trained to identify human desire, longing, and response, you may be well-suited for a career as an entrepreneur, humanitarian, diplomat, trend-watcher, copywriter, creative director, King (William), Duchess (Catherine), or President (Obama).”