Art and Art History

Art student in her studio with two paintings behind her

Explore the Department of Art and Art History

The Department of Art and Art History provides an integrated studio and art history experience. Through the study of history, critical analysis, materials, techniques and contemporary art practices, we encourage you to construct meaning, understand multiple perspectives, employ differing academic disciplines and unravel the complexities of creativity. Our department is committed to fostering an education that inspires you to innovate, while honoring the traditions of the past and the techniques of the masters. Our alumni go into the workforce employing creative and critical thinking that ultimately manifests in a diverse scope of professional careers. From authors to teachers, designers to business owners, we are proud of the imaginative successes of our former students.

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Area Spotlights

  • Lily Soucy

    Spotlight on Printmaking

    The professors here are really welcoming. They are all excited and passionate about their art and they want to instill that passion in their students.

    Lily soucy 

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  • Maddie Pender in painting studio

    Spotlight on Painting

    We're a really tight-knit community. You're able to come to this safe, creative space that really gets your mind flowing and makes you want to come in and paint every day.

    madeline pender

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  • Female student in front of white background

    Spotlight on Photography

    I've learned so many great techniques and so quickly, with the help of my professors

    Jacquelyn Weik

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  • Lorna Bostwick-Pope

    Spotlight on the BFA Program

    I chose to apply to the BFA program because of the studio spaces and the one-on-one time you get to have with each of the professors.

    Lorna bostwick-pope

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Department News

  • Portraits of graduating students UNH 2022

    Congratulations to the class of 2022!

    Thank you to Professor Liese Zahabi for making this video celebrating the achievements of the class of 2022. We wish all our graduates the very best. We are incredibly proud of you.

    Watch the video
  • Leah Woods sitting on bench

    Professor Leah Woods at the Art Complex Museum

    Woodworking professor Leah Woods is one of five New England artists chosen to participate in "Please Approach the Bench," a show of outdoor seating  at the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, Massachusetts. Her Triangular Bench, made from Western red cedar, adorns the museum's newly landscaped grounds.

  • Interior of a museum with paintings

    BFA/BA Exhibition on view in the Museum of Art

    On view until  May 20, 2022, this exhibition is a celebration of the graduating students from the Department of Art and Art History. It is a showcase for the culmination of accomplished work completed during intensive and engaging study.

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  • Wall sculptures by Sachiko Akiyama

    Summer exhibitions will feature works by Professor Sachiko Akiyama 

    Sculpture professor Sachiko Akiyama is taking part in two exhibitions this Summer: a solo show titled "Bird by Bird" on view from June 3 to July 16 at the Tracey Morgan Gallery in Asheville, NC and a pop-up group exhibition titled "Oddkin" in East Providence, RI  on view from June 3 to July 10.

  • Sculpture of a standing man and birds

    Exhibition of works by Professor Sachiko Akiyama on view at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center

    Titled "Through Lines," the exhibition will be on view from March 12 - June 12, 2022. The show features  a selection of Prof. Akiyama's polychrome wooden statues and wall reliefs, many of which feature renderings of the human figure, birds, and other animals reflecting her Japanese ancestry.

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  • Portrait of Professor Susan Wager

    Professor Susan Wager gives lecture at the University of St Andrews 

    Titled "Boucher, Disegno, and the Invention of Porcelain," Prof. Wager's talk was presented as part of the Art History Research Lectures series organized by the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

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  • Drawing of Road Marker's Tablet

    Professor van der Graaff publishes article in the journal of Etruscan and Italic Studies

    Co-authored with Professor Eric Poehler (UMass, Amherst), the article proposes a new interpreation of the so-called Road Maker’s Tablet, an Oscan inscription found at the Porta Stabia in Pompeii.

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  • Aerial view of PCAC Mural

    Mural is installed on the elevator tower of PCAC

    Titled, “Hope is A Discipline,” the digital mural is by the Texas-based artist Michael Menchaca. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Menchaca has also completed public art projects in their hometown of San Antonio, Texas.

    learn more about the artist

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Student & Alumni Spotlights

  • E.J. Theriault in her studio
    Wildcats
    E.J. Theriault '21
    Fine Arts Major (Sculpture)
    How did you choose your major and why? As an undeclared student my first semester as a freshman, I explored a variety of classes and enrolled in a biology class which I immediately dropped after the first meeting. With a gap that needed to be filled, I registered for Professor Ben Cariens evening...
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    Wildcats
    E.J. Theriault '21
    Fine Arts Major (Sculpture)
    How did you choose your major and why? As an undeclared student my first semester as a freshman, I explored a variety of classes and enrolled in a biology class which I immediately dropped after the first meeting. With a gap that needed to be filled, I registered for Professor Ben Cariens evening...
    Learn More
  • headshot
    Wildcats
    Kaitlyn Grant '20
    Studio Art Major
    As an art major, Kaitlyn Grant ’20 of Somersworth, New Hampshire, is, in some ways, learning the same things over and over — but not out of redundancy. Instead it’s part of an arts education that allows students to hone their skills and develop their personal style. It’s why art students can...
    Learn More
    Wildcats
    Kaitlyn Grant '20
    Studio Art Major
    As an art major, Kaitlyn Grant ’20 of Somersworth, New Hampshire, is, in some ways, learning the same things over and over — but not out of redundancy. Instead it’s part of an arts education that allows students to hone their skills and develop their personal style. It’s why art students can...
    Learn More
  • headshot
    Alumni
    Jenna Riley '08 '17G
    Psychology and Studio Art Majors, Liberal Studies Masters | Library Services Specialist
    What you are currently doing for work? I currently work at the UNH Dimond Library in the Circulation unit. I have a supporting role in training, scheduling and supervision of circulation student assistants. As an undergraduate I worked at the Dimond Library as a student assistant for one summer....
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    Alumni
    Jenna Riley '08 '17G
    Psychology and Studio Art Majors, Liberal Studies Masters | Library Services Specialist
    What you are currently doing for work? I currently work at the UNH Dimond Library in the Circulation unit. I have a supporting role in training, scheduling and supervision of circulation student assistants. As an undergraduate I worked at the Dimond Library as a student assistant for one summer....
    Learn More
  • Tejas Moses with Don Williams, senior lecturer in art
    Wildcats
    Tejas Moses '20
    Fine Arts Major
    A native of Dublin, N.H., Tejas Moses came to UNH because he wanted to maintain his relationships to people and places he had before college, while feeding his desire “for challenge and adventure and bliss.” Those and “a really good financial aid package” that included a prestigious Hamel...
    Learn More
    Wildcats
    Tejas Moses '20
    Fine Arts Major
    A native of Dublin, N.H., Tejas Moses came to UNH because he wanted to maintain his relationships to people and places he had before college, while feeding his desire “for challenge and adventure and bliss.” Those and “a really good financial aid package” that included a prestigious Hamel...
    Learn More
  • headshot
    Alumni
    Tara Lewis (Misenheimer) '92
    Studio Art Major | Art Instructor and Artist
    Describe what you are currently doing for work and how you got to this point. I teach art at Phillips Exeter Academy, where I have been an instructor in painting, printmaking and photography. I have been working there for almost 20 years. Prior to that, I worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston...
    Learn More
    Alumni
    Tara Lewis (Misenheimer) '92
    Studio Art Major | Art Instructor and Artist
    Describe what you are currently doing for work and how you got to this point. I teach art at Phillips Exeter Academy, where I have been an instructor in painting, printmaking and photography. I have been working there for almost 20 years. Prior to that, I worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston...
    Learn More

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