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Why take an online class at the Barnes?

  • Our online classes are conducted live, which means you can engage with your instructor and with fellow students.
  • We use state-of-the-art technology that allows you to zoom in closely and see details that can’t be experienced in person—down to the individual brushstroke.
  • Topics change continually and are taught by experts from all over the world.
  • Can’t attend a live session? Online classes are recorded for access later. Learn more about Barnes classes.

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Gift a Barnes Class
Special Offer / Online / On-Site

Gift a Barnes Class

Ongoing

Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.

Leslie Bowen’s Favorites: Then and Now
On-Site

Leslie Bowen’s Favorites: Then and Now

Wednesday, December 6, or Tuesday, December 19, 10am – 4:30pm

Join Leslie Bowen, a longtime Barnes instructor, for a personal look at the Barnes collection.

Matisse and Color
Online

Matisse and Color

Wednesday, December 13, 10am – 4pm

This course examines how Matisse created a new way of using color known as fauvism. Instructor: Michael Williamson

Timeless/Timely: Marking Change in Impressionism and Its Afterlives
On-Site

Timeless/Timely: Marking Change in Impressionism and Its Afterlives

Saturday, December 16, 10am – 4pm

See how artists in the late 19th century were able to mark—and make—change in their work. Instructor: Miriam Ashkin Stanton

Photography and Painting
Online

Photography and Painting

Thursdays, January 4 – January 25, 6 – 8pm

Explore how painting was irrevocably changed by the invention of photography. Instructor: Michael Williamson

El Greco: Renaissance Mystic and Modernity’s Vanguardist
Online

El Greco: Renaissance Mystic and Modernity’s Vanguardist

Saturdays, January 6 – January 27, 11am – 1pm

Learn how the Renaissance painter was inspired by mysticism and how his work found favor with impressionists and modern artists. Instructor: Sheila Barker

Learning to See
Online / Barnes Method

Learning to See

Mondays, January 8 – January 29, 2 – 4pm

Learn how artists use visual media to communicate their unique experience of the world. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell

Charles Demuth: The Erotic Watercolors
Online

Charles Demuth: The Erotic Watercolors

Mondays, January 8 – January 29, 6 – 8pm

Examine works by Demuth that explore his identity as an openly gay artist. Instructor: Ty Vanover

Mysticism, Spirituality, and Modern Art
Online

Mysticism, Spirituality, and Modern Art

Wednesdays, January 10 – January 31, 6 – 8pm

Learn how spiritual ideas and mystical experiences influenced painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Instructor: Roksana Filipowska

The Elements of Art
On-Site / Barnes Method

The Elements of Art

Tuesdays, January 23 – April 23, 1 – 4pm

Learn basic aesthetic principles and discover art’s communicative power by studying works in the Barnes collection. Instructor: Michael Williamson

Collection Concentration: Paul Cézanne
On-Site / Barnes Method

Collection Concentration: Paul Cézanne

Tuesdays, January 23 – April 23, 6 – 9pm

Study Cézanne’s influence on European modernism and trace the development of his visual language. Instructor: William Perthes

The Traditions of Art
Online / Barnes Method

The Traditions of Art

Thursdays, January 25 – April 25, 1 – 4pm

Learn how modern artists adapted earlier traditions in developing new visual languages. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell

The Art and Architecture of the Islamic World
Online

The Art and Architecture of the Islamic World

Thursdays, February 1 – February 22, 12 – 2pm

An introduction to Islamic art and architecture, focusing on key objects and their social and political contexts. Instructor: Emily Neumeier

Horace Pippin’s Modernism
Online

Horace Pippin’s Modernism

Fridays, February 2 – February 23, 2 – 4pm

Reexamine Pippin’s art and legacy in the context of the galleries in which he once studied. Instructor: Alison Boyd

The Techniques of Color in Modern Painting
Online

The Techniques of Color in Modern Painting

Mondays, February 5 – February 26, 6 – 8pm

Explore the materials and approaches that made impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism, and early modernism such groundbreaking movements. Instructor: Al Gury

Decoding Barnes’s Ensembles
On-Site / Barnes Method

Decoding Barnes’s Ensembles

Tuesdays, February 6 – February 27, 2 – 4pm

Get a better understanding of why Dr. Albert Barnes arranged his collection in such an unconventional way. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell

Post-Impressionism in the Barnes
Online

Post-Impressionism in the Barnes

Tuesdays, February 6 – February 27, 4 – 6pm

Learn about the radical generation of artists that emerged from the dissolution of the impressionist group. Instructor: Christa DiMarco

The Impressionists: Friends and Family
Online

The Impressionists: Friends and Family

Wednesdays, February 7 – February 28, 4 – 6pm

This course is a deep dive into the history and activities of the impressionist group and the deep bonds of its members. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre

The Bauhaus: Unity of the Arts
Online

The Bauhaus: Unity of the Arts

Mondays, March 4 – March 25, 12 – 2pm

Delve into the Bauhaus school and movement and explore how we are still unpacking its remarkable legacy. Instructor: Matthew Palczynski

Flower Power: Symbolism and Science in the Barnes Collection
On-Site

Flower Power: Symbolism and Science in the Barnes Collection

Tuesdays, March 5 – March 26, 1 – 3pm

In celebration of spring, take a closer look at floral works in the collection, considering the aesthetics and symbolism of nature in art. Instructor: Amy Gillette

Art and Splendor in Ancient Rome
Online

Art and Splendor in Ancient Rome

Tuesdays, March 5 – March 26, 6 – 8pm

Explore the major achievements of the Roman world by looking closely at key examples of architecture, painting, and sculpture. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell

Art of the Great Migration
Online

Art of the Great Migration

Wednesdays, March 6 – March 27, 1 – 3pm

Examine important works by African American artists who migrated from south to north after the Reconstruction era. Instructor: Michael Williamson

The French Revolution and the Arts
Online

The French Revolution and the Arts

Wednesdays, March 6 – March 27, 5 – 7pm

Study the cultural, social, and visual changes that occurred during and after the French Revolution. Instructor: André Dombrowski

Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s <i>Ginger Jar</i>
Online / Barnes Method

Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Ginger Jar

Wednesday, March 13, 12 – 1:30pm

This new series of single-session immersions provides opportunities to study and discuss individual works. In this session, we’ll examine Cézanne’s Ginger Jar.

Paintings from an Artist’s Perspective
On-Site

Paintings from an Artist’s Perspective

Wednesdays, April 3 – April 24, 1 – 3pm

This class explores visual imagination from an artist’s point of view, revealing how a painter transforms ideas into physical works of art. Instructor: Stuart Shils

Dutch Art in the Time of Rembrandt and Vermeer: A Look at the “Non-Golden Age”
Online

Dutch Art in the Time of Rembrandt and Vermeer: A Look at the “Non-Golden Age”

Fridays, April 5 – April 26, 12 – 2pm

Examine the masters of the Dutch Golden Age while also considering the social and political issues of the time. Instructor: Ashley West

The Classical Tradition in Modern Art
Online

The Classical Tradition in Modern Art

Mondays, April 8 – April 29, 6 – 8pm

Learn how some modern artists looked to classical myths, artifacts, and ideas for inspiration. Instructor: Naina Saligram

Artists As Cultivators
Online

Artists As Cultivators

Tuesdays, April 9 – April 30, 6 – 8pm

This course, taught by the curators of the PAFA exhibition, examines how artists use nature to explore issues of American identity. Instructors: Anna O. Marley, Leah Triplett Harrington

Close-Looking Immersion: Picasso’s <i>Acrobat and Young Harlequin </i>
Online / Barnes Method

Close-Looking Immersion: Picasso’s Acrobat and Young Harlequin

Wednesday, April 10, 12 – 1:30pm

This new series of single-session immersions provides opportunities to study and discuss individual works. In this session, we’ll examine Picasso’s Acrobat and Young Harlequin.

Works on Paper in the Barnes Collection
On-Site

Works on Paper in the Barnes Collection

Wednesdays, May 1 – May 22, 1 – 3pm

Explore the Barnes collection’s rich array of works on paper, including images in ink, graphite, watercolor, tempera, pastel, and gouache. Instructor: Christine Stoughton

Portraiture at the Barnes: From the 15th Century to Modernism
Online

Portraiture at the Barnes: From the 15th Century to Modernism

Thursdays, May 2 – May 23, 1 – 3pm

Uncover the wide range of expression that portraits at the Barnes offer. Instructor: Laura L. Watts

The Japanese American Century: Noguchi, Nakashima, and Asawa
Online

The Japanese American Century: Noguchi, Nakashima, and Asawa

Fridays, May 3 – May 24, 1 – 3pm

Examine the critical contributions Japanese American artists made to the 20th-century art world. Instructor: Joseph Tokumasu Field

Exploring Pictorial Space
On-Site / Barnes Method

Exploring Pictorial Space

Tuesdays, May 7 – May 28, 1 – 3pm

Take a closer look at the ways artists create the illusion of depth in paintings and other works of two-dimensional art. Instructor: Michael Williamson

Close-Looking Immersion: Matisse’s <i>Red Madras Headdress</i>
Online / Barnes Method

Close-Looking Immersion: Matisse’s Red Madras Headdress

Wednesday, May 8, 12 – 1:30pm

This new series of single-session immersions focuses on individual works in the collection. In this session, we’ll examine Matisse’s Red Madras Headdress.

Mary Cassatt at Work
Online

Mary Cassatt at Work

Tuesdays, June 4 – June 25, 4 – 6pm

Explore Cassatt's methods, materials, and contributions to modernism with the curators of the PMA exhibition. Instructors: Laurel Garber, Jennifer Thompson.

The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program
Certificate Program

The Barnes–de Mazia Certificate Program

Ongoing

This special track offers an immersion in the Barnes Method and an introduction to other interpretive approaches.

Horticulture Certificate Program
Certificate Program / Horticulture

Horticulture Certificate Program

Ongoing

Our three-year certificate program covers horticultural science, methods, and design.