Here you can carry out art historical and design research; apply the theories and practice of information science; design and curate digital libraries, archives, and exhibitions; and communicate arts content and design effectively across diverse cultures and societies.
Pratt students at the Morgan Library Reading Room (courtesy Polly Cancro, History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science '18)
History of Art and Design / Library and Information Science at Pratt
The MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design dual-degree program prepares you for careers in art and design, museum, and academic libraries. In this program, you will become an expert on the intersection of art and design and information, going deep into art, design, and historical archives, art and design collections, and more. With fellowship opportunities at NYC’s leading museums, libraries, and archives, such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Frick Art Reference Library, and MoMA, the dual-degree program offers unique experiential learning opportunities.
Students in the dual-degree MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design program get to experience all Pratt has to offer by taking half of their program (30 credits) at the School of Information based in Manhattan, and the other half in the Department of History of Art and Design on the Brooklyn campus (30 credits). The first two years students take courses in both departments, with much of the thesis work taking place in the third year. With class sizes of just 8-12, you’ll collaborate closely with your cohort and faculty and be learning at the nexus of NYC arts and culture communities.
Internships
Internships at museums, libraries, nonprofit art organizations, and galleries provide professional opportunities in your area of interest and prepare you for future careers. Recent students have interned at prestigious institutions such as the New York Public Library, Franklin Furnace, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Study Abroad
We are pleased to offer study abroad options for dual-degree students, including a new course offered for the first time during spring break 2024: “Artist Archives: Rome/New York”. We also recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of Pratt in Venice, which is a 6-week program that occurs each June and July. For more information on Study Abroad, see where you can go.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learning resources.
Our Faculty
Pratt’s distinguished faculty of outstanding creative professionals and scholars share a common desire to develop each student’s potential and creativity to the fullest. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives, they provide a rigorous educational model in which students make and learn. See all History of Art and Design faculty and administrators and School of Information faculty and administrators.
Our Alumni
Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.
Where They Work
Librarian, Photographs and Prints Division, New York Public Library
Archivist, Center for Brooklyn History at Brooklyn Public Library
IT Project Manager, J. Paul Getty Trust
Head, Reference & Reader Services, Teachers College, Columbia University
Web Collection Librarian, Columbia University Libraries
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
Whether your goal is to advance your career, pivot to a new field, or explore your craft or groundbreaking research, our 33 graduate programs provide the rigor and support to achieve your vision. Explore our graduate programs in architecture, fine arts, design, information studies, and the liberal arts and sciences. Learn More.
You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
Art Nouveau (1890–1910)
A movement that broke away from historical revival
styles and embraced a new, nature-driven modernity.
Emerging across Europe at the turn of the century, it
sought to unite art, architecture, and everyday life.
Key characteristics: organic lines, whiplash curves,
botanical motifs, and a deep commitment to
craftsmanship across architecture, furniture, and
graphic design.
Example: the iconic Paris Métro Entrance, where iron
and glass twist into vine-like forms, turning a public
transit entry into sculptural urban art.
A reminder that design can be functional, expressive,
and poetic all at once.
#pratthad #arthistory101 #ArtAndDesign #pratt #art
#design
The evolution of Western art is a story of creativity, innovation, and cultural transformation. From the idealized forms of ancient Greece and Rome to the spiritual intricacies of the Middle Ages, and finally to the humanistic revival of the Renaissance, each era brought new ways of seeing and depicting the world. Join us as we explore key moments and masterpieces that shaped art history, highlighting timeless works and groundbreaking techniques that continue to inspire today.
A journey through the foundations of Western art:
Classical Era: Idealized beauty & mythological themes.
Example: "Laocoön and His Sons" (c. 40-30 BCE)
Middle Ages: Art turned spiritual with intricate designs.
Example: The Book of Kells (c. 800 CE)
Renaissance: A rebirth of humanism, realism, and perspective.
Example: "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli (c. 1485)
Innovations: Leonardo da Vinci redefined art with works like Mona Lisa (1503-1506) and The Last Supper (1495-1498).
#art #historyofdesign #arthistory101 #ArtAndDesign #arthistory #ArtHistory #pratthad #pratt
“When bicycle handlebars inspired a revolution in furniture.”
The 1925 Wassily Chair, designed at the Bauhaus, shows how industrial materials transformed modern living. A milestone in tubular steel design that remains timeless almost a century later.
#ArtHistory #historyofdesign #ArtAndDesign #arthistory #art #arthistory101
This month's art term: Vorticism
Definition:
A short-lived British avant-garde movement, formed in London in 1914, with the aim of creating art that expressed the dynamism of the modern world. Visually, it may be thought of as the British equivalent to Italian Futurism. Vorticist art features Cubist fragmentation combined with hard-edged imagery inspired by machines and the urban environment.
#historyofart #historyofdesign #pratt #ArtAndDesign #ArtHistory #pratthad #art #arthistory101 #arthistory
Professor Eana Kim and students from “Art Since the Sixties”visited the New Museum during its reopening week to experience the newly renovated building and the exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future.” The visit extended classroom discussions on curatorial practice, art and technology, and posthumanist discourse, with a focus on how contemporary exhibitions frame evolving definitions of the human.
You are invited to "Art Within Reach," by Ezra Shales.
* This event is for Pratt community only.
Date: Monday, March 30th
Time: 6:00–8:00 pm
Venue: Alumni Reading Room
About the Project: Pitchers of American Life: Art Within Reach (Bloomsbury 2026) discusses vessels preserved from ancient indigenous American cultures, those caught in the spiderwebs of antique shops, and common tools used for drinks lurking in modern kitchens. Might a history of art extracted from the cupboard liberate us from usual cultural hierarchies of the Grand Tour—and make the idea of art more accessible and relevant? A vision of design/craft/art intersecting at our fingertips provides a deliberately provocative strategy to move beyond inherited limitations and prejudices.
The presentation will include 'show-and-touch' engagement with a selection from mass-produced goods. How does a design once on display at the London Crystal Palace in 1851 compare to one from our Plasticene era?
About the Speaker: Professor in the History of Art department at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Ezra Shales, Ph.D., is the author of The Shape of Craft (Reaktion, 2017) and Made in Newark: Cultivating Industrial Arts and Civic Identity in the Progressive Era (Rutgers University Press, 2010). He has contributed to exhibition catalogs for artists Polly Apfelbaum, Neil Brownsword, Kim Dickey, Shari Mendelson, and Dan Walsh and published in the Journal of Modern Craft and Journal of Design History.
Alum and archivist Hanna Pennington (MSLIS ’22) is profiled in a Prattfolio story and offers advice on building a professional community. Link available via our bio.
Registration is now open for InfoShow26 via the link in our bio!
InfoShow26 is the annual showcase and celebration of School of Information (iSchool) student work. Organized like a conference, InfoShow26 includes presentations, panels, posters, digital and non-digital object exhibitions, and demos/interactives from students in these four areas.
Student work is featured from 5:00 to 7:30 PM. From 7:30 to 9:30 PM is a reception.
Open to the public. Guests of Pratt Institute should register and show ID at the ground floor security desk to gain entry.
It's the School of Information April '26 newsletter: Prof. Leanne Bowler is retiring, the Assistant Dean is hired, the Amazon Music Student Product Design Challenge winners are announced, and more! Link available in our bio.
Image: United Nations class visit with Prof. Kat Chiluiza, Spring 2026
Congratulations to the winning teams of the Amazon Music Product Design Student Challenge! The winers are:
- Sharron Lou, Pragya Lohia, Esha Ahluwalia - Amazon Drops
- Avani Chandorkar, Apporva Kavitkar, Tracy Khiew, Esha Navarkar - Frequency: Making Music Discovery Personal from Day One
- Shiying Chen, Anli Huang, Yuxuan Xia - Fandom Mode
Thank you to all the participants, to Amazon Music for their donation and their staff time on this challenge, the faculty judges, and Prof. Anthony Conta for organizing.
Congrats to everyone who participated in the first ever Pratt iSchool 5K! The winners are:
1st Place - Spencer Christian (MSLIS)
2nd Place - Prof. John Lauermann
3rd Place - Prof. Amy Ballmer
We hope to do it again next year!
The MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design dual-degree program prepares students for careers in art, museum, and academic libraries. With fellowship opportunities taking place at NYC’s leading museums, libraries, and archives, such as the Brooklyn Museum, the Guggenheim Museum, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the dual-degree program offers unique opportunities for experiential learning.
This program consists of 30 credits at the School of Information and 30 credits at the Department of History of Art and Design for a total of 60 credits, which must be completed with a B average or higher. Students in the dual-degree program generally take one or two classes in each program per semester (3–4 courses, 9–12 credits).
Students in the dual-degree MSLIS/MA History of Art and Design satisfy the learning outcomes of each of the respective degrees.
MS Library and Information Science
Throughout the LIS program, students will create a digital portfolio to highlight the work they have completed and demonstrate they have met the program’s five student learning outcomes:
Foundations of Library and Information studies – Apply core concepts and theories to information collection, organization and access in multiple environments.
User-centered services – Students can meet information needs of diverse user communities across multiple communication formats (e.g. oral, written, visual, interactive).
Technology – Students can select and apply tools and technologies used in the field to improve information functions.
Research – Investigate information environments and users’ needs, behaviors, and experiences through appropriate research methods and analysis.
Ethical/Creative/Critical practice – Apply core ethical principles to professional practice and understand the broad impact of information on society. Students can raise critical questions about information, its production, dissemination, storage and preservation.
MA History of Art and Design
Graduates are able to articulate the mutually constitutive nature of historical changes in social, political and economic conditions in the fields of art, design, and cultural production.
Graduates are able to describe, research and analyze the forms of cultural artifacts and monuments.
Graduates demonstrate a critical engagement with the discipline’s tools and methods.
Graduates have the skills to craft lines of inquiry and perform in-depth research, including the use of relevant languages, that results in original analysis and interpretation.
