Courtauld Institute of Art

According to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the Courtauld hosts the highest proportion of the UK's world-leading and internationally excellent research out of 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.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15] 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.

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.[16][17] In 2009, it was decided that the Witt Library would not continue to add new material to the collection,[18] and in 2017 a mass digitisation project which will make both Witt and Conway items available online commenced as part of Courtauld Connects.[19][17]

The book library is one of the UK's largest holdings of art history books, periodicals and exhibition catalogues.

There is a slide library which also covers films, and an IT suite.[20][21]

An online image collection provides access to more than 40,000 images, including paintings and drawings from the Courtauld Gallery, and over 35,000 photographs of architecture and sculpture from the Conway Library.[22] Two other websites and sell high resolution digital files to scholars, publishers and broadcasters, and photographic prints to a wide public audience.[23][24]

The Courtauld uses a virtual learning environment to deliver course material to its students.[25] Since 2004, the Courtauld has published an annual research journal, Immediations, edited by current members of the research student body. Each cover of the journal has been commissioned by a leading contemporary artist.[26] Additionally, together with the Warburg Institute, the institute publishes The Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, an annual publication of about 300 pages.[27]

The Courtauld is especially well known for its many graduates who have become directors of art museums around the world.[4] These include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the National Gallery, London; the National Portrait Gallery, London; the British Museum, London; the Tate, London; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; and the Museo del Prado, Madrid. The number of notable alumni in the fine arts has earned graduates the "Courtauld Mafia" nickname.[31]

The faculty of the Courtauld includes:[32]

• Deborah Swallow
• Antony Eastmond
• Alixe Bovey
• Jo Applin
• Katie Scott
• Sussan Babaie
• Caroline Arscott
• Aviva Burnstock
• Susie Nash
• Guido Rebecchini
• Christine Stevenson
• Martin Caiger-Smith
• David Peters Corbett
• David Park
• Julian Stallabrass
• Wenny Teo
• Klara Kemp-Welch
• Sarah Wilson
• Joanna Woodall

The Directors of the Courtauld Institute have been: