Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, two key figures of postwar British art, shared a complex personal and artistic bond. Art historian Aneta Georgievska-Shine explores this relationship by examining their distinct approaches to painting—Bacon’s expressive style contrasted with Freud’s painstaking realism. Despite their differences, both artists were fascinated by the human figure, and their mutual admiration sparked a rivalry that shaped their artistic trajectories. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for a course of three online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. The sessions spotlight a wide range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice.

Discover the power of reflective writing guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. Experience new ways to contemplate the gifts of winter inspired by the vibrant Winter Landscape by Wassily Kandinsky, an artist who embraced the transcendent power of color. Designed for writers of all levels, and for the curious, the workshop invites participants to look outwardly at art and to look inwardly through writing.

In an increasingly data-driven world anyone can fall victim to mind control, says historian of science Rebecca Lemov, who examines how brainwashing techniques once reserved for warfare and cults are now woven into the fabric of everyday life. She traces mind control from procedures used against American POWs in North Korea to the “soft” brainwashing of today’s social media.

Explore the basics of color theory, including temperature, value, and harmony-creating color schemes. In hands-on projects, learn to use a color wheel with tinting and toning, color charts, and color harmony studies.

The layers of history are vividly felt on Sicily. A crossroads of civilizations, it has been shaped over millennia by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Normans, each leaving a distinctive mark on the island’s art and architecture. Art historian Elaine Ruffolo leads a journey through Sicily’s extraordinary artistic heritage, revealing how each era left its mark across the island. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Tap into the power of uplifting language as you transform meaningful words—quotes, poems, lyrics, mantras, or personal affirmations—into expressive works of art.

In an afternoon of artistic experimentation designed to strengthen creative muscles and deepen skills in visual expression, explore five distinct modes of visual thinking—memory, observation, imagination, narrative, and experimentation—to complete eight expressive journaling exercises using the marking and mapping approach.