Visual Arts

Architectural Studies: Major, Minor
Art History: Major, Minor
Museum Studies: Minor
Studio Art: Major, Minor

The study of the visual arts provides a powerful lens through which you can better see, evaluate and understand the world that surrounds you. 

Encompassing multimedia studio explorations, art historical research, and specialized opportunities in architectural and museum studies, the Department of Visual Arts empowers the broader examination of the liberal arts at the College. You will hone your sensitivity to visual culture and the built environment, refine your skills of visual expression and critical analysis, and engage the surrounding community as points for visual inspiration, reflection, and advocacy.

In the classroom, you will study the rich heritage of global artistic and cultural traditions through specialized lecture and seminar courses. In the studio, you will engage traditional and new methods of art-making, becoming absorbed in the process of creating original work. Outside the College, you will immerse yourself in the architecture, galleries, and museums of Worcester and nearby Boston. The New England region’s rich cultural resources form an integral part of the visual arts curriculum, and will provide you with abundant learning, community engagement, and internship opportunities.

The department — consisting of art history, studio art, and architectural studies — features a group of highly respected scholars and artists who regularly lecture, publish, exhibit, and curate nationally and internationally. The faculty place great emphasis on student mentoring in the classroom and in the field, facilitating student research projects and exhibitions, and leading excursions to area sites, galleries and museums.

Engaged Learning Beyond the Classroom
students in cantor art gallery
Studio Concentration Seminar

Senior studio art majors participate in a yearlong course centered on the development of an individual body of work.

Sun rising over a city
Study Abroad

Study abroad in programs that support architectural studies, art history and studio art.

group in the worcester art museum looking at art on a wall
Visiting Artists and Excursions

There are frequent visiting artists and lecturers and regular field trips to museums and galleries throughout the region.

Visual Arts News

Degree of Impact, 2017. Polymer plate, etching, and stencil
‘Joys, Sorrows, Concerns’ Surveys the Artistic Career of Holy Cross Visual Arts Professor Susan Schmidt
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross is delighted to celebrate the career of Professor Susan Schmidt in the exhibition “Joys, Sorrows, Concerns” from March 9 through April 10, 2020. An opening …
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Palm House, England
‘Warm Room’ Series of Photographs by Peter A. Moriarty Depicting Historic Greenhouses on View at Cantor Art Gallery
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross will present the work of photographer Peter A. Moriarty in the exhibition “Warm Room: Photographs from Historic Greenhouses” from January 22 through February 29. An …
Holy Cross students are seen here admiring the objects of Buddhist devotion displayed in the Cantor Art Gallery's Dharma and Punya exhibit. Photo by Avanell Brock
Cantor Art Gallery Exhibit Featured in New York Times ‘Best Art of 2019’ List
The prestigious New York Times Art & Design section released their “Best Art of 2019” as determined by their art critics. Making co-chief art critic and Pulitzer Prize winner Holland Cotter’s list was our own Iris & B. Gerald Cantor …