
We study the art, architecture, and visual culture of the global past and present to understand our world today and create better futures. We adopt a capacious definition of art that explores all human creativity, regardless of race, class, gender, sexuality, age, or ability. Our mission is to expand our field which has entrenched an elitist and exclusionary worldview.

The Frick Fine Arts Library has an outstanding research collection containing over 90,000 volumes.

The University Art Gallery (UAG) is an open, flexible, and immersive laboratory for studying and displaying how art and visual objects generate knowledge and understanding of the world.

The Constellations at the University of Pittsburgh are hubs of innovative practice that unite faculty and students across subfields in the Department of History of Art and Architecture.

Collecting Knowledge Pittsburgh fosters opportunities for collaboration between Pitt faculty, students, and the local cultural sector.

The Visual Media Workshop is a humanities lab focused on the investigation of material and visual culture.

Discover what makes the Department of History of Art & Architecture a standout program.
News

López begins Will Barnet Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship at SAAM
PhD candidate Janina Lopez has joined the Smithsonian Institution's Fellowship Program as the Will Barnet Foundation Predoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian American Art Muse

Alex Taylor Reports on Calder Mobile at New Airport Terminal
Alex Taylor was consulted by local journalists on the reinstallation of the Alexander Calder mobile Pittsburgh (1958) in the new terminal of the Pittsburgh International Airport

Bertagnolli Presents at Smithsonian American Art Museum
Isaiah Bertagnolli (PhD 2025) presented dissertation research on during SAAM's annual fellow's lectures.