Short course
British Art of the Mid-Twentieth Century (c.1940-1960)
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates:
15/04/2027 - 17/06/2027
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
This course explores the diverse strands of modern British art between the Second World War and the 1960s. During the war, numerous artists in Britain sought to capture the reality of the conflict. In its aftermath, the 'Neo-Romantics' thrived and the 'Kitchen Sink' school experimented with social realism. Representaional art came under threat, but Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon maintained a commitment to figurative practice. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, Pop Art became increasingly significant, with artists such as Pauline Boty and Peter Blake gaining prominence through the film Pop Goes the Easel. We will consider the development of postwar British art in the context of its wider visual culture, from New Wave film to the photography of the Picture Post reaching increasingly large audiences.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Programme details
Course starts Thursday 15 April 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: British art in World War Two
Week 2: Neo-Romanticism: Minton, Vaughan, Ayrton and the Two Roberts
Week 3: The Festival of Britain
Week 4: The Kitchen Sink School
Week 5: Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon
Week 6: Sculpture in the 1950s
Week 7: The American Impact – Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art
Week 8: Photography and Picture Post
Week 9: Pop Goes the Easel and Pauline Boty
Week 10: Post-War Film and the British New Wave
Teaching methods
This course will be taught through seminar-style discussion, including:
- Presentation of PowerPoint images and key texts to provide a stimulus to discussion.
- Use of film to provide a stimulus for discussion and provide background information.
- Case studies of specific artists
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will:
- be familiar with a broad range of styles in British art in the period c.1940-1960 and their associated terminology
- be able to analyse the importance of galleries, critics and patrons
- practised visual analysis of a range of art works through class discussion and the option of written assessment
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Course aims
This course aims to enable participants to develop an understanding of the transitions in British art from the early 1940s to the early 1960s.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, participants will have been given the opportunity to:
- examine the different modes of art that flourished in this period
- discuss the economic, social, political and cultural factors that influenced art in Britain
- analyse why some artists flourished and others faltered
Programme details
Course starts Thursday 15 April 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Thursdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: British art in World War Two
Week 2: Neo-Romanticism: Minton, Vaughan, Ayrton and the Two Roberts
Week 3: The Festival of Britain
Week 4: The Kitchen Sink School
Week 5: Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon
Week 6: Sculpture in the 1950s
Week 7: The American Impact – Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art
Week 8: Photography and Picture Post
Week 9: Pop Goes the Easel and Pauline Boty
Week 10: Post-War Film and the British New Wave
Teaching methods
This course will be taught through seminar-style discussion, including:
- Presentation of PowerPoint images and key texts to provide a stimulus to discussion.
- Use of film to provide a stimulus for discussion and provide background information.
- Case studies of specific artists
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will:
- be familiar with a broad range of styles in British art in the period c.1940-1960 and their associated terminology
- be able to analyse the importance of galleries, critics and patrons
- practised visual analysis of a range of art works through class discussion and the option of written assessment
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Jan Cox
Dr Jan Cox has been awarded a BA (Hons) by Oxford Brookes University, an MA from Bristol, and a PhD from the University of Leeds (Nordic Art). He specialises in nineteenth-century European art and British art of the early twentieth-century.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.
