Smarthistory: The Center for Public Art History grew out of the belief that art has the power to transform lives and build understanding across cultures—that the brilliant histories of art belong to everyone, no matter their background.
Smarthistory’s free, award-winning digital content unlocks the expertise of hundreds of leading scholars, making the history of art accessible and engaging to more people, in more places, than any other publisher. The content reaches a global audience on multiple channels. The videos are on YouTube, and the vast, high-quality photo collection lives on Flickr. Smarthistory is also the official art history partner of Khan Academy and of the College Board for AP Art History.
Smarthistory’s curated guides are created by subject experts for teachers, students, and independent learners. The approach emphasizes dialogue, close looking, and the importance of the embodied experience of art. The videos feature conversations between experts on location. The peer-reviewed essays are contributed by PhDs and other knowledge bearers.
The content is commonly taught in art history and cultural heritage courses. For example, The U.S. Civil War in Art collection of essays and videos recaptures the immediacy of the Civil War, engaging with the paintings, popular prints, photography, and material culture that reflect the experiences of those who lived through the war and the visual culture that has shaped our understanding of the war ever since. And the Seeing America series, created with more than 30 leading museums and cultural organizations, examines the long history of the United States from before European settlers to the modern era.
The Smarthistory content page provides a variety of resources, including a video transcript, details about the artwork, a bibliography, downloadable images for teaching and learning, classroom resources such as quizzes and glossaries, and more.
There are no ads and no paywalls. All the content is licensed under a Creative Commons license, so users can access and share Smarthistory’s content for free at any time. Citations are provided on the content pages.