Sotheby's institute of art

History of Interior Design: 1715 to Today

This 8-week intensive course is a survey of the major design styles and movements in Europe and America since the mid-18th Century.
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Length 1 to 3 months
Price $ 1860
Subject Art, Design
Level Beginner
Languages English
Video Transcripts None
Course lectures explore the shift in design from royal or ecclesiastical patronage to designs geared towards more personal, practical, and conceptual tastes. Important design styles and movements, such as rococo, neoclassicism, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and Modernism will be considered, as well as the impact of the Industrial Revolution and globalization. Additionally, this course examines the emergence of interior design as a profession at the turn of the 20th Century and explores innovations in design today. Each week will focus on a selection of case studies that will be contextualized through lectures, readings, and online group discussions.

What you'll learn

  • An overview of the history and development of the interior design, including the critical social and political events that influenced the field.

  • How to identify and analyze the significant design styles and movements since the mid-18th Century.

  • The working vocabulary used to describe interiors, furniture, and decorative arts.

Course syllabus

Week 1: France in the 18th Century

Week 2: Neoclassicism, French Empire, and English Georgian Styles

Week 3: The Industrial Revolution and Victorian Style

Week 4: Design Reform in the 19th Century

Week 5: Fin-de-siècle and Early 20th Century Design

Week 6: Modernism & The Emergence of Interior Design as a Profession

Week 7: Art Deco, Le Corbusier, and Art Brut

Week 8: Mid-20th Century Design & Design Today


Meet the instructors

Ann Bell, Adjunct Faculty, M.A. Fine and Decorative Art and Design, New York & Online

M.A., Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture, Bard Graduate Center; B.A., Art History, Hunter College City University of New York

Ann Bell is an art historian and lecturer. Her research interests include French society under the rule of Louis XIV and the history of theatre, with a focus on the commedia dell'arte. She lectures on the fine and decorative arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Morgan Library, and the Bard Graduate Center. Additionally, she teaches courses in design history and writing at the New York School of Interior Design.