# Department of History of Art and Architecture
**Source**: https://haa.fas.harvard.edu/
**Parent**: https://artsandhumanities.fas.harvard.edu/departments-degree-programs
From its earliest beginning in 1874 as one of Harvard’s twelve divisions, the Department has expanded its variety of fields to comprise expertise that spans the globe and ranges from antiquity to contemporary art. Our Faculty supports cross-regional, transnational, and transcultural modes of analysis built around the principle of contact zones between cultures. Another priority of our Department concerns the material specificity of works of art across all media, as well as in the various processes and technologies of their production. In this we are well served by partnerships with the Harvard Art Museums, Fine Arts Library, Graduate School of Design, Houghton Library, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology and Visual and Environmental Studies, whose rich collections and facilities are an integral part of what we do in our innovative undergraduate and graduate teaching and research.
## Events
[### The Arts and Humanities at the Event Horizon: Shep Doeleman on Photographing Black Holes](/event/arts-and-humanities-event-horizon-shep-doeleman-photographing-black-holes?occ_id=0)
Mar 12, 2026
6:00PM - 7:30PM EDT
[### Neuroaesthetics: At the Threshold of Consciousness](/event/neuroaesthetics-threshold-consciousness?occ_id=0)
Mar. 21 - Mar 22, 2026
2:00PM - 5:00PM EDT
[### Aga Khan Lecture Series: Serpil Bağcı "Picturing the İskendername: Visual Interpretation in Fifteenth-Century Ottoman Manuscripts"](/event/aga-khan-lecture-series-serpil-bagci-picturing-iskendername-visual-interpretation-fifteenth?occ_id=0)
Mar 26, 2026
6:00PM - 7:30PM EDT
[### Signal and Strata In Conversation](/event/signal-and-strata-conversation?occ_id=0)
Mar 26, 2026
6:30PM - 8:00PM EDT
[### Making and Unmaking Value II: Transformations Through Space](/event/making-and-unmaking-value-ii-transformations-through-space?occ_id=0)
Apr. 23 - Apr 25, 2026
All day
Show morerefresh
## News
[### The Frick Collection Appoints HAA Alumnus Aaron Wile As New John Updike Curator](https://artdaily.com/news/191217/Frick-appoints-new-John-Updike-Curator)
February 20, 2026
NEW YORK, NY.- The Frick Collection today announced the appointment of Dr. Aaron Wile as its new John Updike Curator. He will take up the post on April 6, 2026. In this senior curatorial role, Wile succeeds Dr. Aimee Ng, who became the museum’s Peter Jay...
[### Professor Sarah Lewis Honored As One of TIME Magazine's 2026 Closers](https://time.com/collections/closers-2026/7353401/sarah-lewis/)
January 27, 2026
Sarah Lewis is on a mission to make sure Black artists get their due. As a curator, an art and cultural historian, and an academic, Lewis is guided by a big question: “What is the role of art and culture for determining who counts, and who belongs, in...
[### Kongo Christianity: The Intersection of Two Worlds](https://www.metmuseum.org/perspectives/kongo-christianity-intersection-two-worlds)
November 20, 2025
[Professor] Cécile Fromont reflects on the history of Christianity in the Kingdom of Kongo and how it is expressed in Kongolese culture through the lens of a crucifix at The Met. When we look at Kongo Christian visual culture, we know there is an entire...
[### Professor Felipe Pereda Awarded Sheila ffolliott Prize for "The Man who Broke Michelangelo's Nose"](https://www.sixteenthcentury.org/ffolliottprize)
November 05, 2025
The Sixteenth Century Society has awarded Professor Felipe Pereda's The Man who Broke Michelangelo's Nose The Sheila ffolliott Prize for the Best Book in Art History for 2025. The Sheila ffolliott Prize recognizes the best book written in English and...