ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen the demise and then spectacular revival of History of Art as an A Level subject. Rescued by the energetic campaigning of teachers, academics, the Association for Art History and much high-profile support in the media, this near-death experience quickened debate about the place of the subject in schools and, along the way, highlighted contrasting views. For while many celebrated art history as enriching and mind-broadening (e.g. Parker et al. 2016), others characterised it as the elitist preserve of independent schools (Jones 2016). The whole episode has generated discussion in the art education community and, in some quarters, galvanised moves to make art history with a global perspective more accessible to school students of all ages, for example, through the work of the organisation Art History in Schools (www.arthistoryinschools.org.uk). In this chapter I argue that art historical awareness should be recognised as crucial to the Art and Design curriculum because it enables learners to develop a richer understanding of the categories of art and design, an understanding that is adequate to their current complexity and heterogeneity.
