Art majors at Reed study both art history and studio art. These two branches of the department are united philosophically and, to an extent rare among liberal arts institutions, in practice. Students doing a thesis in studio art or art history are required to take at least four courses in the other discipline.

Reed’s art history professors teach western and nonwestern art ranging from the ancient to the contemporary, and our studio professors teach courses in drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and digital media.

In art history, courses acquaint students with periods, movements, and issues in art and in the various methods of art-historical research. Students learn to refine their powers of critical observation by talking and writing at length about individual works of art.

In studio art, the introductory courses stress formal, technical, and conceptual topics through a broad range of projects. More independent exploration, which might involve further work in the traditional core media or branch off into more experimental forms, is encouraged in upper-level studio art courses.

In recent years, art majors have often supplemented their work at Reed with a semester or year abroad as well as with research opportunities, like those funded by the President’s Summer Fellowship.

“Studying art at Reed gave me the unique opportunity to combine my interdisciplinary interests. Not only did I develop my artistic abilities, but I further cultivated my design sensibility due to the emphasis placed on art theory and discourse.”STEVEN GARCIA ’20

Alumni profile

Lucy Bellwood ’12

Cartoonist & Illustrator

When Lucy Bellwood ’12, cartoonist and illustrator at Periscope Studio, was a student at Reed, she ran a group to stimulate artistic production among students and connect students with artists in the greater Portland area. She also wrote and drew the comic book True Believer as part of her studio art thesis.

Both inside and outside of class, Lucy was involved in bookbinding, self-publishing, and theatre. After graduating from Reed, she launched into a full-time freelance career with the help of a wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to publish True Believer. She has since drawn comics for Symbolia Magazine, The Nib, and Cartozia Tales, among others.

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