Smarthistory is an independent not-for-profit organization and the official partner of the Khan Academy for art history.

[7] In addition to its focus on college-level courses in art history, Smarthistory supports the art history Advanced Placement course and examination developed by The College Board.

[11][12] Smarthistory's essays have been contributed by more than 200 art historians, curators, and archaeologists writing in their areas of focus and are peer-reviewed.

[13][11] Videos are unscripted conversations between experts recorded on location in front of the original work of art or architecture.

Unlike reading about art in a book, "the idea of the audio was to keep a student's eyes on the image", he explained.