If you’re interested in African art, it seems like Cornell would be a smart choice. Hassan and Finley are tops in the field, as someone already said, but Cornell is also host to Nka, the leading publication for the arts of the African Diaspora. Not to say you would not have that kind of access at Santa Cruz or Texas, but it sort of means something to be right at the source, no? Cornell is also a much larger university that has courses in other humanities departments, including Africana studies.
I would also reiterate that prestige isn’t everything. (Isn’t Cornell actually the example often provided for reputable-school-not-so-reputable-art-history-program?) This is especially true if you feel like you already like the faculty and resources at Santa Cruz. You say that funding is the same – is Santa Cruz immune from the UC funding crisis problems? You might want to think about which program would enable you to find a job more easily post graduation. I don’t know too much about either program’s track records in placement, but I understand that Santa Cruz is still new.
I did my undergrad in upstate, New York, so feel free to PM me about Ithaca. I think you’ll find that it’s less isolating than you think. You won't get to New York every weekend, but it's still only about a four hour trip by bus. It does have harsh winters, though, no doubt a sharp contrast to sunny California.
