The modern school of art had its inception perhaps in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, which was founded in Paris in 1648 and has been running ever since. Like this institution, most schools have their departments of painting, sculpture, architecture, engraving, etc., with the allied arts, in which such divisions as the history of art, theory and practice of design, perspective, etc., are taught in regular classes. Free-hand drawing, involving the co ordination of hand and eye, is generally used as the foundation upon which most of the training is based. While considerable study is required in history, theory, and in the necessary rules for good design, the emphasis in most modern schools of art is placed upon the actual studio work. With the development of museums where design may be studied from the collections of art work more and more importance is given to observation classes. In many of the municipal museums, especially in the United States, an art school is conducted in connection with the museum (see MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES). For those wanting industrial arts, most schools have branches for technical instruction in that field, such as pottery, basketry, carpet weaving, batik work, etc. However, this can be successfully taught only after the pupil has a working knowledge of the fundamentals of drawing and de sign. (See DRAWING.) Public exhibitions, local and international, have perhaps been the greatest stimulus in the development of art schools in Europe and the United States. About the middle of the 19th century con siderable competition in the industrial arts was started among the European countries, which meant decided progress in the manu facture and keener valuations in the design of the products of in dustry. This idea of competition, which later spread to the United States, has made itself manifest also in local exhibitions in the larger cities.
Of the many important schools of art only a few can be men tioned in the following list. (See also SOCIETIES OF ART; DESIGN ; Special schools of art, many of which bear no relation to the public schools, have a powerful influence on art education in the United States. (See ART TEACHING.) While the state uni versities, larger high schools, and even the lower grades, often have an art department, where drawing and elementary design are taught, they do not provide courses for pupils specializing in one or more of the arts, but rather for those who take a regular course and are sufficiently interested in art to select it as one of many studies. Art schools are, therefore, established and con trolled largely by art societies, boards of trustees, and private patronage, a very small number depending upon governmental aid. A few of the large cities maintain art schools, some connection with the museums, and charge only a small fee for admission.
The Departments of Fine Arts in the larger universities of the United States serve as important factors in maintaining the balance necessary for institutions that seek to give an insight to all the arts and sciences. Although most of these departments are closely allied with the College of Liberal Arts and Science, giving pupils who work toward a bachelor's degree the opportu nity of choosing one or more of the arts as a "major" or "minor" study, there is a growing tendency to organize all the fine arts into a School of Fine Arts, which can then be divided into its various departments. The University of Pennsylvania is a good example, although it tends to specialize in architecture. In 192o all of the various divisions of the university providing in struction in the fine arts were grouped together under the School of Fine Arts, viz : Department of Architecture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Department of Fine Arts, and Depart ment of Music. In 1928 there were 31 instructors and 444 stu
dents in the school.
Of the other larger universities that have outstanding courses in the various arts, the following should be mentioned: (I) Yale University, School of Fine Arts, having four-year courses in architecture, drawing and painting, sculpture, and drama. The enrollment in 1927 was 7o5. (2) University of Michigan, College of Architecture, offering three programs, each requiring a mini mum of four years. Two of these courses are in architecture, and one is a four-year course in decorative design which empha sizes interior decoration, with instruction in drawing, painting, and modeling as supplementary. (3) Carnegie Institute of Tech nology, College of Fine arts. The most important activity of this department, and the one which distinguishes it from others in the country, is the annual International Exhibition of Paint ings. This exhibition has been held each year since 1896 with the exception of the years during the World War. The school intends to specialize in contemporary painting. Practically all of the paintings in the permanent collection date from 1896 or there about. (4) University of Illinois, Department of Architecture and Department of Art and Design. (5) University of Iowa, Depart ment of Graphic and Plastic Arts. (6) University of Missouri, School of Fine Arts. (7) University of Nebraska, School of Fine Arts. (8) Columbia University, Department of Fine Arts (Teachers College). (9) New York University, Department of Fine Arts. (io) Syracuse University, College of Fine Arts. (i I) Ohio State University, Department of Fine Arts. (12) Uni versity of Wisconsin, Department of Industrial Education and Applied Arts.
Of the art schools that are independent of State or municipal control, the better known ones are in the larger cities. In New York, the following list comprises the more important ones : (I) Art Students League of New York, which had an enrollment in 1927 of 2,85o pupils, 28 instructors, and a curriculum that in cluded painting, drawing, illustration, sculpture, etching, lithog raphy, composition, wood-block, sculptural wood-carving, stone cutting, and mural painting. As in most of the larger art schools, evening classes are offered for those who cannot attend during the day. (2) Beaux-Arts Institute of Design, with an enrollment in 1927 of about 2,000 students, and a course of instruction that covers largely architecture, mural painting and sculpture, and interior decoration. (3) Cooper Union, which is divided into a Night School of Art and a Woman's Art School with an enroll ment in 1927-28 of 1,446 and 337, respectively. Tuition is free, and it holds a unique position in affording instruction to students who work during the day or whose means are limited. (4) Grand Central School of Art, founded in 1924, with the object of devel oping a note of individuality in every pupil. The fact that this institution is associated with the well known art galleries and in its first four years became one of the largest and best known of the country is particularly significant. It is self-supporting, and in 1927 had an enrollment of 875, with a faculty of 18 instructors. (5) Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, with 53 instructors and 1,498 pupils in 1927. This school is noted particularly for its work in the applied arts.