School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Type | Private |
---|---|
Established | 1876 |
President | Christopher Bratton |
Academic staff | 152 full- and part-time |
Undergraduates | 700 |
Postgraduates | 100 |
Location | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
Campus | Urban, non-residential |
Affiliations |
Tufts University Northeastern University AICAD Professional Arts Consortium |
Website | www.smfa.edu |
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (also known as the Museum School or SMFA) is an undergraduate and graduate college located in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the visual arts. It is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in partnership with Tufts University and Northeastern University. SMFA is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of several dozen leading art schools in the United States.
Overview
The school does not have a foundations program, but it does require all new students to take a freshman seminar. Encouraged to build an individual program of interdisciplinary study, students are not asked to declare a major, but by choosing among in-depth courses in a dozen disciplines, students are free to concentrate in a medium of their choice.
One of the unique attributes of SMFA is that students are required to participate in a "Review Board" which is a review of all of the art work that a student has done during the semester. Review Boards are led by two faculty members, one of whom is the students' choice, and two fellow students. There are many opportunities for students to exhibit their artwork at both the main building and the Mission Hill building.
Opportunities to exhibit works include the annual Museum School Art Sale and the juried "Student Annual Exhibition". Various galleries and spaces that are available to students around the school buildings include Bag Gallery, Hallway Gallery, Bathroom Gallery, Underground Gallery, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The School's main campus is adjacent to and just to the west of the Museum of Fine Arts. Most classroom space is located there, as well as the Cafe des Arts, the library, the School's store and the Grossman Gallery. The Mission Hill building, located about a quarter mile from the main building, recently has been renovated and includes studio spaces for graduate and post-baccalaureate students as well as classrooms, workshops, and the Writing Center.
History
From 1876 to 1909, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was housed in the basement of the original Museum building in Copley Square. When the Museum moved to Huntington Avenue in 1909, the School moved into a separate, temporary structure to the west of the main building. The permanent building, designed by Guy Lowell, was completed in 1927. The 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) red brick building provided improved classroom, studio and library facilities.
In 1987, a newly renovated and expanded school building, designed by architect Graham Gund, more than doubled the size of the existing structure and provided an auditorium, enlarged library, expanded studios and classrooms, a spacious new entrance, cafeteria, and increased gallery and exhibition spaces. Gund's expansion included the central atrium, known as the Katherine Lane Weems Atrium, that connects the two buildings.
In December 2015 it was announced that the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) will become part of Tufts University. The integration is slated for completion in on June 30, 2016.
Academics
Degree programs available at the Museum School include:
- Bachelor of Fine Arts: A 4-year BFA in Studio Art, with a self-designed curriculum, offered through Tufts University.
- Bachelor of Fine Arts: A 4-year BFA in Studio Art, with a self-designed curriculum, offered through Northeastern University.
- Dual Degree: A dual degree program (BFA/BA or BFA/BS) in which you major in Studio Art at SMFA and another major of the student's choice at Tufts University
- Master of Fine Arts: A 2-year MFA in Studio Art, with a self-designed curriculum, offered through Tufts University.
- Master of Fine Arts: A MFA in Studio Art, with a self-designed curriculum, offered through Northeastern University.
- Master of Arts in Teaching (Art Education): A 1-year (beginning in May, ending in May of the following year) MAT in Art Education, offered through Tufts University.
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate: An intensive postgraduate certificate one-year program, this is an opportunity for those who wish to obtain an MFA to strengthen their portfolio or those who wish to set up their own studio practice. Many people in this program have undergraduate degrees in non-art related fields, others are changing careers, and many are recent art school graduates looking to further their education.
- Studio Diploma: A four-year, all-studio certificate program for both high school graduates and career changers interested in spending concentrated time in the studio.
Noted artists affiliated with the school
- Peter Abate, Sculptor, teacher
- Frederick Warren Allen, Sculptor, Teacher for 50 years, 30 as Head of Sculpture, 1907-1954
- Marion Boyd Allen, painter. Attended 1902–09
- David Aronson, painter, sculptor; Emeritus Professor of Art, Boston University
- David Armstrong, photographer
- Art School Cheerleaders, performance art troupe
- Will Barnet, painter/printmaker. Attended 1928–1930
- Kaiju Big Battel, performance art troupe
- Carol Beckwith, photographer, author, and artist
- Frank Weston Benson, painter. Diploma, 1883
- Jan Brett, illustrator. Attended 1969–70[1]
- Margaret Fitzhugh Browne, painter
- Lisa Bufano, performance artist
- Al Capp, cartoonist (Li'l Abner), attended briefly before having to leave for non-payment of tuition
- Marie Cosindas, photographer. Attended 1947–50 and 1955–56
- Allan Rohan Crite, painter. Diploma, 1936
- Frank Dengler, sculptor. Instructor c. 1877
- Jim Dine, painter/printmaker. Attended 1950–53 and 1955–58
- Adio diBiccari, Sculptor
- Philip-Lorca diCorcia, photographer
- Omer Fast, video artist. BFA, 1995
- Zach Feuer, art dealer. BFA 1996–2000
- Esther Geller, painter, taught with Karl Zerbe 1943-44
- Kahlil Gibran, painter/sculptor. Attended 1940–43
- Nan Goldin, photographer. Diploma, 1977; Fifth Year Certificate, 1978
- William Snelling Hadaway, attended 1890s
- Leslie Hall (2000–2003), frontwoman for Leslie and the Ly's
- William Melton Halsey, painter/sculptor, 1935-1939, recipient of William Paige Fellowship[2]
- Doc Hammer (briefly attended), painter
- Juliana Hatfield, musician, 2012
- Todd Hido, photographer
- Susan Howe (graduated 1961) poet, scholar, essayist and critic
- Joan Jonas, performance artist. Attended 1958–61
- Tom Jung, graphic designer and illustrator
- Lois Mailou Jones, painter. Diploma, 1927
- Ellsworth Kelly, painter/sculptor/printmaker. Diploma, 1948
- Arnold Borisovich Lakhovsky, painter/teacher
- Steven Lisberger, director, graduated 1974
- David Lynch, filmmaker. Attended 1964–65
- F. Luis Mora, artist and illustrator
- Mark Morrisroe, photographer
- Laurel Nakadate, video artist and photographer
- Sally Pierone, artist. Attended 1940–1942
- Stacy Poitras, chainsaw sculptor 1985–88
- Larry Poons, painter. Attended 1957–58
- Bela Lyon Pratt, Sculptor, Head of modeling until 1917
- Liz Prince (2002–2007), comic book artist, Ignatz Award winner
- Richard Scarry, illustrator. Diploma, 1942
- Doug and Mike Starn photographers and performance artists. Diploma, 1984; Fifth Year Certificate, 1985
- Frank Stout, painter, 1949
- Tom Sutton, illustrator and comic book artist
- Edmund Tarbell, painter. Diploma, 1882
- Wallace Tripp, illustrator. Attended 1960, 1964
- Cy Twombly, painter/sculptor/printmaker. Diploma, 1949
- John A. Wilson, sculptor
- Peter Wolf, painter, singer
- Levni Yilmaz, animator and cartoonist
- Karl Zerbe, painter, head of Department of Painting 1937-1955
See also
References
- ↑ http://bostonglobe.com/arts/2011/11/19/drawn-her-animals/pimb7LDc9jaTdAGGOoyt8J/story.html
- ↑ Severens, Martha (1999). William Halsey. Greenville County Museum of Art. p. 14. ISBN 096032464X.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to School of the Museum of Fine Arts. |
Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. |
- School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Tufts University
- Northeastern University
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Coordinates: 42°20′19″N 71°05′48″W / 42.33856°N 71.09676°W