The Visual Arts and the Industrial Revolution

•John Ruskin, Oxford chair in 1868 inspired visual arts to become a liberal arts study in universities•Later, colleges such as Yale and Syracuse offered options for study either as fine artists or industrial artists•Later, individual professional art schools such as Cooper Union, the Pratt Institute and Rhode Island School of Design provided education for industrial designers and illustrators

Concerns for Art Education

•Machines taking the place of skilled craftsman •Lack of trained designers•Decline in the quality of goods

•Professional art education of the 19th century realized that an academy education in fine arts could not provide designers for industry•Education for the artisan designers needed seperate education•Europe experimentation and discoveries inspired American Art Education but still lacked education in industrial design

Fine Art and Industrial Development Education

Schools were eventually opened that taught both Fine Art and Industrial Development. These schools included the Cooper Union, the Pratt Institute and Rhode Island School of Design

Citations

Efland, A., 1990. A History of Art Education, intellectual and social currents in teaching the visual arts. New York, Teachers College Press.

The Visual Arts and the Industrial Revolution

John Ruskin

Industrial Revolution

Characteristics of the Industrial Revolution