The Lincoln College of Art was an educational institution devoted to the arts, based in the English city of Lincoln with its origins in the mid-nineteenth century. The institution changed shape and name numerous times over its history before being absorbed into the University of Lincoln. Midway through the nineteenth century, the then British Government's Department of Science and Art, based in South Kensington, began establishing a network of art schools as a means of promoting and aiding manufacturing.Frank Bramley, RA 1857–1915, (Usher Gallery/Lincolnshire County Council, Lincoln, 1999), p. 12 One of the oldest institutions of its kind in Britain,Hooten, C. W.. 'Education in Lincoln', pp. 86-96, in Lincoln, Nineteen Hundred & Thirty Six, (The Greg Publishing Company Limited, London, 1936), p. 95 it became one of Britain's leading art schools, and was one of the first to introduce the teaching of the techniques derived from the French School of Impressionism. Many of its students went on to exhibit at the Paris Salon and the Royal Academy. Amongst its alumni are members of the Newlyn School and two Royal Academicians. It also popularised the art and crafts exhibitions in Lincolnshire that became important annual events in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Hill, Sir Francis.. Victorian Lincoln, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1974), p. 303
Founding and early years
The Lincoln School of Art has its origins in the art school movement that followed the 1851 Great Exhibition. The School was founded as a private venture, with the support of the Department of Science and Art, on Monday 2 February 1863, in a single room on the Corn Exchange, Lincoln.'Lincoln School of Art and Design', Lincolnshire Chronicles, 23 January 1863'The Lincoln School of Art', The Illustrated London News, 26 November 1864 Its guiding light was John Somerville Gibney, a minor canon of Lincoln Cathedral, and its first headmaster was Edward R. Taylor, founder of Birmingham School of Art and inventor of Ruskin Pottery.Garland, A. 'Art and the Drama', pp. 110-119, in Lincoln, Nineteen Hundred & Thirty Six, (The Greg Publishing Company Limited, London, 1936), p. 115
The courses on offer were arranged into three levels: Elementary, Advanced, and Special or Technical. These levels were divided into classes: Elementary: Practical Geometry, Model Drawing, Figure from the Flat, Linear Perspective Free-hand Drawing and Shading, and Elementary Colour; Advanced: Drawing the figure from Casts, Painting: Ornament, Flowers, Landscape, Still Life; Special or Technical: Design, Architectural and Mechanical Drawing, Artistic Anatomy, Modelling.'Lincoln School of Art and Design', Lincolnshire Chronicles, 23 January 1863
As a result of the school's success in its first year, new premises were sought for and acquired above the National School for Boys' on the south side of Silver Street.Hill, Sir Francis. Victorian Lincoln, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1974), p. 278Hooten, C. W.. 'Education in Lincoln', pp. 86-96, in Lincoln, Nineteen Hundred & Thirty Six, (The Greg Publishing Company Limited, London, 1936), p. 96 This new school room was opened 10 October 1864, and was of a size to allow its use as an exhibition space.'The Lincoln School of Art', The Illustrated London News, 26 November 1864 A public exhibit was held in November of that year and proved so popular that the floor had to be re-enforced.Hill, Sir Francis. Victorian Lincoln, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1974), p. n.278 With the growth of engineering in Lincoln, there was a need for draughtsmen to produce accurate drawings of machine and engineering parts, and to illustrate catalogues, and so the school offered courses on draughtsmanship.Wright, M.. 'The Life and Times of John Somerville Gibney: A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requisites for the degree of Master of Philosophy at De Montfort University', (De Montfort University, Leicester, 2004), p. 231 The Rev. Gibney himself became a student by studying the skill of engraving on to copper. He produced his own publication, 'Etchings of Lincoln Cathedral' (1870), using this method.Wright, M.. 'The Life and Times of John Somerville Gibney: A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requisites for the degree of Master of Philosophy at De Montfort University', (De Montfort University, Leicester, 2004), p. 231
By 1868 and 1869, the school was ranked in 6th place by the Department of Science and Art, after schools such as Edinburgh and Nottingham.'Lincoln School of Art', Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, 14 August 1868'Lincoln School of Art', Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, 20 October 1869 By 1873 there were some 130 schools of art in Britain, and Lincoln was rated in 9th place.'Lincoln School of Art', Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, 19 December 1873
Death of Rev. Gibney
In 1875, the Rev. J. S. Gibney, the school's honorary secretary since its inception, died when he fell through a skylight. He had been inspecting the roof of the school with a joiner, George Allis, and in particular had been discussing with Allis alterations he wanted made to a skylight,'Shocking Death of a Lincoln Clergyman', Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, 15 January 1875 when he began tapping the glass with his right foot, lost his balance, and fell through, down into the model room below.'Shocking Death of the Rev. J. S. Gibney', Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, 8 January 1875 He was supposedly heard to cry out, 'My God', as he fell.Hill, Sir Francis. Victorian Lincoln, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1974, p. 278 The inquest into his death was held at the White Hart Hotel and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.'Shocking Death of a Lincoln Clergyman', Lincoln, Rutland & Stamford Mercury, 15 January 1875
Ironically, in a sermon he had delivered to his congregation a few days earlier on Sunday, 3 January, he had spoken of the need to be prepared for sudden death by having all of one's affairs in order. He died intestate.Wright, M.. 'The Life and Times of John Somerville Gibney: A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requisites for the degree of Master of Philosophy at De Montfort University', (De Montfort University, Leicester, 2004), p. 287
Gibney Art Scholarship
In honour of the Rev. Gibney and his work, the school established a scholarship in his name. Awarded to students at the school, its purpose was to allow the successful student to devote his or her time wholly to the cultivation of art.'Gibney Memorial Studentship', Lincoln Gazette, 28 August 1874 Holders of the Gibney Scholarship have included William Logsdail, Frederick Hall, Frederick William Elwell, May Yeomans (who would go on to be principal at the school), and ceramics artist Robert Blatherwick.Lincoln School of Art, Prospectus: Session 1946–1947, (City of Lincoln Education Committee, Lincoln, 1946), p. 9
Rules of the school
During its early years, the committee running the school drew up a list of rules, signed by the Rev. J. Mansell, the Honorary Secretary who succeeded the Rev. Gibney in 1875.
Controversy
By the late 1880s, the school was teaching Greek art and using classically based subject matter, as well as importing the then new idiom of Impressionism.
The painter and Royal Academician John Callcott Horsley, attending the annual prize-giving in April, 1890, criticised the school for teaching its students such techniques found in the French school of painting, to the detriment of the English school. He called these techniques a 'fad' and one of those 'ridiculous crazes' that had been imported from Paris.'Lincoln School of Art, Distribution of Prizes and Medals, Address by Mr. Horsley, R. A.', Lincoln Gazette, 12 April 1890 He then went on to expand his criticism to schools of art in general, which he called 'the greatest possible misfortune' to British art (although he did make an exception with Lincoln).'Lincoln School of Art, Distribution of Prizes and Medals, Address by Mr. Horsley, R. A.', Lincoln Gazette, 12 April 1890
Alfred G. Webster, the then principal of the school, replied in an open letter published in the Lincoln Gazette, expressing the belief that discoveries and ideas from abroad ought not to be disregarded simply as a result of their foreign origins. He pointed out that Britons, Normans, and Saxons all 'had the misfortune to be foreigners', and that the English School had been founded on the practises of Hans Holbein, Anthony van Dyck, and Peter Paul Rubens, all foreigners.'Mr. Horsley, R.A., and the Lincoln School of Art – To the Editor', Lincoln Gazette, 14 April 1890
School of Science and Art
The School moved to premises on Monks Road in 1886,Report by H. M. Inspectors on Lincoln School of Art, Inspected in March, 1950, (Ministry of Education, London, 1950), p. 3 where it became one-half of a 'School of Science and Art', with its own principal and organising committee.Gray-Fow, M. J. G.. Lincoln School of Art: from its beginnings to the close of the nineteenth century, (University of Nottingham, 1978), p. 14 The ground floor was home to the Science School (except for the Modelling Room), with shared use of the Lecture Theatre and the Porters' Room, while the Art School was based on the first floor, with shared use of the Committee and Secretary's Rooms. Both floors had rooms for the respective schools' masters. The Basement had two bedrooms and a living room, and was shared use, except that the Science School used the Laboratory and Balance Room. The Science School increased in size and added a technical wing to the Monks Road premises in 1891, a reflection of the rise of industry in Lincoln in general,Gray-Fow, M. J. G.. Lincoln School of Art: from its beginnings to the close of the nineteenth century, (University of Nottingham, 1978), p. 19 which was further demonstrated in an article from the Lincoln Gazette, dated 1897, which described a conversazione at the combined school in 1897, during which x-rays, glass-blowing, and a cinematograph were exhibited. Of twelve paragraphs, only one is devoted to the art school.'Conversazione at the School of Science and Art, A Brilliant Success', Lincoln Gazette, 1897 In 1901 the combined school was renamed the City of Lincoln Municipal Technical School,'Centenary Echo, 1893–1993', Lincolnshire Echo, 13 March 1993, Issue No. 4, p. 1 and then the Lincoln Technical College in 1928.Lambert, M. R., &, Sprague, M. S.. Lincoln, (Blackwell, Oxford, 1933), p. 234
The School of Art had originally been supported by the Department of Science and Art, South Kensington. With the department's closure in 1899, the school lost that support and so was eventually absorbed into the Technical College, under the authority of the Lincoln Education Authority,Lambert, M. R., &, Sprague, M. S.. Lincoln, (Blackwell, Oxford, 1933), p. 235 where it effectively ceased to be a private venture and an independent educational institution.
The School remained part of the Technical College for the next six decades. The range of subjects taught widened during this time to include (along with the more traditional subjects) costume, typography, lettering, metalwork and silver-smithing, dress design, and bookcraft,Lincoln School of Art, Prospectus 1949–1950, (Lincoln, 1949), p. 7 in keeping with headmaster Austin Garland's statement that the students be 'taught to make things, and to bring artistic methods to bear upon the problems of everyday life'.Garland, A.. 'Art and the Drama', pp. 110-119, in Lincoln, Nineteen Hundred & Thirty Six, (The Greg Publishing Company Limited, London, 1936), p. 114 In 1948, the Royal Institute of British Architects (R.I.B.A.) recognised the school as an approved centre for training up to the intermediary standard.Lincoln School of Art, Prospectus 1949–1950, (Lincoln, 1949), p. 4