The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as a department of UCL's Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
History
The school was founded in University College on 2 October 1871 following an endowment from the will of the lawyer and philanthropist Felix Slade (1788–1868) who bequeathed £35,000 to establish three Chairs in Fine Art, to be based at Oxford University, Cambridge University and University College London. An additional six scholarships of £50 per annum were endowed to University College. The college itself provided £5000 to build the Slade School as part of the college quadrangle in Gower Street, premises which the School still occupies today.T.A.Cross,The Slade Tradition 1871-1921 a centenary contribution, The Fine Art Society exhibition catalogue, 1971.
Distinguished past teachers include Henry Tonks, Wilson Steer, Randolph Schwabe, William Coldstream, Andrew Forge, Lucian Freud, John Hilliard, Bruce McLean, Alfred Gerrard and Phyllida Barlow. Edward Allington was Professor of Fine Art and Head of Graduate Sculpture until his death in 2017.
Two of its most important periods were immediately before, and immediately after, the turn of the twentieth century, described by Henry Tonks as its two 'crises of brilliance'. The first included the students Augustus John, William Orpen and Percy Wyndham Lewis; the second – which has been chronicled in David Boyd Haycock's A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War – included the students Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson and Stanley Spencer.
Another notable period followed the Second World War, under the directorship of William Coldstream, who brought in Lucian Freud to teach, and whose students included Paula Rego, Michael Andrews and the filmmaker Lorenza Mazzetti. Coldstream was responsible for the creation of the Slade Film Department, the first in any British university, in 1960, with Thorold Dickinson as chief lecturer. Filmmakers associated with the Slade Film Department include Derek Jarman and Peter Whitehead.
Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art The Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art (SCEMFA) was opened in 1995. The centre provides opportunities for research into electronic media and fine art with the goal of contributing to debate on national and international levels. The Slade had previously been home to Malcolm Hughes's Computer and Experimental Department in the 1970s.
In 1997 SCEMFA presented Collision, a public lecture series by artists, writers, and curators working with interactivity, telematics, and digital works. This exhibition was followed by Spontaneous Reaction, a week-long seminar funded by the Arts Council of England, which took a critical look at interactivity with participants from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, architecture, and computer science.
Throughout 1998, SCEMFA collaborated with Channel 4 UK to organise Cached, a monthly event held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Funded by the Arts Council, this series investigated the conceptual and practical issues of producing art for the internet through a series of artists presentations.
Art collection The Slade art collection was started when the yearly prizes awarded to top students was combined with a collection scheme in 1897 and the Summer Composition Prize and the Figure and Head Painting Prizes began to be kept by the school.More about the UCL Art museum on the BBC Your Paintings website Works by students and staff of the Slade School of Fine Art form the basis of the UCL Art museum today.
Rankings In a 2008 survey conducted by The Sunday Times the Slade recorded perfect scores. +Faculty rankings 2010 The Guardian University Guide 1st The Complete University Guide 2nd The Times Good University Guide 2nd
Teaching The faculty currently offers the following programs:
Undergraduate studies 3-year BFA in Fine Art 4-year BA in Fine Art
Graduate studies 2-academic year (18 months) MFA in Fine Art 2-calendar (24 months) MA in Fine Art 1-term, 2-term, of 1-year Graduate Affiliate Study
Research MPhil or PhD in Fine Art
Notable alumni
Full list see :Category:Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art
Elinor Proby Adams (1885–1945), painter Mary Adshead (1904–1995), mural painter, designer Anna Airy (1882–1964), artist Rosemary Allan (1911–2008), painter Kathleen Allen (1906–1983), painter Edward Allington (1951–2017), sculptor Michael Andrews (1928–1995), painter Irene Aronson (1918–1992), painter and printmaker Sue Arrowsmith (1950–2014), photographic artist Ed Atkins (born 1982), artist Ray Atkins (born 1937), painter Joan Ayling (1907–1993), painter Zainul Abedin (1914–1976), painter Ethelwyn Baker (1899–1988), sculptor Phyllis Barron (1890–1964), textile designer Alvaro Barrington (born 1983), artist James Bateman (1893–1959), painter Amelia Bauerle (1873–1916), painter and illustrator Pauline Baynes (1922–2008), illustrator Tessa Beaver (1932–2018), painter and illustrator Roy Beddington (1910–1995), painter, illustrator, and writer Elinor Bellingham-Smith (1906–1988), painter Eleanor Best (1875–1957), painter Zelma Blakely (1921–1978), illustrator David Bomberg (1890–1957), painter Dorothy Elizabeth Bradford (1897–1986), painter Phyllis Bray (1911–1991), painter and muralist Raymond Briggs (born 1934), illustrator, graphic novelist Cecily Brown (born 1969), painter Sheila Bownas (1925–2007), textile designer and botanical illustrator Felicia Browne (1904–1936), painter and Spanish Civil War volunteer Rodney Joseph Burn (1899–1984), painter Dorothy Burroughes (1883–1963), illustrator William Bustard (1894–1973), stained glass artist Dorothy A. Cadman (fl. 1908–1927), painter Martin John Callanan (born 1982), artist, current teaching staff Gina Calleja (1928 – 2017), author and illustrator Nancy Carline (1909–2004), artist Sydney Carline (1888–1929), artist Thomas Carr (1909–1999), artist Ethel Carrick (1872–1951), painter Dora Carrington (1893–1932), artist Chien-Ying Chang (1913–2004), artist Daphne Charlton (1909–1991), painter Evan Charlton (1904–1984), painter G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), writer Evelyn Cheston (1875–1929), painter Spartacus Chetwynd (born 1973), artist, Turner Prize nominee Derek Chittock (1922–1986), portrait painter Dora Clarke (1895–1989), sculptor Edna Clarke Hall (1879–1979), painter Dorothy Coke (1897–1979), painter Sir William Coldstream (1908–1987), painter Professor Paul Coldwell (born 1952), artist Ruth Collet (1909–2001), painter John Collier (1850–1934), artist Marian Collier (1859–1887), painter Susan Alexis Collins (born 1964), artist, current Slade Director & Professor Ithell Colquhoun (1906–1988), painter and writer William George Constable (1887–1976), art historian Pat Gerrard Cooke (1935–2000), painter and illustrator Teresa Copnall (1882–1972), painter Frank Barrington Craig (1902–1951), painter and teacher Martin Creed (born 1968), artist Dennis Creffield (1931–2018), painter Barbara Crocker (1910–1995), artist, author Claudia Cuesta, artist Charles Cundall (1890–1971), painter Nora Cundell (1889–1948), painter Esmé Currey (1881–1973), painter, etcher Barry Daniels (1933–2010), British artist, painter, and designer Yitzhak Danziger (1916–1977), sculptor Tacita Dean (born 1965), Alison Debenham (1903–1967) Diarmuid Delargy (born 1958), printer and sculptor Evelyn De Morgan (1885–1919) Angela Delevingne Brigid Derham (1943–1980), painter Anthony Devas (1911–1958), portrait painter Sir William Dobell (1899–1970), portrait painter Barbara Dorf (1933–2016), painter Sholto Johnstone Douglas (1871–1958), artist Jane Dowling (1925–2023), painter William Dring (1904–1990), portrait painter William Easton, artist Ursula Edgcumbe (1900–1985), sculptor Ibrahim El-Salahi (born 1930), painter Jake Elwes (born 1993), artist Florence Engelbach (1872–1951), painter Grace English (1891–1956), painter Ben Enwonwu (1921–1994), artist Jadé Fadojutimi (born 1993), artist Leila Faithfull (1896–1994), painter Julia Farrer (born 1950), artist Robert Fawcett (1903–1967), illustrator Daphne Fedarb (1912–1992), painter Paul Feiler (1918–2013), artist Elsie Few (1909–1980), artist Philip Firsov (born 1985), artist and sculptor Myrta Fisher (1917–1999), painter Mary Sargant Florence (1857–1954), painter Caroline Sylvia Gabriel (1912–1997), artist Clive Gardiner (1891–1960), artist, designer and illustrator Nicholas Garland (born 1935), political cartoonist Raimi Gbadamosi (born 1965), neo-conceptual artist Alfred Gerrard (1899–1998), sculptor Kaff Gerrard (1894–1970), painter and potter Mark Gertler (1891–1939), artist A.A. Gill (1954–2016), journalist Colin Gill (1892–1940), painter Elsie Gledstanes (1893–1972), painter Dryden Goodwin (born 1971), artist, current teaching staff Douglas Gordon (born 1966), artist Antony Gormley (born 1950), sculptor Harold Gosney (born 1937), artist and sculptor Caroline Gotch (1854–1945), painter Carmen Gracia (born 1935), printmaker Duncan Grant (1885–1978), painter and designer Eileen Gray (1898–1976), designer and architect Barbara Greg (1900–1983), wood engraver David Griffiths (portrait painter) (Born 1939), portrait painter Gwenny Griffiths (1867–1953), portrait painter Oona Grimes (born 1957), artist Vaughan Grylls (born 1943), artist Robin Guthrie (1902–1971), painter Kathleen Guthrie (1906–1981), painter Edna Guy (1907–1982), marine artist Richard Hamilton (1922–2011), painter and collage artist Archibald Standish Hartrick (1864–1950), artist and illustrator Lucy Harwood (1893–1972), artist Mona Hatoum (born 1952), artist Mary Headlam(1873-1959), artist Francis Helps (1890–1972), artist Elsie Henderson (1880–1967), painter and sculptor Keith Henderson (1883–1982), artist and illustrator Nigel Henderson (1917–1985), artist Florence Lockwood (1861–1937), women's suffrage activist Lady Mary Lovelace (1848–1941), artist, architect and author
Patrick Heron (1920–1999), abstract painter Cicely Hey (1896–1980), painter and sculptor Ian Holbourn (1872–1935), artist, educator, laird of Foula, writer, and RMS Lusitania survivor Ruth Hollingsworth (1880–1945), painter Annie Horniman (1860–1937), theatre owner and manager Nancy Horrocks (1900–1989), abstract artist Ray Howard-Jones (1903–1996), artist Edgar Hubert (1906–1985), painter Georgina Hunt (1922–2012), abstract artist Sidney Hunt (1896–1940), artist and designer Paul Huson (born 1942), writer and designer George Percy Jacomb-Hood (1857–1929), artist Darsie Japp (1883–1973), artist Derek Jarman (1942–1994), artist and filmmaker Augustus John (1878–1961), artist Gwen John (1876–1939), artist Vivien John (1915–1994), artist Arnrid Johnston (1895–1972), sculptor, illustrator Alfred Garth Jones (1872–1955), illustrator Karin Jonzen (1914–1998), sculptor Gerry Judah (born 1951), artist and designer Menashe Kadishman (1932–2015), Israeli sculptor and painter Helen Kapp (1901–1978), artist and curator Dorothy King (1907–1990), painter and curator Eve Kirk (1900–1969), painter Myfanwy Kitchin (1917–2002), painter, ceramicist Robert Koenig (born 1951), sculptor Clara Klinghoffer (1900–1970), artist Paul Kneale (born 1986), artist Winifred Knights (1899–1947), painter Kanayi Kunhiraman (born 1937), sculptor Sir Osbert Lancaster (1908–1986), cartoonist Olga Lehmann (1912–2001), painter, illustrator and designer Maxwell Gordon Lightfoot (1886–1911), painter Peter Kennard (born 1949), artist Bernard Leach (1887–1879), ceramic artist, "Father of British studio pottery" Lilian Lancaster (1888–1973), artist and teacher Edith Lawrence (1890–1973), artist Kim Lim (1937–1997), sculptor Zhi Lin, artist Henrietta Lister (1895–1959), race driver and watercolourist Nicholas Logsdail (born 1945), art dealer