The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design and Media, its Grade I listed building on Margaret Street remains the home of the university's Department of Fine Art and is still commonly referred to by its original title.
History The origins of the School of Art lie with the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, who founded the Birmingham Government School of Design in 1843. George Wallis (1811–1891), Wolverhampton-born artist and art educator, was its headmaster in 1852–1858.
In 1877, the Town Council was persuaded by the school's energetic headmaster Edward R. Taylor to take the school over and expand it to form the United Kingdom's first municipal college of art. With funding coming from Sir Richard and George Tangye, the current building was commissioned from architect John Henry Chamberlain.
In 1885, the school became the first Municipal School of Art. It later becomes the leading centre for the Arts and Crafts Movement.
An associated School of Architecture was formed in 1909 and received recognition by the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1923. By the 1960s, the School had outgrown the original Margaret Street building and expanded into the campus of the University of Aston in Gosta Green.
In 1971, with the founding of Birmingham Polytechnic, the School of Art lost its independence and became the Polytechnic's Faculty of Art and Design. In 1988, this in turn absorbed the former Bournville College of Art to form the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, the largest centre for education in art, design and the media in the United Kingdom outside London. Birmingham Polytechnic gained university status in 1992 as the University of Central England, which was renamed Birmingham City University in 2007.
Building
Alumni Harriet Isabel Adams, watercolour artist Helen Allingham, watercolour painter Norah Ansell, sculptor Evelin Winifred Aston, sculptor Eileen Blake, painter Kate Bunce, painter Rose Connor, architect Archibald John Davies, stained glass artist Harry Eccleston, painter, etcher, banknote designer Ian Emes, animator and film director Rowland Emett, cartoonist and constructor of whimsical kinetic sculpture Elizabeth Bertha Fraser, sculptor Mabel Greenberg, painter David Hardy, astronomical artist Evelyn Holden, illustrator and artist George Edward Hunt, jeweller Marjorie Incledon, painter, stained glass designer A E Lemmon, stained glass designer Celia Levetus, author, poet and illustrator Dorothy Lockwood, painter, illustrator Hilda T. Miller, illustrator, painter Terence Parkes, cartoonist (Larry) Ronald Pennell, artist, engraver and sculptor Fay Pomerance, painter David Prentice, painter Constance Smedley, founder of women's clubs"A World Fellowship": The Founding of the International Lyceum Club for Women Artists and Writers, Grace Brockington, Academia.edu, Retrieved 21 June 2016 Rosemary Stjernstedt, architect Howard Taylor, painter, sculptor David Tremlett, artist John Walker, painter George T. Morgan, engraver and medalist
Archives The School of Art Archive is now held at Birmingham City University. The University of Birmingham's Cadbury Research Library holds material related to the Arts and Crafts movement that occurred in the school, when it was sometimes referred to as the Birmingham College of Arts and Crafts. Both collections include examples of the influence of Leonard Jay, who taught at the school and had a significant impact on mid-20th century printing.
References
External links
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design website