MISSION + HISTORY
Even in its early years, the School of Art + Design (as it's now called) embraced an interdisciplinary emphasis. Dr. Gregory, who vociferously promoted a partnership between learning and labor, believed that the skills of industrial drawing and design could offer invaluable contributions to training in agriculture, engineering, and architecture—three primary fields of study at the Illinois Industrial University. To the chagrin of some faculty members, however, art courses were seen simply as supplements to more traditional departments. In fact, not until 1931—forty-six years after the School of Design was opened—did the Board of Trustees approve the first degree program in the arts: the bachelor of arts in painting.
The 1920s and '30s welcomed an extraordinary resurgence of interest in the arts on campus. During the '20s, the administration increased funding for the university's art holdings, which already included a nationally regarded collection of casts assembled by Dr. Gregory in the 1870s. As the inventory of on-campus artwork grew, the new painting program was ushered in alongside the present-day College of Fine and Applied Arts, establishing the arts as a vital and influential presence on campus. The creation of degree programs in art education, industrial design, and commercial design soon followed. By the end of the '30s, a visiting professor initiative was put into place, laying the foundation for the thriving roster of visiting artists that distinguishes the School of Art + Design today.
The 1937 founding of the commercial design program—now the graphic design program—is an example of the innovative thinking that defines the School of Art + Design today. In order to remain true to Dr. Gregory's assertion that learning and labor find common ground, our program has consistently adapted to incorporate the latest developments in arts and technology. The 1950s and '60s offer many examples. The birth of the photography program in the late '50s, for instance, offered students the training and tools necessary to contribute to this rapidly growing field. And the new Art + Design building—including a wing for the Krannert Art Museum, a professional-grade exhibition and storage space for the university's expansive archives of original art—came equipped with top-notch studio facilities and the latest technologies for photographers, graphic designers, and other visual artists.
The existence of Krannert Art Museum represents the School of Art + Design's historic attention to a land-grant university's responsibility of public service. Since New Year's Day in 1875, the day that Dr. Gregory opened the university's first art gallery, Art + Design has been committed to contributing to the public good. In the 1940s, the art education program began sending student teachers to local schools. In the 1950s and '60s, Art + Design offered a plethora of courses through the extramural University Extension program. During the 1970s and '80s, we extended our reach globally, forging relationships with universities and communities in such countries as Japan, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Poland. Today, we invite the public to visit the touring and archival exhibits at the Krannert Art Museum. We present student and faculty work at a variety of gallery spaces—in the Art + Design building, at the South Campus studios, at the school's I space gallery in Chicago, at many locations in the local community, and on the web. We send approximately a dozen students into the public schools each semester. We design the nationally acclaimed literature and arts magazine and website, Ninth Letter. And we participate in international exchanges with many universities worldwide, including a half dozen universities in the United Kingdom alone.
In 1983, School of Art + Design Director Eugene C. Wicks proclaimed that all art programs at the University of Illinois "must continue to strive for excellence in instruction, research, and service." More than two decades later, these ambitions remain at the heart of our mission. What began as a late-afternoon plea in 1877 has grown into a vibrant community of nearly 700 students, fifty faculty members, and twenty staff who populate the twenty undergraduate and graduate programs at the School of Art + Design. Our facilities include top-of-the-line computer labs, media-specific studio space and equipment, an extensive art history library, and the ever-expanding archives of the Krannert Art Museum. We value the textured history behind us, and look eagerly to the limitless future ahead.
Did you know?
- The university's first art classes were taught in 1871.
- John Milton Gregory, the first regent (or president) of the University of Illinois, had previously served as president of Michigan's Kalamazoo College.
- The university's first art exhibition, which opened on New Year's Day in 1875, included full-size plaster casts of the Venus de Milo, the Discobolus, and the Laocoon.
- Prominent American sculptor Lorado Taft graduated from the university in 1879. More than a year before completing his bachelor's, he spent a short time as a faculty member in modeling and design, teaching his peers.
- 1931, the year that the College of Fine and Applied Arts was established, was also the year that Salvador Dalí completed Persistence of Memory, William Faulkner published Sanctuary, Thomas Edison died, construction of Rockefeller Center began, and Franz and Toni Schmid became the first people to climb the northern face of the Matterhorn.
- Rexford Newcomb, the first dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, was a highly productive scholar recognized as an authority in Spanish-American art.
- The School of Art + Design was a founding member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, the organization that establishes common standards for undergraduate and graduate programs across the country.
- The annual faculty exhibition, now held each spring at the Krannert Art Museum, has been a regular event at the university since 1925.
- The commercial design program, founded in 1937, was later named the advertising design program, and then the graphic design program.
