The Brooklyn Museum Art School was a non-degree-granting professional school that opened at the
Brooklyn Museum in
Brooklyn,
New York in the summer of 1941. The Brooklyn Museum Art School provided instruction for amateur artists as well until January 1985, when it was transferred to the
Pratt Institute’s Continuing Education Division.[1]
History
Prior to the creation of the Brooklyn Museum Art School, classes for amateur artists had been offered by the
Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS), the museum's parent organization. BIAS offered hands-on art classes dating back to 1893 on Montague Street in Brooklyn.[2]
The Brooklyn Museum Art School title was first used in the 1941-42 annual report from the Brooklyn Museum, remaining separate from the Brooklyn Museum's Education Department, which was directed towards children. During
World War II the Brooklyn Museum Art School offered limited classes in painting, photography and drawing.
In 1945 the artist
Augustus Peck became director of the school and expanded its offerings. As a result of the
GI Bill the Brooklyn Museum Art School had very stable income and funding, allowing many prominent artists to teach or lecture at the school and the enrollment of the school rose to 3000.[2]
Artists included Augustus Peck,
William Baziotes,
Max Beckmann,
Ben Shahn, and
Reuben Tam. The enrollment number suffered as more institutions began to offer accredited programs in the fine arts during the late 1950s. A Bachelor of Fine Arts program in conjunction with
Long Island University was planned to begin in 1959, but never came to fruition due to lack of funding.[3]
^"Art world loses a quiet feminist icon". Mumbai Mirror. July 13, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-09. her time spent in New York with Prof. Jolyon Hofstead at the Brooklyn Museum Art School that impacted her profoundly,
^"De Staebler". The Marks Project. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
^Micchelli, Thomas (2019-05-11).
"Encountering "The Fulbright Triptych"". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2020-11-09. Not only was Dinnerstein a professed printmaker, but he also hadn't attempted a painting since he left the Brooklyn Museum Art School in 1967.
^"Much of artist Tinkelman's work set in 1950s". The Daily Gazette. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 2020-11-09. He served during the Korean War and later continued his training at the Brooklyn Museum Art School.