Art Education Chronology

  • Period: to

    Art academies

    Art is not done in public schools. Artists who show promise attend art academies.
  • The First Widely Used Art Textbook Enters Circulation

    The First Widely Used Art Textbook Enters Circulation
    William B. Fowle Translates Louis-Benjamin Francœur’s "An Introduction to Linear Drawing" from its original French to English. This text is widely considered the first art textbook in the United States. The book contained six progressive levels for students to master, each with a strong focus on geometric shapes (Davis, 1996).
    Reference:
    Davis, E. B. (1996). American Drawing Books and Their Impact on Winslow Homer. Winterthur Portfolio, 31(2/3), 141–163. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1215158
  • Horace Mann Advocates for Drawing in Public Education

    Horace Mann Advocates for Drawing in Public Education
    Horace Mann advocates for the need for public schools and within those schools, the need to teach basic drawing.
  • Massachusetts adds art education to common schools

    Massachusetts adds art education to common schools
    The industrial revolution begins in the United States, and through it rose a need for designers, engineers, and more aesthetically pleasing designs (Stankiewicz, 2001).
  • national education association added a department of art

  • The Picture Study Movement

    The Picture Study Movement
    The picture study movement was established by Henry Turner Bailey. It brought art appreciation to public schools and was considered the beginning of aesthetics and art for art’s sake.
  • The Armory Show

    The Armory Show
    The 1913 Armory Show in New York exposed Americans to Impressionist, Cubist, and Fauvist work. This shocked the public but broadened our idea of what art could be. The American public had not been exposed to Modern art emerging from the European avant-garde (Trapp, 1958).
    Reference:
    Trapp, F. A. (1958). The 1913 Armory Show in Retrospect. College Art Journal, 17(3), 294–296. https://doi.org/10.2307/773997
  • The Progressive Education Association (PEA) is founded

    The Progressive Education Association (PEA) is founded
    The Progressive Education Association was made based on the ideas of John Dewey. Their goal was to encourage schools to lean more toward creative self-expression and the emotional and individualistic aspects of art (Reese, 2001).
    Reference:
    Reese, W. J. (2001). The Origins of Progressive Education. History of Education Quarterly, 41(1), 1–24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/369477
  • Ruth Faison Shaw Brings Back Finger Painting

    Ruth Faison Shaw Brings Back Finger Painting
    Ruth Faison Shaw invented the modern version of finger painting in 1936. She encouraged creative expression that was not influenced by teachers, other adults, or professional artists (Mayer, 2005).
    Reference:
    Mayer, V. (2005). Rediscovering Ruth Faison Shaw and Her Finger-Painting Method. Art Education, 58(5), 6–11. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27696095
  • Victor Lowenfeld writes "Creative and Mental Growth"

    Victor Lowenfeld writes "Creative and Mental Growth"
  • Bloom's Taxonomy

    Bloom's Taxonomy
  • Sputnik is Launched

    Sputnik is Launched
    Sputnik signaled to many Americans that we were falling behind in the space race. Our reaction was to shift focus towards core classes. The “Back to Basics” movement was a direct result of Sputnik and greatly deemphasized the arts (Slobodin, 1977).
    Reference:
    Slobodin, C. S. (1977). Sputnik and Its Aftermath: A Critical Look at the Form and the Substance of American Educational Thought and Practice Since 1957. The Elementary School Journal, 77(4), 259–264. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1001085
  • Civil Rights Act is Passed, Start of Multicultural Education

    Civil Rights Act is Passed, Start of Multicultural Education
    Segregation remained common in schools until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act became law (Haynes, 1993). Following this law, schools desegregated at a rapid rate. This change laid the foundation for multicultural education. Schools aimed to educate students about different cultures.
    Reference:
    Haynes, J. S. (1993). Historical Perspectives and Antecedent Theory of Multicultural Art Education: 1954—1980. Visual Arts Research, 19(2), 24–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20715804
  • The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) is Founded

    The National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) is Founded
    Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act in 1965. This created the National Endowment of the Arts. The NEA is designed to financially support the arts in public schools (Biddle, 1984).
    Reference:
    Biddle, L. (1984). Our Government’s Support for the Arts: Nourishment or Drought. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 471, 89–101. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1044139
  • Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) Begins

    Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) Begins
    Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB) gains support in art education. TAB is a philosophical approach to art education that places children at the center of artmaking choices.
  • Elliot Eisner Publishes “Educating Artistic Vision”

    Elliot Eisner Publishes “Educating Artistic Vision”
  • Discipline Based Art Education (DBAE) Begins

    Discipline Based Art Education (DBAE) Begins
    Discipline-based art education (DBAE) focuses on a more complete art education across four disciplines: aesthetics, art criticism, art history, and art production. Less focus on studio production.
  • National Standards for Visual Arts are Created

    National Standards for Visual Arts are Created
    National Art Education Association (NAEA) created content standards for art education. Broken down by grade level, these standards guide teachers in creating assignments that will enable students to achieve these standards.