Celebrating 150 years of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
In 2016, SAIC commemorated its 150th Anniversary with a yearlong celebration. See our events, programs, and exhibitions.
Celebrating 150 years of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
In 2016, SAIC commemorated its 150th Anniversary with a yearlong celebration. See our events, programs, and exhibitions.
For the past 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating artists, designers, and scholars. As you will see from this timeline, SAIC's history is interwoven with the Art Institute of Chicago and the city itself.
1866
A group of Chicago artists meet in a block building on the southwest corner of Dearborn Avenue and Madison Street to discuss the formation of an institute of art; the artists intend to run a school with its own art gallery, laying the foundation for the Chicago Academy of Design.
1867
Led by local artists Charles Peck, Walter Shirlaw, and Seldon Woodman, the founders hold a festival on behalf of the new Academy at Crosby’s Opera House and their first exhibition at a gallery at 152 South Clark Street; sculptor Leonard W. Volk is named President of the Academy.
1868
The Academy holds classes every day of the year and charges a tuition fee of $10 per month; the basic curriculum comprises three classes: Outline Drawing and Shading from the Flat (lithograph copies); Drawing from the Antique (busts, architectural ornaments); Drawing and Painting from Life (landscape, figure, and still lifes).
1869
The Chicago Academy of Design is granted a charter from the State of Illinois.
1870
An exhibition is held to mark the opening of a new building for the Academy at 66 West Adams Street.
1871
The Great Chicago Fire destroys the Academy’s building.
1872
A teaching collection is established, consisting primarily of plaster casts to instruct students as well as Egyptian and Classical material.
1879
The Academy is reorganized by a group of local business leaders who apply for another charter and incorporate their new art organization as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts; William M.R. French is named Director of the Academy.
1882
Name is changed to the Art Institute of Chicago to accommodate a distinct museum and school, which is later known as as the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; Charles Hutchinson is elected President.
1886
359 students are enrolled at SAIC.
1887
Children’s programming and the Junior School (Saturday classes) begin.
1891
First diplomas are awarded.
1893
The Art Institute of Chicago school and museum move into its iconic building on Michigan Avenue built for the World’s Columbian Exposition; 929 students enrolled at SAIC.
1894
A course in art history is offered for the first time.
1910
Ox-Bow Summer School of Painting is started in Saugatuck, Michigan.
1913
SAIC students protest the Armory Show, an international exhibition that introduces the European avant-garde to Chicago.
1918
First SAIC alumni exhibition is held in the museum.
1922
SAIC is now the largest art school in the world, with an enrollment of 4,520 students.
1925
The Goodman Theatre is built on the northeast corner of the museum in memory of an SAIC alum who died in World War I; SAIC's Department of Dramatic Arts is established.
1928
SAIC transitions from a three-year program to a four-year program; tuition is $134 per year.
1929
The School of Industrial Art, headed by Emil Zettler, is founded as a separate branch of SAIC.
1934
Students begin taking liberal arts courses at University of Chicago, subsequently enabling SAIC to begin awarding Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in 1936.
1934
Bachelor of Arts in Education is offered.
1935
The first student fashion show is held in the midst of the Great Depression—the show is an annual event that continues to this day.
1936
SAIC is the first art school to be accredited by a regional accrediting association.
1940
First Master of Fine Arts degrees are awarded.
SAIC offers its first course in abstract painting, initiating a shift toward forward-looking art production and training.
1948
SAIC students hold the show, Exhibition Momentum, in protest of their exclusion from the museum's Chicago and Vicinity Show; the exhibition brings recognition to Monster Roster artists.
1969
SAIC’s interdisciplinary approach to art education is established, allowing students to cross areas of study and determine their own pathways through the curricula with faculty consultation.
1972
The Generative Systems program is launched, which evolves into the Department of Art and Technology Studies—the first department of its kind in the country.
The Midwest Regional Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is established—now the Gene Siskel Film Center.
1976
SAIC's first building independent of the museum, the Columbus Building, opens at 280 South Columbus Drive.
1978
Cooperative Education Internship Program (Co-op) is launched, enabling students to gain professional experience while earning course credit.
1982
The Early College Program for high school students is established.
1988
At a student exhibition, David K. Nelson, Jr. (SAIC 1987) displays his painting, Mirth & Girth, which depicts Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington, wearing women’s lingerie while holding a pencil. The work incites a vicious debate between anti-censorship advocates and a group of black aldermen from around the city.
1989
Dread Scott’s (BFA 1989) work, What is the Proper Way to Display the US Flag?, is presented at an SAIC student exhibition. The installation sparks a national controversy that results in federal legislature to “protect the flag”.
1993
First residence hall is constructed to house a growing student population, resulting in a truly urban campus by 2000.
1995
Graduate programs diversified, with the introduction of the MA in Arts Administration; MS in Historic Preservation; and MFA in Writing.
1997
U.S. News and World Report ranks SAIC #1 fine arts program in their annual Best Graduate Schools edition. SAIC has been consistently ranked in the top three ever since.
2001
SAIC faculty, students, and alumni develop the technology and production techniques for Millennium Park’s Crown Fountain, which increases SAIC’s focus on external and civic collaborations.
2002
SAIC is named the “most influential art school in the United States” in a survey of art critics conducted by the National Arts Journalism Program at Columbia University.
2002–06
Undergraduate programs diversified, with the introduction of the BFA with an emphasis in Art History, Theory, and Criticism; BFA with an emphasis in Art Education; BFA with an emphasis in Writing; and BA in Visual and Critical Studies.
2004
SAIC initiates a laptop program for all incoming first-year students, the first program of its kind in a major arts school.
2006
Introduction of new graduate degrees in architecture and design, including the Master of Architecture; Master of Design in Designed Objects; and Master of Architecture with an Emphasis in Interior Architecture.
2009
SAIC produces the most Fulbright Scholars among all art and design schools.
2013
SAIC establishes its first Scientist-in-Residence; the school also partners with Northwestern University to offer the art and science course, Data Viz Collaborative.
2013
SAIC introduces a three-year Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts program.
2014
Master of Architecture program is granted an eight-year accreditation.
2014
The Department of Fashion Design celebrates its 80th anniversary.
2015
SAIC partners with the Homan Square Foundation in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood to offer art and design classes to the West Side community.
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