School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (Museum School, SMFA at Tufts, or SMFA; formerly the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) is the art school of Tufts University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees dedicated to the visual arts.
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1876 |
Parent institution | Tufts University |
| Accreditation | NASAD AICAD |
| Dean | Scheri Fultineer |
Academic staff | 135 full- and part-time [1] |
| Undergraduates | 301[1] |
| Postgraduates | 149[1] |
| Location | , , United States |
| Campus | Urban |
| Website | smfa.tufts.edu |
 | |
It is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts. SMFA is also a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD), a consortium of several dozen leading art schools in the United States.[2] The school is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design.[2]
History
The school was founded in 1876 under the name School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA).[2] From 1876 to 1909, the school was housed in the basement of the original Museum building in Copley Square. When the Museum moved to Huntington Avenue in 1909, the School moved into a separate, temporary structure to the west of the main building. The permanent building, designed by Guy Lowell, was completed in 1927. The 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m2) red brick building provided improved classroom, studio and library facilities.
In 1945 the Museum School and Tufts College collaborated to develop their first joint degree teacher training granting program. The creation of additional programs between the two institutions followed soon after.
In 1987, a newly renovated and expanded school building, designed by architect Graham Gund, more than doubled the size of the existing structure and provided an auditorium, enlarged library, expanded studios and classrooms, a spacious new entrance, cafeteria, and increased gallery and exhibition spaces. Gund's expansion included the central atrium, known as the Katherine Lane Weems Atrium, that connects the two buildings.
In December 2015, it was announced that the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston would become a part of Tufts University and on June 30, 2016 the integration was completed.[3]
With the late-2022 opening of the Green Line Extension of the MBTA Green Line E branch light rail transit route, there is a one-seat direct connection between the SMFA and the main campus of Tufts University in Medford.
Academics
The school does not have a foundations program, but it does require all new students to take a freshman seminar. Encouraged to build an individual program of interdisciplinary study, students are not asked to declare a major, but by choosing among in-depth courses in a dozen disciplines, students are free to concentrate in a medium of their choice.
One of the unique attributes of SMFA is that students are required to participate in a "Review Board" which is a review of all of the art work that a student has done during the semester. Review Boards are led by two faculty members and two fellow students. There are many opportunities for students to exhibit their artwork at both the main building and the Mission Hill building.
Opportunities to exhibit works include the annual Art Sale and the juried "Student Annual Exhibition". Various galleries and spaces that are available to students around the school buildings include Bag Gallery, Hallway Gallery, Bathroom Gallery, Underground Gallery, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
The school's main campus is adjacent to and just to the west of the Museum of Fine Arts. Most classroom space is located there, as well as the Cafe des Arts, the library, the School's store, and the Grossman Gallery. The Mission Hill building, located about a quarter mile from the main building, recently has been renovated and includes studio spaces for graduate and post-baccalaureate students as well as classrooms, workshops, and the Writing Center.
W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. Library
The Clark Library at SMFA is the fine arts branch of Tufts University's Tisch Library. According to its website, the Clark Library collection's contents focus heavily "on contemporary art and studio practice".[4]
Notable alumni
Academia and administration
- Alon Bement (diploma 1898), painter, arts administrator, author, and educator.[5]
- Joseph Downs (1921), curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Winterthur Museum
Business
- Zach Feuer (BFA 2000), attended 1996–2000, art dealer.
Design
- Tom Jung, attended in the 1930s, graphic designer and illustrator
- Sally Pierone, attended 1940–1942, art director and designer.
Film, video and animation
- Omer Fast (BFA 1995) video artist.
- Steven Lisberger (diploma 1974), film director, producer and writer, known for his work on Tron (1982).
- David Lynch, attended 1964–1965, filmmaker.
- Kelly Reichardt (MFA), filmmaker and screenwriter, known for Certain Women and First Cow
- Levni Yilmaz, attended in the 1990s, filmmaker, animator, cartoonist.
Illustrators and comic artists
- Jan Brett, attended 1969–1970, illustrator.[6]
- Al Capp, cartoonist of Li'l Abner, attended briefly before having to leave for non-payment of tuition.
- William Snelling Hadaway, attended in the 1890s, book illustration, jewelry and metal design.
- Liz Prince (BFA 2007), attended 2002–2007, comic book artist, Ignatz Award winner
- Richard Scarry (diploma 1942) illustrator.
- Tom Sutton, attended in 1960, illustrator and comic book artist
- Wallace Tripp, attended 1960–1964, illustrator.
Painters and printmakers
- Marion Boyd Allen, attended 1896 –1909,[7] 19th century painter.
- Will Barnet, attended 1928–1930, painter and printmaker.
- Ture Bengtz (diploma 1933), Boston Expressionist school painter, teacher at School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
- Frank Weston Benson (diploma 1883), American Impressionist painter, printmaker and watercolorist.
- Margaret Fitzhugh Browne, attended 1909–1910, painter of portraits, indoor genre scenes, and still life.
- Holly Coulis (MFA 1998) painter.
- Allan Rohan Crite (diploma 1936), painter.
- Eleanor de Laittre, attended 1930, early proponent of abstract, cubist-inspired painting.
- Mira Lehr, attended in the 1950s, painter
- Jim Dine, attended 1950–1953, 1955–1958, painter and printmaker.
- Esther Geller, attended in 1921, abstract expressionist painter, known for encaustic painting, taught with Karl Zerbe from 1943–1944.[8]
- Philip Leslie Hale, attended 1883, later served as faculty from 1893–1931, painter.[9]
- William Melton Halsey, attended 1935–1939, recipient of William Paige Fellowship, muralist and painter.[10]
- Lois Mailou Jones (diploma 1927), painter.
- Ellsworth Kelly (diploma 1948), painter, associated with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and minimalism.
- May Hallowell Loud, attended 1879–1883, painter.
- F. Luis Mora, attended in 1889, Uruguayan-born American figural painter
- Vanessa Platacis, contemporary painter and installation artist
- Larry Poons, attended 1957–1958, abstract painter.
- Sarah Gooll Putnam, attended 1877, 19th century painter.
- Frank Stout, attended 1949, figurative painter associated with post-abstract expressionist realism.
- Edmund Tarbell (diploma 1882), painter.
- Cy Twombly (diploma 1949) abstract painter.
- John Woodrow Wilson, attended 1939-1945, painter and printmaker.
- Karl Stephan 2014-15, painter, printmaker, collagist, educator.
Performance artists
- Art School Cheerleaders, attended 1996–1998, performance art troupe
- Lisa Bufano, attended after 2003, interdisciplinary performance artist whose work incorporated dance, props, elements of doll-making, fabric work, and animation.
- Joan Jonas, attended 1958–1961, performance artist.
- Kaiju Big Battel, attended in the 1990s, performance art troupe featuring parodies of both professional wrestling and tokusatsu kaiju.
- Doug and Mike Starn (diploma 1984, fifth year certificate 1985), twin brothers, photographers and performance artists.
Photographers
- David Armstrong, attended in the 1970s, photographer.[11]
- Carol Beckwith, photographer, author, known for photojournalism documenting the indigenous tribal cultures of Africa.
- Marie Cosindas, attended 1947–1950, 1955–1956, photographer.
- Philip-Lorca diCorcia (diploma 1975, fifth year certificate 1976), photographer.
- Nan Goldin (diploma 1977; fifth year certificate 1978), photographer.
- Todd Hido (BFA 1991), photographer.
- Mark Morrisroe, attended in the 1970s, photographer
Multimedia and installation artists
- Anita Glesta (MFA degree), installation artist
- Laurel Nakadate (BFA 1998), film, video artist, and photographer.[12]
- Ellen Levy (diploma 1981) is a multimedia artist and scholar who explores art, science, technology interrelationships and complex systems.
Musicians
- David Buckley (MFA 1977), painter and former musician with the BARRACUDAS.
- Leslie Hall, attended 2000–2003, musician, frontwoman for Leslie and the Ly's.
- Juliana Hatfield, attended 2012, musician.
- Malcolm Travis, attended 1974–1978, musician, drummer with Human Sexual Response.
- Peter Wolf, attended in the 1960s, musician, known as the lead vocalist of the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983.
Sculptors
- Amelia Peabody
- Adio diBiccari, attended 1932, sculptor.
- Kahlil George Gibran, attended 1940–1943, painter and sculptor.
- Stacy Poitras, attended 1985–1988, chainsaw sculptor and reality television star.
- John A. Wilson, attended 1896, sculptor
Writers
- Susan Howe (diploma 1961) poet, scholar, essayist and critic.
- Lawrence Park, attended 1896–1897, art historian, architect, and genealogist
- Rebecca Richardson Joslin, author, lecturer, benefactor, clubwoman
Notable faculty
Sculptor faculty
- Frederick Warren Allen, sculptor, taught for almost 50 years (1907–1954) and for 30 years he was the Head of the Sculpture Department. Emeritus.
- Frank Dengler, sculptor, faculty for a short time, until 1877.
- Charles Grafly, sculptor, he served as the Head of Modeling from 1917–1929.[13]
- Bela Lyon Pratt, sculptor, she served as the Head of Modeling from 1893–1917.[13]
Painting faculty
- David Aronson, painter, sculptor; Emeritus Professor of Art, Boston University.
- Ture Bengtz (diploma 1933), Boston Expressionist school painter, later a teacher at School of the Museum of Fine Arts.
- David Antonio Cruz, painter and interdisciplinary artist; faculty.
- Esther Geller, attended 1921, abstract expressionist painter, known for encaustic painting, taught with Karl Zerbe from 1943–1944.[8]
- Philip Leslie Hale, attended 1883, later served as faculty from 1893–1931, painter.[9]
- Arnold Borisovich Lakhovsky, painter, taught painting starting in 1935.
- William McGregor Paxton, painter and a co-founder of The Guild of Boston Artists. He was faculty from 1906–1913.
- Karl Zerbe, German-American painter, he served as the Head of Department of Painting from 1937–1955.
Drawing faculty
- Ethan Murrow, drawing and site-specific projects.
- Yanyun Chen, Singapore artist with drawing, installation and animation practice.
Other faculty
- Chantal Zakari, faculty, book artist and graphic designer.
References
- "Tufts University Fast Facts". Tufts University. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- Bowditch, Alexandra (2020-05-28). "SMFA at Tufts Announces As Above, So Below, a Virtual MFA Thesis Exhibition". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- Gay, Malcolm (December 21, 2015). "Tufts University to take control of MFA's art school - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- "The W. Van Alan Clark, Jr. Library". School of the Museum of Fine Arts | Tufts University. Tufts University. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
- "ALON BEMEMT, A PAINTER, IS DEAD; Former Dean of Traphagen School of Fashion Had Led Art and Industry Alliance". Times Machine. The New York Times. 1954-11-24. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- "Drawn to her animals - Arts - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe. 2011-11-21. Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- 1896-97 Annual Report of the Permanent Committee in Charge of the School By Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. School
- University of Illinois, College of Fine and Applied Arts (1950). Contemporary American Painting and Sculpture. The University of Michigan. pp. 41, 175.
- "Archives of American Art, Smithsonian". Philip Leslie Hale papers, Biographical Note.
- Severens, Martha (1999). William Halsey. Greenville County Museum of Art. p. 14. ISBN 096032464X.
- Vitello, Paul (2014-11-01). "David Armstrong, Photographer of Subcultures, Dies at 60 (Published 2014)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- "Laurel Nakadate Biography". Artnet.com. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
- David B. Dearinger, Paintings and Sculpture at the National Academy of Design, Volume 1, 1826–1925 (Hudson Hills Publishing, 2004), pp. 230-31.
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