Corcoran College of Art and Design
Encyclopedia
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, (Originally the Corcoran School of Art), founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design
in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art
.
The Corcoran Gallery of Art
is Washington's first and largest private art museum. The gallery opened officially in 1874, originally built to house the collection of its founder, William Wilson Corcoran. One of America's oldest art institutions, it predates both New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and is known around the world for its collection of historic and modern American art as well as European fine art and for its collection of decorative arts.
founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1869. He donated additional funding to establish the school in 1878. The Corcoran’s evolving collection includes more than 17,000 works and objects and is considered one of the best American art collections in the world. Gallery 31 is the Corcoran’s dedicated exhibition space for the Corcoran College of Art + Design. The space hosts exhibitions by the Corcoran’s faculty, students, alumni, visiting artists, and annual senior thesis exhibitions. The Corcoran’s original 19th-century location at Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventeenth Street was designed by James Renwick and is now the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery.
Construction began at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1859 , but shortly after the exterior work was completed, the Quartermaster General's corps of the Union Army occupied the building, setting up offices for the duration of the Civil War. Upon its return in 1869, the gallery was formally founded as a public institution: the first special event held that year was a fundraiser for the completion of the Washington Monument
. The gallery welcomed its first visitors in 1874 and art students immediately flocked to the gallery, eager to sketch and paint copies of the collection's famous works.
In 1877 the painter E.F. Andrews (1835–1915) started offering the visiting students and artists formal instruction in two dimensional media for no cost to the student. In 1878 William Wilson Corcoran
donated additional funding to be used to establish a school to be associated with the gallery. After Corcoran's death in 1888 a small building was built in 1889 for the purpose of the gallery's burgeoning identity as a place for education in the arts. In 1890 the school officially opened as the Corcoran School of Art.
By 1897 the institution had outgrown its original home, and moved to its present location. The Beaux-Arts style building was designed by Ernest Flagg
and is considered to be a premier example of the style. By the start of the 1930s the school saw enough growth to begin its expansion. Commercial art classes, scholarships, children's courses, the library, ceramics facilities and courses, weekend classes and summer opportunities were added at this time. The school became a member of the National Association of Schools of Art in the mid-1970s and in 1978 awarded their first BFA degree. The school became fully accredited in the 1980s.
Most recently, in 1999, the college changed its name formally to The Corcoran College of Art and Design and has established itself as Washington's singular four-year accredited institution for education in the arts.
(in Fine Arts, Photography
, Photojournalism
, Graphic Design
, Digital Media Design, and Interior Design
), Bachelor of Arts
(in Art Studies), Master of Arts
(in Art and the Book, Interior Design, Exhibition Design, Art Education
, and—in partnership with the Smithsonian Associates—History of Decorative Arts
), a Masters in New Media Photojournalism, an Associate
of Fine Arts degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching
, and a joint BFA/MAT program.
Students are exposed to internships with organizations including National Geographic Magazine, embassies, and White House news photographers; summer study abroad trips in Italy, Greece, and India; and visiting artists such as Annie Leibovitz, Shepard Fairey, Maya Lin, Abelardo Morell, and William Pope. For a period of time in the spring, senior students' works for their senior theses
are exhibited within the museum, giving the students experience in gallery openings as well as public exposure to their work.
The College has three buildings. The Downtown location houses most if not all academic offerings, the fine art facilities, the fine art photography and photojournalism facilities. A second building is located in Georgetown, housing the Digital Media, Graphic Design, and New Media Photojournalism programs, as well as many fine art offerings in painting and drawing. The third campus is on the National Mall at the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center
.
The College's Continuing Education
Program, which offers partial credit and non-credit classes to children and adults, draws more than 3,500 participants every year. The Corcoran offers a pre-college portfolio development program in the summer for high school students.
Students have the option to live in Student Housing, located in the Foggy Bottom area just outside of George Washington. The living spaces differ from regular dorms in that they are actually furnished apartments with a kitchen, bath and high-speed internet. Two students share a studio layout while three students share a one bedroom. Resident Assistant's frequently organize gatherings and activities in housing such as movie nights and holiday parties, and Foggy Bottom has a large and lively student population.
Art school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
.
The Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
is Washington's first and largest private art museum. The gallery opened officially in 1874, originally built to house the collection of its founder, William Wilson Corcoran. One of America's oldest art institutions, it predates both New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and is known around the world for its collection of historic and modern American art as well as European fine art and for its collection of decorative arts.
The School's Beginning
William Wilson CorcoranWilliam Wilson Corcoran
William Wilson Corcoran was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector.-Early life:Corcoran was born in Georgetown in the District of Columbia, the son of a well-to-do father whom the electors of Georgetown twice chose as mayor. His father, Thomas Corcoran, came to Georgetown in 1788...
founded the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1869. He donated additional funding to establish the school in 1878. The Corcoran’s evolving collection includes more than 17,000 works and objects and is considered one of the best American art collections in the world. Gallery 31 is the Corcoran’s dedicated exhibition space for the Corcoran College of Art + Design. The space hosts exhibitions by the Corcoran’s faculty, students, alumni, visiting artists, and annual senior thesis exhibitions. The Corcoran’s original 19th-century location at Pennsylvania Avenue and Seventeenth Street was designed by James Renwick and is now the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery.
Construction began at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1859 , but shortly after the exterior work was completed, the Quartermaster General's corps of the Union Army occupied the building, setting up offices for the duration of the Civil War. Upon its return in 1869, the gallery was formally founded as a public institution: the first special event held that year was a fundraiser for the completion of the Washington Monument
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...
. The gallery welcomed its first visitors in 1874 and art students immediately flocked to the gallery, eager to sketch and paint copies of the collection's famous works.
In 1877 the painter E.F. Andrews (1835–1915) started offering the visiting students and artists formal instruction in two dimensional media for no cost to the student. In 1878 William Wilson Corcoran
William Wilson Corcoran
William Wilson Corcoran was an American banker, philanthropist, and art collector.-Early life:Corcoran was born in Georgetown in the District of Columbia, the son of a well-to-do father whom the electors of Georgetown twice chose as mayor. His father, Thomas Corcoran, came to Georgetown in 1788...
donated additional funding to be used to establish a school to be associated with the gallery. After Corcoran's death in 1888 a small building was built in 1889 for the purpose of the gallery's burgeoning identity as a place for education in the arts. In 1890 the school officially opened as the Corcoran School of Art.
By 1897 the institution had outgrown its original home, and moved to its present location. The Beaux-Arts style building was designed by Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg
Ernest Flagg was a noted American architect in the Beaux-Arts style. He was also an advocate for urban reform and architecture's social responsibility.-Biography:...
and is considered to be a premier example of the style. By the start of the 1930s the school saw enough growth to begin its expansion. Commercial art classes, scholarships, children's courses, the library, ceramics facilities and courses, weekend classes and summer opportunities were added at this time. The school became a member of the National Association of Schools of Art in the mid-1970s and in 1978 awarded their first BFA degree. The school became fully accredited in the 1980s.
Most recently, in 1999, the college changed its name formally to The Corcoran College of Art and Design and has established itself as Washington's singular four-year accredited institution for education in the arts.
Academics
Corcoran offers the degrees of Bachelor of Fine ArtsBachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
(in Fine Arts, Photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, Photojournalism
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
, Graphic Design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
, Digital Media Design, and Interior Design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
), Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(in Art Studies), Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(in Art and the Book, Interior Design, Exhibition Design, Art Education
Art education
Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...
, and—in partnership with the Smithsonian Associates—History of Decorative Arts
History of decorative arts
The Ancient World*Antique Furniture*Pottery of Ancient GreeceThe Byzantine EmpireThe Antique and Medieval Asian World*Chinese Pottery*Japanese Pottery*Korean PotteryThe Arts of Islam*Islamic pottery*Persian rug...
), a Masters in New Media Photojournalism, an Associate
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
of Fine Arts degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching
Master of Arts in Teaching
The Master of Arts in Teaching degree is generally a pre-service degree that usually requires a minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the Bachelor's degree. While the program often requires education classes in order to meet state licensure requirements, it emphasizes advanced course work in a...
, and a joint BFA/MAT program.
Students are exposed to internships with organizations including National Geographic Magazine, embassies, and White House news photographers; summer study abroad trips in Italy, Greece, and India; and visiting artists such as Annie Leibovitz, Shepard Fairey, Maya Lin, Abelardo Morell, and William Pope. For a period of time in the spring, senior students' works for their senior theses
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
are exhibited within the museum, giving the students experience in gallery openings as well as public exposure to their work.
The College has three buildings. The Downtown location houses most if not all academic offerings, the fine art facilities, the fine art photography and photojournalism facilities. A second building is located in Georgetown, housing the Digital Media, Graphic Design, and New Media Photojournalism programs, as well as many fine art offerings in painting and drawing. The third campus is on the National Mall at the Smithsonian's S. Dillon Ripley Center
S. Dillon Ripley Center
The S. Dillon Ripley Center, better known simply as the Ripley Center, is one of the buildings of the Smithsonian Institution series of museums located in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The above-ground portion is only a small pagoda, and it descends into a larger underground portion...
.
The College's Continuing Education
Continuing education
Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...
Program, which offers partial credit and non-credit classes to children and adults, draws more than 3,500 participants every year. The Corcoran offers a pre-college portfolio development program in the summer for high school students.
Student Life
Student Affairs sponsors educational, cultural, career, and other events throughout the year, including, bus trips to both local landmarks and outings, as well as other cities in the mid-Atlantic; holiday parties, film screenings, breakfasts and other social events; and student-sponsored art shows and sales. Additionally, as Members of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, students can also take advantage of numerous special learning opportunities through the gallery.Students have the option to live in Student Housing, located in the Foggy Bottom area just outside of George Washington. The living spaces differ from regular dorms in that they are actually furnished apartments with a kitchen, bath and high-speed internet. Two students share a studio layout while three students share a one bedroom. Resident Assistant's frequently organize gatherings and activities in housing such as movie nights and holiday parties, and Foggy Bottom has a large and lively student population.
Notable Alumni and Students
- Tara DonovanTara DonovanTara Donovan is an American artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She is known for site-specific installation art that utilizes everyday materials whose form is in keeping with generative art.-Biography:...
- American installation artist. - Bjorn Peter Egeli - American-Norwegian Portrait Painter.
- Eugene GoossenEugene GoossenEugene C. Goossen was an American art critic and art historian who organized more than 60 art exhibitions, wrote essays for catalogues in addition to books on the subject. He was on the faculty of Hunter College, where he headed the art department.Goossen was born in 1921 in Gloversville, New York...
(1921–1997) - Art critic and historian. - Edwin FinckelEdwin FinckelEdwin A. Finckel was a jazz performer and arranger and a composer of songs and classical music.-Biography:Finckel was born in Washington D.C. as the youngest of six children. His father was a patent attorney and both his parents were musical...
- Composer. - Tim GunnTim GunnTimothy M. "Tim" Gunn is an American fashion consultant and television personality. He was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design at the school from August 2000 to March 2007, after which he joined Liz Claiborne as its chief creative...
- American fashion expert and television personality. - Frederick HartFrederick HartFrederick Hart or Freddie Hart may refer to:* Freddie Hart , American country musician* Frederick Hart , American sculptor-See also:*Frederick Hartt, professor of History of Art...
- American sculptor. - Leigh Holliday - Mixed media artist & teacher of Fine Arts for Children and Children with ADD/ADHD and Autism.
- David LynchDavid LynchDavid Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
- American filmmaker, painter, composer, video artist and performance artist. - Eugene J. MartinEugene J. MartinEugene James Martin was a prolific African American visual artist.-Art:Eugene J...
- American visual artist. - Chris Moukarbel - Site specific video and installation artist.
- Bruce JurgensBruce JurgensBruce Jurgens is an award-winning filmmaker and entrepreneur with over twelve years of feature film production experience. He has a major role in award-winning production in Hollywood and Europe. He has founded and co-founded several major production houses...
- American Artist and Producer. - Jody MussoffJody MussoffJody Mussoff is an American ceramist and portrait artist living in Maryland.Mussoff's brightly colored drawings represent people and animals. She uses a cross-hatching technique, and leaves much of the background blank. Her ceramics are earthenware, also brightly colored, decorated with people and...
- American artist. - Sonya RapoportSonya RapoportSonya Rapoport is an American conceptual/digital artist and New media artist who has created computer-assisted interactive installations and participatory web-based artworks.-Early life:...
- American artist. - Ian SvenoniusIan SvenoniusIan Folke Svenonius is an American musician, notable as the singer of various Washington, D.C.-based bands including Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, Weird War, and Chain and The Gang. Between his numerous projects, Svenonius has released more than 15 full-length albums and more than 20 singles,...
- American musician and author. - SalarruéSalarruéSalvador Efraín Salazar Arrué , known as Salarrué , was a Salvadoran writer, poet and painter...
- Salvadoran writer, poet, and painter. - Duff GoldmanDuff GoldmanJeffrey Adam "Duff" Goldman is a pastry chef and television personality. He is the executive chef of the Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes shop which is featured in the Food Network reality television show Ace of Cakes...
- American Pastry Chef and television personality. - Susannah Brown - Photographer.
- Kim KirkpatrickKim KirkpatrickKim Kirkpatrick is a landscape photographer who lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area.Kirkpatrick earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Corcoran College of Art and Design and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland. In 1993, the Aaron Siskind Foundation awarded Kirkpatrick...
- Photographer. - Pacita AbadPacita AbadPacita Abad was born in Basco, Batanes, a small island in the northernmost part of the Philippines, between Luzon and Taiwan. Her more than 32-year painting career began when she travelled to the United States to undertake graduate studies. She had over 40 solo exhibitions at museums and...
- Painter. - Ruth ChewRuth ChewRuth Chew was an American children's author and illustrator of over 30 children's books, most of which were juvenile fantasy. The books were early-reader chapter books and usually centered around magic...
- Author.