EVENTS & MOVEMENTS

The Massachusetts Normal Art School
Opening its doors on November 6, 1873, the Massachusetts Normal Art School (now the Massachusetts College of Art), is originally established to prepare teachers in drawing instruction. The school has far reaching success in its first few years of existence. By 1879, a total of 201 students receive certificates and 113 are employed as drawing instructors around the country.

The 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia
The 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia commemorates the 100th anniversary of independence from Britain. Walter Smith’s industrial drawing program and a series of manual training exercises from the Moscow Imperial Technical School are among the many exhibits on display.

Manual Training
Manual training is introduced into American public schools as both a mental discipline and a form of vocational training. By the 1880s, manual training is the new trend in urban schools across the country. Its implementation helps to promote high school as a necessary stage in education.

The Child Study Movement
In the 1880s, G. Stanley Hall introduces the Child Study Movement. Comparing children's drawings and paintings to primitive art, Hall examines children’s cognitive development.

World’s Columbian Exhibition
The event that has perhaps the most influence over the cultivation of taste in American society is the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Nearly twenty million people travel from within the United States and abroad to attend the fair. The event guides in a new set of values that help steer America into becoming a society that enjoys and appreciates art.

The Picture Study Movement
Beginning in 1892, a movement to beautify the school through reproduced art images takes hold. Picture study promotes art appreciation and also aims to develop the ability to discern what is tasteful. Henry Turner Bailey writes many books dedicated to picture study with poetic responses to works of art, often extolling the beauty of, for example, the nature represented in the work.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
In 1872, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opens its doors to the public.