Edinburgh College of Art

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Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is an art school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design disciplines for over two thousand students.

The main campus is in the Old Town of Edinburgh and near Edinburgh University's George Square campus.

The college's two campuses, which have operated separately and are now looking at ways to better integrate the campuses. Students are now able to use libraries on either campus. It is also possible to receive joint degrees in fine art and history of art, which are taught at both campuses. Edinburgh University, instead of Heriot-Watt University, will now accredit the college's degrees.

1 History
2 The College Buildings
3 Notable alumni
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

ECA can trace its history back to 1760, when the Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh was established by the Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufactures and Improvements in Scotland. This board had been set up by Act of Parliament in 1727 to encourage and promote the fisheries or such other manufactures and improvements in Scotland as may most conduce to the general good of the United Kingdom, and was also responsible for the construction of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The aim of the academy was to train designers for the manufacturing industries. Drawing and the design of patterns for the textile industries were taught at the Academy's rooms at Picardy Place.

From 1826 classes were held at the Royal Institution building, now the Royal Scottish Academy on The Mound. The Master of the School was always a fine artist, the first being French painter William Delacour. Subsequent masters included Alexander Runciman and David Allan. The Academy's focus gradually shifted from applied arts to encompass fine art, and the school gained a reputation for excellence in both painting and design. Scottish artists who were trained at the Academy include John Brown, Alexander Nasmyth and Andrew Wilson.

In 1858 the Academy was affiliated to the Science and Art Department in London, known as the "South Kensington system", under which it became the Government School of Art for the city of Edinburgh. A School of Appled Art was also established under this system. The Drawing School became part of a system of schools managed on similar lines, and distinctive teaching practices were lost. In 1903 it amalgamated with the School of Applied Art. In 1907 the Scottish Education Department took over responsibility for the school, and it became Edinburgh College of Art.

The School joined with Heriot-Watt University in 1968, with the university awarding degrees. Today, the college is independent once more, having the status of a Small Specialist Institution. Edinburgh University now awards the majority of the degrees.

[edit] The College Buildings

With the creation of Edinburgh College of Art in 1907, the institution moved to new premises on Lady Lawson Street. Formerly a cattle market, the site lies above the Grassmarket and opposite Edinburgh Castle. The red sandstone main building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by JM Dick Peddie and George Washington Brown, and was completed in 1909. The main building was listed Category A in 1970. Inside, the Sculpture Court displays casts of the Elgin Marbles and other antique statuary, alongside changing displays of contemporary student's work.

The Architecture Building was added to the east end of the college in 1961, designed by architect Ralph Cowan, who was a Professor of Architecture in the college. In 1972 the campus was completed in its present form with the addition of the Hunter Building. This L-shaped red sandstone block encloses the college courtyard, and fronts Lauriston Place to the south. In the 1990s the college took over a separate group of buildings in the Grassmarket, for use as a library and teaching space, and also took over the former Salvation Army building on West Port.