Edinburgh College of Art

This educational institution can trace its origins back to 1760 when the Trustees' Drawing Academy of Edinburgh which was later referred to variously as the Trustees' Academy School of Design and eventually to the Trustees' Academy School of Art came into being. It was established by the Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufactures and Improvements in Scotland. From 1826 classes were held in the Royal Institution building, now the Royal Scottish Academy on The Mound. 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. The College was founded in 1906 by merging the Royal Institution School and the School of Applied Art and was given authorization from the Scottish Education Department to award Diplomas in Drawing and Painting, Design and Crafts, and Sculpture and Architecture. However, circa 1911, the task of the artistic education of the students fell solely on the College with the RSA taking a back seat. By the arrival of the millennium, it was one of the largest art colleges in Europe with some 2,000 students. The main building at Lauriston Place was designed by architects John More Dick Peddie (1853-1921) and George Washington Browne (1854-1939) between 1906 and 1909. Since 1968, the Schools of Art and Design became a faculty of Heriot-Watt University, with all its courses leading to full degree awards. Famous alumni include Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, William Gillies, Sir Robin Philipson, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Anne Redpath, John Bellany, William Crozier, John Maxwell and William Gear.

Number of Artists referenced: 711