Slade School of Fine Art

UCL Slade School of Fine Art

The North Wing of the UCL Wilkins Building in March 2015
Type	Art school
Established	1871; 154 years ago (1871)
Founder	Felix Slade
Parent institution	University College London
Director	Mary Evans
Administrative staff	72[1]
Students	330[2]
Location	Bloomsbury, London , England, United Kingdom 51°31′30″N 00°08′04″W
Campus	Urban
Website	ucl.ac.uk/slade/

The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution.^[3][4] The school is organised as a department of UCL's Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

History

Students at the Slade in 1905

The school traces its roots back to 1868 when lawyer and philanthropist Felix Slade (1788–1868) bequeathed funds to establish three Chairs in Fine Art, to be based at Oxford University, Cambridge University and University College London, where six studentships were endowed.

Distinguished past teachers include Henry Tonks, Wilson Steer, Randolph Schwabe, William Coldstream, Andrew Forge, Lucian Freud, John Hilliard, Bruce McLean, Alfred Gerrard and Phyllida Barlow. Edward Allington was Professor of Fine Art and Head of Graduate Sculpture until his death in 2017.^[5][6]

Two of its most important periods were immediately before, and immediately after, the turn of the twentieth century, described by Henry Tonks as its two 'crises of brilliance'. The first included the students Augustus John, William Orpen and Percy Wyndham Lewis; the second – which has been chronicled in David Boyd Haycock's A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War (Old Street Publishing, 2009) – included the students Dora Carrington, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, C.R.W. Nevinson and Stanley Spencer, all of whom were taught by Henry Tonks and his Assistant in Drawing Derwent Lees^[7].

Another cherished period followed the Second World War, under the directorship of William Coldstream, who brought in Lucian Freud to teach, and whose students included Paula Rego, Michael Andrews, and the filmmaker Lorenza Mazzetti. Coldstream was responsible for the creation of the Slade Film Department, the first in any British university, in 1960, with Thorold Dickinson as chief lecturer. Filmmakers associated with the Slade Film Department include Derek Jarman and Peter Whitehead.

Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art

The Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art (SCEMFA) was opened in 1995. The centre provides opportunities for research into electronic media and fine art with the goal of contributing to debate on national and international levels. The Slade had previously been home to Malcolm Hughes's Computer and Experimental Department in the 1970s.

In 1997 SCEMFA presented Collision, a public lecture series by artists, writers, and curators working with interactivity, telematics, and digital works. This exhibition was followed by Spontaneous Reaction, a week-long seminar funded by the Arts Council of England, which took a critical look at interactivity with participants from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, architecture, and computer science.

Throughout 1998, SCEMFA collaborated with Channel 4 UK to organise Cached, a monthly event held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Funded by the Arts Council, this series investigated the conceptual and practical issues of producing art for the internet through a series of artists presentations.

Art collection

The Slade art collection was started when the yearly prizes awarded to top students was combined with a collection scheme in 1897 and the Summer Composition Prize and the Figure and Head Painting Prizes began to be kept by the school.^[8] Works by students and staff of the Slade School of Fine Art form the basis of the UCL Art museum today.^[8]

Rankings

In a 2008 survey conducted by The Sunday Times the Slade recorded perfect scores.^[9]

Faculty rankings

	2010
The Guardian University Guide	1st[10]
The Complete University Guide	2nd[11]
The Times Good University Guide	2nd[12]

Teaching

The faculty currently offers the following programs:

Undergraduate studies

• 3-year BFA in Fine Art
• 4-year BA in Fine Art

Graduate studies

• 2-academic year (18 months) MFA in Fine Art
• 2-calendar (24 months) MA in Fine Art
• 1-term, 2-term, of 1-year Graduate Affiliate Study

Research

• MPhil or PhD in Fine Art

Notable alumni

Full list see Category:Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art

Elinor Proby Adams (1885–1945), painter Mary Adshead (1904–1995), mural painter, designer Anna Airy (1882–1964), artist Rosemary Allan (1911–2008), painter Kathleen Allen (1906–1983), painter Edward Allington (1951–2017), sculptor Michael Andrews (1928–1995), painter Irene Aronson (born 1918), painter and printmaker Sue Arrowsmith (1950–2014), photographic artist Ed Atkins (born 1982), artist Ray Atkins (born 1937), painter Joan Ayling (1907–1993), painter Zainul Abedin (1914–1976), painter Ethelwyn Baker (1899–1988), sculptor Phyllis Barron (1890–1964), textile designer Alvaro Barrington (born 1983), artist James Bateman (1893–1959), painter Amelia Bauerle (1873–1916), painter and illustrator Pauline Baynes (1922–2008), illustrator Tessa Beaver (1932–2018), painter and illustrator Roy Beddington (1910–1995), painter, illustrator, and writer[13] Elinor Bellingham-Smith (1906–1988), painter Eleanor Best (1875–1957), painter Zelma Blakely (1921–1978), illustrator David Bomberg (1890–1957), painter Dorothy Elizabeth Bradford (1897–1986), painter Phyllis Bray (1911–1991), painter and muralist Raymond Briggs (born 1934), illustrator, graphic novelist Cecily Brown (born 1969), painter Sheila Bownas (1925–2007), textile designer and botanical illustrator Felicia Browne (1904–1936), painter and Spanish Civil War volunteer Rodney Joseph Burn (1899–1984), painter Dorothy Burroughes (1883–1963), illustrator William Bustard (1894–1973), stained glass artist Dorothy A. Cadman (fl. 1908–1927), painter Martin John Callanan (born 1982), artist, current teaching staff Gina Calleja (1928 – 2017), author and illustrator Nancy Carline (1909–2004), artist Sydney Carline (1888–1929), artist Thomas Carr (1909–1999), artist Ethel Carrick (1872–1951), painter Dora Carrington (1893–1932), artist Chien-Ying Chang (1913–2004), artist Daphne Charlton (1909–1991), painter Evan Charlton (1904–1984), painter G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), writer Evelyn Cheston (1875–1929), painter Spartacus Chetwynd (born 1973), artist, Turner Prize nominee Derek Chittock (1922–1986), portrait painter Dora Clarke (1895–1989), sculptor Edna Clarke Hall (1879–1979), painter Dorothy Coke (1897–1979), painter Sir William Coldstream (1908–1987), painter Professor Paul Coldwell (born 1952), artist Ruth Collet (1909–2001), painter John Collier (1850–1934), artist Marian Collier (1859–1887), painter Susan Alexis Collins (born 1964), artist, current Slade Director & Professor Ithell Colquhoun (1906–1988), painter and writer William George Constable (1887–1976), art historian Pat Gerrard Cooke (1935–2000), painter and illustrator Teresa Copnall (1882–1972), painter Frank Barrington Craig (1902–1951), painter and teacher Martin Creed (born 1968), artist Dennis Creffield (1931–2018), painter Barbara Crocker (1910–1995), artist, author Claudia Cuesta, artist Charles Cundall (1890–1971), painter Nora Cundell (1889–1948), painter Esmé Currey (1881–1973), painter, etcher Yitzhak Danziger (1916–1977), sculptor Tacita Dean (born 1965), Alison Debenham (1903–1967) Evelyn De Morgan (1885–1919) Angela Delevingne Brigid Derham (1943–1980), painter Anthony Devas (1911–1958), portrait painter Sir William Dobell (1899–1970), portrait painter Barbara Dorf (1933–2016), painter Sholto Johnstone Douglas (1871–1958), artist Jane Dowling (1925–2023), painter William Dring (1904–1990), portrait painter William Easton, artist Ursula Edgcumbe (1900–1985), sculptor Ibrahim El-Salahi (born 1930), painter Florence Engelbach (1872–1951), painter Grace English (1891–1956), painter Ben Enwonwu (1921–1994), artist Jadé Fadojutimi (born 1993), artist Leila Faithfull (1896–1994), painter Julia Farrer (born 1950), artist Robert Fawcett (1903–1967), illustrator Daphne Fedarb (1912–1992), painter Paul Feiler (1918–2013), artist Elsie Few (1909–1980), artist Philip Firsov (born 1985), artist and sculptor Myrta Fisher (1917–1999), painter Mary Sargant Florence (1857–1954), painter Caroline Sylvia Gabriel (1912–1997), artist Clive Gardiner (1891–1960), artist, designer and illustrator Nicholas Garland (born 1935), political cartoonist Raimi Gbadamosi (born 1965), neo-conceptual artist Alfred Gerrard (1899–1998), sculptor Kaff Gerrard (1894–1970), painter and potter Mark Gertler (1891–1939), artist A.A. Gill (1954–2016), journalist Colin Gill (1892–1940), painter Elsie Gledstanes (1893–1972), painter Dryden Goodwin (born 1971), artist, current teaching staff Douglas Gordon (born 1966), artist Antony Gormley (born 1950), sculptor Harold Gosney (born 1937), artist and sculptor Caroline Gotch (1854–1945), painter Carmen Gracia (born 1935), printmaker[14] Duncan Grant (1885–1978), painter and designer Eileen Gray (1898–1976), designer and architect Barbara Greg (1900–1983), wood engraver David Griffiths (portrait painter) (Born 1939), portrait painter Gwenny Griffiths (1867–1953), portrait painter Oona Grimes (born 1957), artist Vaughan Grylls (born 1943), artist Robin Guthrie (1902–1971), painter Kathleen Guthrie (1906–1981), painter Edna Guy (1907–1982), marine artist Richard Hamilton (1922–2011), painter and collage artist Archibald Standish Hartrick (1864–1950), artist and illustrator Lucy Harwood (1893–1972), artist Mona Hatoum (born 1952), artist Francis Helps (1890–1972), artist Elsie Henderson (1880–1967), painter and sculptor Keith Henderson (1883–1982), artist and illustrator Nigel Henderson (1917–1985), artist Florence Lockwood (1861–1937), women's suffrage activist Lady Mary Lovelace (1848–1941), artist, architect and author

Patrick Heron (1920–1999), abstract painter Cicely Hey (1896–1980), painter and sculptor Ian Holbourn (1872–1935), artist, educator, laird of Foula, writer, and RMS Lusitania survivor Ruth Hollingsworth (1880–1945), painter Annie Horniman (1860–1937), theatre owner and manager Nancy Horrocks (1900–1989), abstract artist Ray Howard-Jones (1903–1996), artist Edgar Hubert (1906–1985), painter Georgina Hunt (1922–2012), abstract artist Sidney Hunt (1896–1940), artist and designer Paul Huson (born 1942), writer and designer George Percy Jacomb-Hood (1857–1929), artist Darsie Japp (1883–1973), artist Derek Jarman (1942–1994), artist Augustus John (1878–1961), artist Gwen John (1876–1939), artist Vivien John (1915–1994), artist Arnrid Johnston (1895–1972), sculptor, illustrator Alfred Garth Jones (1872–1955), illustrator Karin Jonzen (1914–1998), sculptor Gerry Judah (born 1951), artist and designer Menashe Kadishman (1932–2015), Israeli sculptor and painter Helen Kapp (1901–1978), artist and curator Dorothy King (1907–1990), painter and curator Eve Kirk (1900–1969), painter Myfanwy Kitchin (1917–2002), painter, ceramicist Robert Koenig (born 1951), sculptor Clara Klinghoffer (1900–1970), artist Paul Kneale (born 1986), artist Winifred Knights (1899–1947), painter Kanayi Kunhiraman (born 1937), sculptor Sir Osbert Lancaster (1908–1986), cartoonist Olga Lehmann (1912–2001), painter, illustrator and designer Maxwell Gordon Lightfoot (1886–1911), painter Peter Kennard (born 1949), artist Bernard Leach (1887–1879), ceramic artist, "Father of British studio pottery" Lilian Lancaster (1888–1973), artist and teacher Edith Lawrence (1890–1973), artist Kim Lim (1937–1997), sculptor Zhi Lin, artist Henrietta Lister (1895–1959), race driver and watercolourist Nicholas Logsdail (born 1945), art dealer[15] John Long (1964–2016), painter and teacher Lowes Dalbiac Luard (1872–1944), painter John Luke (1906–1975), painter and sculptor John Lundberg (born 1968), artist and filmmaker Sine MacKinnon (1901–1996), painter Nicolette Macnamara (1911–1987), artist and author John Mansbridge (1901–1981), painter and World War II official war artist Constance Markievicz (1868–1927), artist, revolutionary nationalist, suffragette, socialist Ellis Martin (1881–1977), map cover illustrator for Ordnance Survey John Mascaro (born 1970), artist Moina Mathers (1865–1928), artist and occultist Mary McEvoy (1870–1941), painter Dorothy Mead (1928–1975), painter Robert Medley (1905–1994), painter and designer Elizabeth Merriman (born 1963), painter Oliver Messel (1904–1978), stage designer Robert Micklewright (1923–2013), artist and illustrator[16] Mother Maribel of Wantage (1887–1970), artist and sculptor Daniel Mulloy (born 1977), film writer and director Donia Nachshen (1903–1987), illustrator Paul Nash (1889–1946), painter Gemma Nelson (born 1984), painter C.R.W. Nevinson (1889–1946), artist Bertha Newcombe (1857–1947), artist and illustrator Ben Nicholson (1894–1982), abstract painter Philip Norman (1842–1931), artist and antiquarian Alanna O'Kelly (born 1955), Irish performance artist Madge Oliver (1874–1924), painter Sir Eduardo Paolozzi (1924–2005), artist Kathleen Parbury (1901–1986), sculptor Katie Paterson (born 1981), artist Eddie Peake (born 1981), artist Margot Perryman (born 1938), painter Louise Pickard (1865–1928), painter Edward Plunkett, 20th Baron of Dunsany (1939–2011), painter and sculptor Mary Potter (1900–1981), painter Sarah Pucill, film artist Margaret Fisher Prout (1875–1963), painter Carl Randall (born 1975), painter Paula Rego (1935-2022), painter, illustrator and printmaker Harold Riley (born 1934), artist Eric Rimmington (1926–2024) William Roberts (1895–1980), painter Claude Rogers (1907–1979), artist Rosemary Rutherford (1912–1972), painter and stained glass artist Ethel Jenner Rosenberg (1858–1930), first English Bahá'í Isaac Rosenberg (1890–1918), war poet Paul Rotha (1907–1984), documentary film-maker, film historian and critic Hiraki Sawa (born 1977), filmmaker and artist[17] James Scott (born 1941), filmmaker and artist Melissa Scott-Miller (1959-), painter Ina Maud Sheldon-Williams (1876–1956), painter Rupert Shephard (1909–1992), artist F. H. S. Shepherd (1877–1948), painter[18] Edith Simon (1917–2003), artist, sculptor, author Marianna Simnett (born 1986), artist Veronica Smirnoff (born 1979), painter Sir Matthew Smith (1879–1959), painter Peter Snow (1927–2008), painter and theatre designer Walter Shaw Sparrow (1862–1940), writer Yolanda Sonnabend (1935–2015), theatre and ballet designer and painter[19] Sir Stanley Spencer (1891–1959), artist Unity Spencer (1930–2017), artist[20] Andrew Stahl (1954-2024), painter Leo Steinberg (1920–2011), art historian John Stezaker (born 1949), artist David Storey (1933–2017), playwright, screenwriter, novelist Keith Sutton (1934–2017), artist and critic Ernest Heber Thompson (1891–1971), painter and printmaker William Tillyer (born 1938), artist Arthur Ralph Middleton Todd (1891–1966), portrait painter Greta Tomlinson (1927–2021), artist Euan Uglow (1932–2000), painter David Vaughan (1944–2003), psychedelic artist Charlotte Verity (born 1954), painter Stelios Votsis (1929–2012), painter Edward Wadsworth (1889–1949), artist Mary Spencer Watson (1913–2006), sculptor Edith Grace Wheatley (1888–1970), painter Rex Whistler (1905–1944), painter, designer, and illustrator Erica White (1904–1991), sculptor Rachel Whiteread (born 1963), artist Victor Willing (1928–1988), artist Charli XCX (born 1992), singer–songwriter Nancy Mauro-Flude (born 1975), artist and writer Nan Youngman (1906–1995), painter and educationalist Partou Zia (1958–2008), painter and writer Cecilia Vicuña (born 1948), poet and artist Christopher Le Brun (born 1951), artist Anupam Sud (born 1944), Indian printmaker

In fiction

• Pat Barker in Life Class and Toby's Room
• Gilbert Cannan in Mendel
• Frances Cary in Third Girl
• Barbary Deniston in The World My Wilderness
• Miranda Grey in The Collector
• Imogen Hollins in Doctors
• Molly MacDonald in Monarch of the Glen
• David Thompson in Beyond This Horizon

See also

• Art of the United Kingdom

References

1. "Academic Staff". Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
2. "Slade School of Fine Art". Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
3. "Art and design". The Guardian. London. 22 May 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
4. "Art and design". The Guardian. London. 17 May 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
5. "The Slade School of Fine Art: Prof Edward Allington". ucl.ac.uk. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
6. "EDWARD ALLINGTON 24 JUNE 1951 - 21 SEPTEMBER 2017". Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
7. Davies, Lynn (2025). Derwent Lees : Art and Life. London, UK: Lund Humphries. ISBN 9781848227118.
8. More about the UCL Art museum Archived 9 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine on the BBC Your Paintings website
9. McCall, Alastair (19 September 2008). "Double first for Oxford". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
10. "The Guardian University Guide". London. 12 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
11. "The Complete University Guide". Archived from the original on 4 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2009.
12. Foster, Patrick. "The Good University Guide". The Times. London. Retrieved 20 February 2009.^{[dead link‍]}
13. James Fergusson (5 June 1995). OBITUARY:Roy Beddington. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2021. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
14. Anthony Dyson (6 April 2009). Printmakers' Secrets. A&C Black. pp. 62–. ISBN 978-0-7136-8911-2. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
15. "(Christopher) Nicholas Roald LOGSDAIL". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
16. "Robert Flavell Micklewright". Art UK. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
17. "1000 artworks to see before you die". The Guardian. 30 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
18. "Mr. F. H. S. Shepherd", The Times (London), Issue 51085, 31 May 1948, p. 7
19. "Yolanda Sonnabend (1935–2015)". NPG. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
20. Lambirth, Andrew (23 November 2017). "Unity Spencer obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.

External links

• Slade Knowledge Base - extensive collection of studio teaching materials available online under Creative Commons
• Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art
• Slade Centre for Electronic Media in Fine Art Timeline of key events