Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation's oldest art schools, and the only publicly funded independent art school in the United States. It was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree.
It is a member of the Colleges of the Fenway (a resources- and facilities-sharing collegiate consortium located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston), and the ProArts Consortium (an association of seven Boston-area colleges dedicated to the visual and performing arts).
History In the 1860s, civic and business leaders whose families had made fortunes in the China Trade, textile manufacture, railroads, and retailing, sought to influence the long-term development of Massachusetts. To stimulate learning in technology and fine art, they persuaded the state legislature to charter several institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1860) and the Museum of Fine Arts (1868). The third of these, founded in 1873, was the Massachusetts Normal Art School, intended to support the Massachusetts Drawing Act of 1870 by providing drawing teachers for the public schools as well as training professional artists, designers, and architects.
During the school's first decade, the state rented space for it in several locations, including Boston's Pemberton Square, School Street, and the Deacon House mansion on Washington Street. In 1886, the state built the school's first building at the corner of Exeter and Newbury streets.
In 1929 the school was moved to its second built campus at Longwood and Brookline avenues. In 1983, MassArt was relocated to the former campus of Boston State College at the corner of Longwood and Huntington avenues, after the latter school's merger with the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Boston has designated Huntington Avenue as the "Avenue of the Arts", in recognition of the location of MassArt, the Museum of Fine Arts, School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, Boston Symphony Hall, and other educational and cultural institutions along this thoroughfare.
Timeline
1869: Fourteen citizens petition the Massachusetts Legislature to provide drawing instruction "to all men, women, and children" 1870: Legislation is enacted to make drawing a required subject in Massachusetts public schools 1873: Legislature appropriates $7,500 to establish the Massachusetts Normal Art School 1876: Student work exhibited at the US Centennial Exposition is acclaimed by delegations from France, Austria, and Canada 1880: School relocates to the historic Deacon House and begins offering post-graduate education 1886: New Massachusetts Normal Art School building is constructed at the corner of Newbury and Exeter Streets 1901: First person of color graduates from school 1905: Alumnus and faculty member Albert Munsell develops what has become the world's leading color system 1912: Courses are added in psychology, literature, and education theory 1924: School becomes the first art school in the country to grant a degree, the Bachelor of Science in art education 1929: School is renamed Massachusetts School of Art 1930: Massachusetts School of Art moves to its new building at the corner of Brookline and Longwood Avenues 1940: Faculty member Cyrus Dallin's sculpture, Paul Revere, is installed in Boston's North End 1950: School grants its first Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in design and fine arts 1957: First African American is appointed to the faculty: alumnus Calvin Burnett ('42) 1959: School is renamed Massachusetts College of Art 1969: Studio for Interrelated Media is founded, one of the earliest interdisciplinary college art programs in the country 1969: Courses in environmental design are added to the curriculum 1972: Master of Science degree is awarded in art education 1975: Master of Fine Arts degree is awarded in two- and three-dimensional fine arts 1981: Master of Fine Arts degree is awarded in design 1983: School begins to occupy and renovate the eight-building campus at the corner of Huntington and Longwood Avenues 1989: MassArt opens its first dormitory, christened Walter Smith Hall after school's founding principal 1992: MassArt completes a $14.7 million project refurbishing the Huntington Avenue campus 1993: "Longwood Campus" building on the corner of Brookline and Longwood Avenues, which had served as the College's main campus since 1930, is acquired by neighboring Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which integrates the building into their facilities (retaining the exterior facade, but gutting and rebuilding the interior). 1997: Dr. Katherine H. Sloan, the first woman and tenth president of MassArt, is inaugurated 2000: Dynamic Media Institute is founded, a Master of Fine Arts program focused on new uses of media in communication design 2002: Artists' Residence opens, guaranteeing housing for all first-year students 2003: Legislature approves the New Partnership with the Commonwealth, which is a new model for its state funding 2007: Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approves the college's proposal to offer a Master of Architecture 2007: Governor Deval Patrick signs legislation changing the college's official name to Massachusetts College of Art and Design 2012: Dawn Barrett, the eleventh president of MassArt, is inaugurated. 2014: Kurt T. Steinberg named Acting President. 2016: The Design and Media Center, designed by Ennead Architects, a three-story glass facade at 621 Huntington Avenue, prominently positioned on Boston's Avenue of the Arts contains of new space for the College. 2016: The Design Innovation program is founded with the launch of the Master of Design, Innovation 2017: David P. Nelson, the twelfth president of MassArt, is inaugurated. 2020: Nelson steps down as president and Kymberly Pinder becomes acting president. 2021: Mary K. Grant was named thirteenth president of MassArt.
Academics The Massachusetts College of Art of Design is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. MassArt offers a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, a Master of Teaching in Art Education, a Master of Fine Arts, a Master of Architecture (Track I & Track II - Pre-Professional-Professional), and a Master of Design Innovation, and is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). MassArt also offers a number of pre-college (both credit and non-credit) programs for high school students, and continuing education and certificate programs for professional and non-professional artists. In addition, MassArt still fulfills its original mission, with ongoing programs for primary and secondary school teachers of art.
MassArt's undergraduate curriculum includes a Foundation Program for the first year, which provides compulsory exposure to the basics of 2D and 3D art and design. Graduation requirements include an elective studio and multiple Critical Studies courses.
Approximately 30% of MassArt's student body is Asian, African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American, or multiracial.
Traditions and celebrations The "MassArt Iron Corps" hosts an "Iron Pour" event at MassArt approximately four times a year. The event is centered around a pouring of white-hot molten iron into molds for sculpture. In the past, this was celebrated by accompanying music, dance, and other performances. However, around 2010, the Boston Fire Department insisted on greatly reducing the number of people present, because of safety concerns. The pours are still claimed to consume around of iron per year.
The 2D Fine Arts department hosts an annual Master Print Series, where MassArt invites a visiting artist to work collaboratively with the students and faculty of the printmaking department to produce professional-level editions for the artist.
The MassArt Auction, a ticketed event hosted by Institutional Advancement, is held in April, and features major artworks that are sold to directly benefit student scholarships.
MassArt Art Museum
The MassArt Art Museum (MAAM) is a free contemporary art museum which opened in February 2020 on MassArt's campus. Previously known as the Bakalar and Paine Galleries, the space reopened after extensive renovations, with a new name, branding, and an expanded mission. The renovation was supported by MassArt's "Unbound" capital campaign, which raised $12.5 million to fund the project.
The entrance to MAAM is in a building to the immediate left of the new public entrance to MassArt buildings, which is located in the Design and Media Center building.
Campus
Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023 Race and ethnicityTotal White Hispanic Unknown Asian Two or more races Black International student Economic diversity Low-income Affluent MassArt is headquartered at 621 Huntington Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts, and occupies a trapezoidal block of old and new buildings it has acquired over the last two decades. Most of its academic buildings were the former campus of Boston State College, acquired after BSC was merged with the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
MassArt is located on Huntington Avenue, which has been designated and signed as "The Avenue of the Arts" in Boston. The campus is also adjacent to the Longwood Medical Area, and its immediate neighbors on Longwood Avenue include Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Nearby neighbors along Huntington Avenue include the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM), the Museum of Fine Arts, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA), and the Wentworth Institute of Technology. Further along "The Avenue of the Arts" are Northeastern University, the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Symphony Hall, Horticultural Hall, and the New England Conservatory of Music.
Previously, MassArt had occupied a number of buildings scattered throughout Boston's Fenway-Kenmore and Longwood neighborhoods, with its main campus located on the corner of Brookline and Longwood avenues. In the mid-1990s, that building was acquired by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which gutted and rebuilt the building's interior, but kept the distinctive facade intact.
In 2009, the Campus Center (located in the Kennedy building, at the corner of Huntington and Longwood avenues) was renovated, with additions of a new, two-story glass facade on Longwood Avenue, food services, and the college bookstore. The lower level includes ReStore, a student-run freecycling space to accept and redistribute surplus art supplies, materials, tools, equipment, and publications free of charge.
In 2016, the building formerly housing a gymnasium was completely gutted and renovated as a new Design and Media Center, including facilities for the Studio for Interrelated Media program. In addition, the new building provides a spacious formal entrance into the academic campus, and new gallery space. This major project was described on the MassArt website, and included a live construction webcam feed.
Transportation The MassArt campus is served by the MBTA Longwood Medical Area stop on the Green Line E branch, at the corner of Huntington and Longwood Avenues (next to the Campus Center). This location is also a stop on the MBTA #39 and CT2 bus routes. Other nearby public transit options are described online.
Parking spaces are extremely scarce near the MassArt campus, especially during the day. A limited number of paid spaces for students and staff are allocated by a formal application process. Visitors may use metered and commercial parking in the area.
Maps