Saint Martin's School of Art was an
art college
An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, including fine art – especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. Art schools can offer elementary, secondary, post-second ...
in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...
. Saint Martin's became part of the
London Institute
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Col ...
in 1986, and in 1989 merged with the
Central School of Art and Design
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
to form
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...
.
History
Saint Martin's School of Art was established in 1854 by
Henry Mackenzie
Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal role ...
,
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. It became independent from the church in 1859.
The school was at first housed on the top floor of St Martin's Northern School in Shelton Street (then called Castle Street), to the north of
Long Acre
Long Acre is a street in the City of Westminster in central London. It runs from St Martin's Lane, at its western end, to Drury Lane in the east. The street was completed in the early 17th century and was once known for its coach-makers, and l ...
.
The Gilbert-Garret Competition for Sketching Clubs was founded at Saint Martin's in 1870, when John Parker was headmaster. It was named after
Sir John Gilbert, the first president of the school.
From 1952 to 1979
Frank Martin was head of the
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
department of Saint Martin's. He brought in young sculptors such as
Anthony Caro
Sir Anthony Alfred Caro (8 March 192423 October 2013) was an English abstract sculptor whose work is characterised by assemblages of metal using ' found' industrial objects. His style was of the modernist school, having worked with Henry Moor ...
,
Robert Clatworthy,
Elisabeth Frink
Dame Elisabeth Jean Frink (14 November 1930 – 18 April 1993) was an English sculptor and printmaker. Her ''Times'' obituary noted the three essential themes in her work as "the nature of Man; the 'horseness' of horses; and the divine in ...
and
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art.
Early years
Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...
to teach, and also employed as part-time teachers recent graduates of the department, including
David Annesley
David Annesley (born 1936) is a British sculptor who rose to prominence in the 1960s.
Life and work
David Annesley was born in 1936 in London and educated in Zimbabwe, Australia and England. After undertaking national service as an RAF pilot b ...
,
Michael Bolus
Born in South Africa, Michael Edward Bolus was an artist and teacher who settled in England in 1957 and studied at St Martin's School of Art from 1958 to 1962, studying under Anthony Caro. After a brief period living in Cape Town he returned to Lo ...
,
Phillip King,
Tim Scott
Timothy Eugene Scott (born September 19, 1965) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from South Carolina since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Scott was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Go ...
,
Bill Tucker and
Isaac Witkin
Isaac Witkin (10 May 1936 – 23 April 2006) was an internationally renowned modern sculptor born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Witkin entered Saint Martin's School of Art in London in 1957 and studied under Sir Anthony Caro and alongside artist ...
. Caro's influence was particularly strong, and the group around him came to be known as the New Generation of British sculptors. The sculpture department became, in the words of Tim Scott: "the most famous in the art world".
The first public performance of the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
took place at the school on 6 November 1975; they were the support band for a group called
Bazooka Joe
Bazooka Joe is a comic strip character featured on small comics included in individually wrapped pieces of Bazooka bubble gum. He wears a black eyepatch, lending him a distinctive appearance. He is one of the more recognizable American advertisin ...
.
Saint Martin's became part of the
London Institute
University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Col ...
in 1986, and in 1989 merged with the
Central School of Art and Design
The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cr ...
to form
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...
.
Foyles
W & G Foyle Ltd. (usually called simply Foyles) is a bookseller with a chain of seven stores in England. It is best known for its flagship store in Charing Cross Road, London. Foyles was once listed in the ''Guinness Book of Records'' as the ...
bookstore moved into the college's former building at 107 Charing Cross Road in 2014.
Alumni
Alumni of the school include:
*
Sade Adu
Helen Folasade Adu ( yo, Fọláṣadé Adú ; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade ( ), is a Nigerian-born British singer, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. One of the most successful British fe ...
*
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...
*
Peter Doig
Peter Doig ( ; born 17 April 1959) is a Scottish painter. One of the most renowned living figurative painters, he has settled in Trinidad since 2002. In 2007, his painting ''White Canoe'' sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction rec ...
*
John Galliano
John Charles Galliano (born 28 November 1960) is a British fashion designer from Gibraltar. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creat ...
*
Bill Gibb
William Elphinstone Gibb (23 January 1943 – 3 January 1988) was a Scottish fashion designer who became renowned in the 1960s and 70s for his unusual and flattering designs.
Early life and education
Gibb was born near New Pitsligo, a small ...
*
Gilbert and George
Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art du ...
*
Anthony Gormley
Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pl ...
*
Katharine Hamnett
Katharine E. Hamnett (born 16 August 1947, in Gravesend, Kent) is an English fashion designer best known for her political T-shirts.
Early life
Hamnett was born on 16 August 1947, the daughter of James Appleton, a group captain. She attende ...
*
Richard Long
*
Bruce Oldfield
Bruce Oldfield, OBE (born 14 July 1950) is a British fashion designer, best known for his couture occasionwear. Notable clients have included Sienna Miller, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diana Ross, Emmanuelle Seigner, Rihanna, Kelly Brook, Taylor S ...
References
{{Authority control
Art schools in London
Arts organizations established in 1854
University of the Arts London
1854 establishments in England
1989 disestablishments in England