Trustees Academy School of Art, Edinburgh

Corporate Biography

Dates

? 1760-1907

Location of main offices

Royal Institution Building, The Mound

Main function

Higher Education Institution

Related authority entries

GB 2028 SAA School of Applied Art

GB 2028 ECA Edinburgh College of Art

Alternative name(s)

Trustees Drawing Academy

Trustees School of Design

School of the Board of Manufacturers

History

In 1760 the Board of Trustees for Fisheries, Manufacturers and Improvements in Scotland (est. 1726), established The Trustees Drawing Academy, which became known eventually as The Trustees School of Art. In 1903 the School amalgamated with the School of Applied Art. In 1907 the Scottish Education Department took over the responsibility for the School and it became Edinburgh College of Art.

Details of premises

Classes were originally situated at Picardy Place, but moved to the Royal Institution Building on The Mound in 1826.

Mandate

The Trustees Academy School of Art was established to provide instruction for people involved in design for manufacture. It promoted the art of drawing for the use of manufacture, especially for designing patterns for the wool and linen industries.

Administrative structure

The Master of the School was always a fine artist, the first being French painter William Delacour and subsequent masters included Alexander Runciman and David Allan. In 1858 the school was affiliated to the Science and Art Department in London. This became known as the 'South Kensington System'. Under this system it became the Government School of Art for the city of Edinburgh. As a result it was required to give up the old school methods of teaching. This affiliation led to the creation of the School of Applied Art.

Reference codes of collections created by the corporate body

GB 2028 TAS

Notes

List of sources for the administrative information:

GB 2028 meta-level descriptions

GB 2028 TAS

Rules or Conventions

Authority record created according to the National Council on ArchivesRules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names (NCA Rules) 1997 and International Council on Archives: Ad Hoc Committee on Descriptive StandardsInternational Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families (ISAAR)CPF 1995.

Date of Creation

Corporate name authority record compiled for the GASHE project by Rachel Hosker, GASHE project archivist, 11 September 2000