Aberdeen Mechanics Institute
Other names: Aberdeen Art School (from 1853)
Foundation date: 1827 (Circa)
Function: Art school
Policy: Classes included mechanical and architectural drawing. From 1835 members instructed each other in English grammar and composition , french, geography, sketching, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, mensuration, logarithms, philosophy and chemistry.
History or description: In 1852 the commitee of the Mechanics Institution successfully applied to get the institution accepted as a School of Art. The first exhibition of sculpture in Aberdeen was the exhibition of casts bought for the Art School. Classes for trades people were taught in the evening, and day classes were attended by the upper and lower classes at a higher fee. The South Kensington 23 stage system of drawing was rigidly adhered to.
Activities: art classes, classes in drawing
Employees, Students & Members
Numbers: 13
Period Start: 1852
Period End: 1853
Percentage Male/Female: 70/30
Citing this record
'Aberdeen Mechanics Institute', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/organization.php?id=msib6_1244207400, accessed 20 Aug 2022]
