A History of Art Education in British Columbia,
1872 - 1939
by
Yesman Rae Post
Associate of the Ontario College of Art, 1983
B. Ed., University of Victoria, 2001
A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction
O Yesman Rae Post, 2005
University of Victoria
All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author.
Supervisor: Dr. Thomas G. Fleming
ABSTRACT
Although art education remains a significant part of the curriculum, the history of art education in the British Columbia Schools has received only modest scholarly attention. Since our understanding of how art curriculum evolved in the province is incomplete, its ability to guide in present and future curriculum development is also limited. To acquire a broader knowledge of the subject area, t h s investigation dealt with the art curriculum as authorized by the provincial government's Education Office (Department of Education in 1920) and its key educational objectives between 1872 and 1939, in conjunction with educational developments elsewhere, notably Great Britain, United States, and the rest of Canada, that lent support to the main focus of the thesis and situated the rationale of the Education Office withm the larger sphere of art education.
Between 1872 and 1939, art education in British Columbia schools gradually evolved from a formalist approach characteristic of the Victorian Era, which emphasized the vocational application of drawing, to a less formal and more progressive approach. This was largely accomplished by the Department of Education enlisting the efforts of British artist educators who had received their training when art education had shifted from an emphasis on technical skill to a more aesthetic manner. Their texts became the mainstay of the art curriculum, and enabled art education in the province to cast off some of its earlier formalism. Since the newly emigrated art masters were determined to hold fast to their British traditions, the shift from formalism to more progressive trends transpired at a relatively slow pace. Although American progressive ideas also had an influence on public education in the province, these were based on scientific progressivism and had only limited impact on altering the content of the art curriculum in the schools of British Columbia.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Table of Contents ... . . .. ... . . .. . ... .. . .. . . .. ..
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v1CHAPTER ONE: Scope and Literature Review ... ... ... ... ... ... 1
CHAPTER TWO: "The Head and Hand in Concert" 1872- 1899 .
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. . . .23CHAPTER THREE: "The Stationing of Players" 1900- 19 19 .
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. . .50CHAPTER FOUR: "The Score Composed" 1920- 1929 .
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. . . . .87CHAPTER FIVE: "The Composition Interpreted" 1930- 1939 . . .
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. . . .I26CHAPTER SIX: Conclusion . . . .
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. . . . .I76 BIBLIOGRAPHYLIST OF FIGURES
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Figure: 2.1 Walter Smith. Freehand Drawing: Primary course 37
2.2 Walter Smith. Freehand Drawing: Practical design ... 37
2.3 Classroom drawing: Sooke Schoolhouse. (ca
.
1900) ... 44Blair's Canadian Drawing Series. Book 2: Junior grade ... 58
Blair's Canadian Drawing Series. Book 4 a: Geometrical drawing ... 58
Victoria Daily Times: South Park School article. (1905) ... 61
Early photograph of Agnes Deans Cameron. (ca
.
1890) ... 61Manual training: South Park School. Victoria. (ca . 1900) ... 63
... Photograph of John Kyle. (1 908) 71 . Photograph of William P Weston. (1908) ... 71
Blair's Canadian Drawing Series
.
Book 3: Intermediate grade ... 75Blair's Canadian Drawing Series
.
Book 1 : Junior grade ... 75Classroom in Eburne Street Elementary School. Vancouver. (1908) .... 80
Photograph: Overcrowding in urban B.C. schools. (1920s) ... 88
Example of a test for art ability ... 97
Manual of Drawing and Design: Historic ornament ... 101
Manual of Drawing and Design: Conventionalized natural forms .... 101
Manual of Drawing and Design: Drawing ... 103
Manual of Drawing and Design: Design ... 103
Manual of Drawing and Design: Applied design ... 105
Manual of Drawing and Design: Lettering ... 105
Teachmg sta
fT
School of Decorative and Applied Arts, (1925) .... 108Modelling class: School of Decorative and Applied Arts, (1925) .... 110
Applied art class: Summer School for Teachers, (ca . 1930) ... 114
Examples of applied art: Summer School for Teachers, (1 926) .... 114
Examples of artwork: Summer School for Teachers. (1925) ... 116
. .... Photograph: Relief camp. interior of British Columbia. (ca 1933) 127
...
Photograph: Vancouver soup kitchen. (ca
.
1932) 127...
Photograph: Productive use of leisure. (1934) 131
A Teachers' Manual of Drawing and Desirn: Skill progression .... 138 A Teachers' Manual of Drawing and Design: Memory drawing .... 138
.... A Teachers' Manual of Drawing and Design: Figure drawing 139
.... A Teachers' Manual of draw in^ and Design: Modern design 139
.... A Teachers' Manual of Drawing and Design: Elementary colour 140 A Teachers' Manual of Drawing and Design: Intermediate colour .... 140
...
Photograph: Student May Day walk-out, (1935) 147
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Vancouver School of Art annual: The Paint Box. (1930) 152
....
Vancouver School of Art annual: Behind the Palette. (1 939-40) 152
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Design for Industrial Arts. Book I: Woodwork decoration 156 Desim for Industrial Arts. Book I: Historic ornament ... 156
... Design for Industrial Arts. Book I: Woodwork panel design 156
.
...Design for Industrial Arts Book 11: Metalwork 157
... Desim for Industrial Arts. Book 11: Practical geometry 157
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Desim for Industrial Arts
.
Book 111: Lettering styles 158 ... Design for Industrial Arts.
Book 111: Wood-block printing 158...
Industrial education: Manual and industrial arts. (1939) 161 ...
Laboratory class: Summer School for Teachers. (1938) 163
...
Laboratory class: Summer School for Teachers. (1939) 163
... Integration of art: Primary room. Lumby School. (ca . 1940) 169
DEDICATION
To my father, Gordon Kushner, who impressed upon me the value of story telling and the musical enticement of language.
To my supervisor, Dr. Thomas Gerald Fleming, who graciously welcomed me to the historian's circle.
To my committee members, Dr. Helen Raptis, Dr. Robert Dalton, and Dr. Peter Murphy for their hours of care, unfaltering support, and kind words of encouragement.
And to my mother, sister, husband, and son for nurturing all that sustains me.
CHAPTER ONE
SCOPE AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Since the establishment of public schooling in British Columbia in 1872, the
study and practice of art has remained a significant part of the curriculum. To date,
however, the history of art education in the British Columbia schools has received only
modest scholarly attention and, as a result, our understandings of how the art curriculum
evolved in response to changing social and intellectual developments are far from
complete. Educational lvstorians have generally overlooked the role that art education has played in the province, and larger Canadian histories of art education have focused
principally on the modem, or post-1930s period. Therefore, much of what we know about
early art education in British Columbia's schools is limited to the findings of only four
studies.
Edward Slim's article, John Kvle: A Short Biomaphy, and Anthony Rogers'
doctoral dissertation at the University of British Columbia, W.P. Weston. Educator and
Artist: The Develo~ment of British Ideas in the Art Curriculum of B.C. Public Schools,
present the context of art education through the lives of two pioneering art educators.'
Both Kyle and Weston were prodigious contributors to provincial art education and
important architects of educational change. Slim's study furnishes a maudlin sketch of
Kyle's lofty accomplishments, but neglects to supply a detailed analysis of his influence
on curriculum, teachers, or classroom practice. Rogers' study, in contrast, explores the
full spectrum of Weston's influence and background, while furnishing a detailed
investigation of the artistic developments and organizational responsibilities under the
the perspective of the Education Office on curricular developments, or the
implementation of provincially designed curricula in urban and rural schools.
Furthermore, Rogers' treatment of Kyle as an important figure is sorely wanting, and his study neglects to consider the role that women educators played in art execution, supervision, and instruction, save for brief mention of Victoria's Emily Carr.
An earlier study, Rogers' master's thesis, The Beautiful in Form and Colour: Art
Education Curriculum in British Columbia Between the Wars, mostly sets out what
would be his later interest in Weston, along with a close analysis of the art curriculum as
stipulated in the education department's "Program of Studies," and teachers'
interpretations of the
art
curriculum in their training and classroom practice.2 Except forthis relatively terse examination of art education in schools between the wars, the
historical record regarding prescribed art education curricula, teacher training methods, or
classroom art instruction is regrettably incomplete.
Lastly, Michael Douglas Miller's, A Historv of Aesthetic Education in the Visual
Arts from 1872
-
1945 in British Columbia, presents a broad summation of chronological advancements in aesthetic education during its first seventy-three years within publicschooling.3 Miller's study, although useful in identifying major turning points in
curricular reform, is insubstantial in its analysis of the wider art curriculum and in its
treatment of the broader social and intellectual forces, which conspired to shape thought
and practice for art education in provincial schools. Miller admits that these weaknesses
may be the result of two factors. One, that art education in British Columbia has been
primarily concerned with teaching skills for the production of art,' and two, that very
protracted time frame, Miller's study offers no more than an overview on the aesthetic
development of art education in British Columbia.
In summary, several fundamental elements are missing in the existing literature
on the advancement of art education in British Columbia schools. First, a fuller analysis
of Kyle's influence is required, includmg a more complete treatment of his phlosophy on
unifying art and technique, his approach to teacher training, and the delivery and
interpretation of his ideas into classroom practice, during the early decades of the
twentieth century. Second, the study of art educators calls for an augmentation to include important female figures such as Ina Uhthoff, director of the Victoria Art School. Third,
research necessitates further investigation of the influence that Victoria artist- instructors
had on school curriculum, in addition to a more comprehensive examination of art
education in the rural districts, whch comprised the majority of schools in the provincial
system until the middle of the twentieth century. As the historical record now stands,
Vancouver art teachers receive far greater attention than those of Victoria. Finally, art
education in British Columbia should be connected more closely to developments in the
field elsewhere, notably in the United States and Great Britain, to the larger educational
objectives that directed public schooling, and to the specific social and cultural climates
that characterize particular historical eras.
This thesis focuses on historical developments in art education that influenced
British Columbia's public schools from 1872 until 1939. In the history of art education this is a pivotal era that begins with conceptions of art in the late-Victorian Age and
concludes with the impact of American and progressive educational thought on
art
The questions that guided this investigation dealt with the curriculum as
authorized by the provincial government's Education Office (Department of Education in
1920) and its key educational objectives over time, and consisted of the following:
1. What did the Education Office authorize in art education? And why did they
authorize it?
2. How did they see this in connection with the larger purposes and aims of schooling?
3. Who were the individuals selected by the Education Office to uphold or alter the provincial art curriculum? How did they implement t h s within the
parameters and guidelines of officialdom?
Educational systems and curriculum development never materialize solely of their
own accord, and the British Columbia experience was no exception. It is therefore also
pertinent to connect art education in British Columbia to social and cultural climates, historical eras, and educational developments elsewhere, notably Great Britain, United
States, and the rest of Canada. Accordingly, questions were posed that lent support to the
main focus of the thesis and situated the rationale of the Education Office withm the
larger sphere of art education. The thesis was therefore also geared towards answering the
following:
1. Which events influenced art education most appreciably in the public schools of British Columbia, from its inception to the eve of World War II?
2.
Didart
education in British Columbia between1872
and1939
exhibit specificTo connect art education in British Columbia with social and cultural climates,
historical eras, and educational developments elsewhere, and provide background for the
thesis, a full review of relevant secondary sources was examined. For example, the
British tradition in the late-Victorian period was researched, with precedence given to
events that effected or displayed a specific correspondence to similar occurrences in
British Columbia. Stuart Macdonald's, The Historv and Philosophy of Art Education,
was utilized, since it not only covered the national system for public schools in Britain
and the move to South Kensington in the late nineteenth-century, but it also traced
historical influences in art education leading back to the division between academic
principles and technical d r a ~ ~ h t s r n a n s h i ~ . ~ Another resource selected for its thorough
analysis of British education in the visual arts was Anthony Rogers' W.P. Weston,
Educator and Artist: The Development of British Ideas in the Art Curriculum of B.C.
Public Schools. This thesis provided a detailed account of events that led to the adoption
of the "Syllabus of 1901" and its revision the "Alternative Syllabus of 1905," documents
that Brectly influenced the thought and practice of art education in British ~ o l u m b i a . ~
Clive Ashwin's Art Education Documents and Policies and The State and the Visual Arts
by Nicholas Pearson were used largely as a means to corroborate Rogers' findings, since
these texts detailed specific reports, committees, and state interventions that defined the
parameters of art education in Britain prior to and during the period e ~ a m i n e d . ~
Additionally, the works of Owen Jones, Grammar of ornament: and Marion Richardson,
Art and the child," were referenced, for the extensive contribution made by these artist-
educators and their influence in the realm of British art education at both ends of the
Research material on art education in American history was largely provided by four major works that were selected from a voluminous number of sources, talung into
consideration their dissimilar perspectives. To illustrate: Frederick Logan's, Growth of
Art in American Schools, offered a sequential rendering of the foremost schools and
leaders of educational thought," while Arthur Efland had a tendency to cover the subject
by taking a more general view of the different movements and streams of thought in,
Education: Intellectual and Social Currents in Teachmg the Visual Arts." Foster
Wygant's sizeable work, School Art in American Culture, 1820-1970, was of special
importance to this study for its detailed assignment of art education within the framework
of historical, social, cultural, intellectual, and educational c~ments.'~ Lastly, Roots of Art
Education Practice by Mary Ann Stankiewcz, rendered a thematic history of the
fundamental elements in art education, that provided a basis for contrasting the multiple
aspects and roles of art practice over time.14 The articles, School Art and its Social
Oridns, Art Education in the Twentieth Centurv, and Art Education in the Great
Depression, by Arthur Efland and both Keny Freedman's The Immrtance of Modern Art
and Art Education in the Creation of a National Culture and Progressive Education,
Creative Expression and Art Appreciation by Frederick Logan, provided substantiation of
the four major works and added a series of alternative perspectives on major trends in
American art education. l 5
In addition, Readings in Art Education, by Elliot Eisner and David Ecker, Peter
Marzio's The Art Crusade, and Concepts in Art and Education by George Pappas, were
books employed for their particular insight on specific transformations in American art
Stankiewicz and Harry Green's Walter Smith: The Forgotten Man.17 As a result of major
contributions made by these leading American art educators, the works of Walter Smith,
Art Education: Scholastic and Industrial, and John Dewey, Art as Experience, were also examined for their philosophies in relationship to the ideals and practices that were
promoted in art education by the British Columbia schools. Finally, it was also pertinent
to include Lawrence Cremin's, The Transformation of the School: Progressivism in
American Education. 1876-1957, in order to situate art within the field of education, and
compare the contrasting elements of the American tradition with trends which unfolded
in the public schools of British ~01umbia.l~
Secondary literature on Canadian hstory in art education was sparse. Regrettably,
the one existing book, Readings in Canadian Art Education, by Ronald N. Macgregor
(ed.), contained a compilation of works that dealt exclusively with modem themes." In,
Historical Interpretations in Canadian Art Education: A Study of the Church and State
Factor, Donald Soucy claims: "In fact, there is no comprehensive overview of Canadian
art education history."20 AS a result, few articles existed that provided background
material valuable in answering to this portion of the study. Notably, the aforementioned
article, and Graeme Chalmers three articles, Teachmg Drawing in 1 9 ~ Century Canada.
Why? , South Kensington and the Colonies: David Blair of New Zealand and Canada,
and South KensinPton and the Colonies 11: The Influence of Walter Smith in Canada. In
addition to these, "A Brief Review of History as it Relates to Art Education and Parallel
Developments in the United States: 1700-1950", the second chapter in, The Parallel
Historv of Art Education, a master's thesis by Robert Saunders, was the only other
applicable source.21
The questions pertaining to the curriculum as authorized by the Department of
Education and the official position in British Columbia, were answered by examining
both primary and secondary literature. Although educational historians have largely neglected the subject of art education, there is a substantial literature relating to school
leadership and the role of educational structures in the province. First, several major
compilations were reviewed to satisfy this portion of the thesis, and are listed in order of
importance. In, School Leadership: Essays on the British Columbia Experience. 1872-
1995,
Thomas Fleming (ed.), Part One: "Views from Headquarters", was particularlyuseful for pinpointing the character and pattern of official voices.22
school in^
in Societyin 2 0 ~ Century British Columbia, by J. Donald Wilson and David C. Jones (eds.),
Schools in the West: Essays in Canadian Educational Historv, by Nancy M. Sheehan, J. Donald Wilson, and David C. Jones (eds.), Children, Teachers, and Schools: In the
History of British Columbia, by Jean Barman, Neil Sutherland, and J. Donald Wilson (eds.), and Shapinp. the Schools of the Canadian West, by David C. Jones, Nancy M.
Sheehan, and Robert M. Stamp (eds.), also contained articles of significance for defining the character of schooling in British Columbia and the aims set out by the central
governing body of educational authority in the province. In addition, Jean Barman and
Neil Sutherland's Royal Commission Retrospective provided a concise but
comprehensive account of the key documents that impacted education and the
curriculum, as well as the social, political, and economic contexts out of which they
George Green's master's thesis, Development of Curriculum in Elementary
Schools of B.C. Prior to 1936, and h s doctoral thesis, Development of Curriculum in
Secondarv Schools of B.C., were also of assistance in corroborating other sources and
deciphering the curriculum as authorized by the Education Department. Mollie E.
Cottingham's A Centurv of Public Education in British Columbia, supplied a brief but
useful synopsis of the chief highlights in provincial education, and was employed as a
means to track events from a chronological standpoint.24 Biographies on individuals, who
influenced curriculum reform from positions within the educational system, were also of
importance to the thesis and seized upon when uncovered. John Jessop: Gold Seeker and
Educator, by F. Henry Johnson, was not only valuable in depicting the details of the
superintendent's life but provided an in-depth account of the character behind the man
who attempted to establish the structures for British Columbia schools.25 Alan Child's,
Herbert B. Kina: Administrative Idealist and Herbert Baxter King by John Wytenbroek,
were both enormously useful in supplying instructive accounts of Herbert B. King,
centralized control, and progressive education in 1930s British ~ o l u m b i a . ~ ~ In addition,
F. Henry Johnson's article, 1858-1958: A Centurv of Progress had an instructive section
on the Putman-Weir Survey and curriculum improvement couched in the main context,
which provided a useful overview although it gave brevity to educational reform over a
hundred year period.27 Finally, no thesis regarding the official position of education in the
province would be complete without general reference to F. Henry Johnson's larger work, A History of Public Education in British Columbia.
Although not specifically addressing curriculum in British Columbia,
A
Commonoffered a rich background on curriculum from its rudimentary origins to conflicting
modes in contemporary education.28 Part I: "The Origin and Growth of the Canadian Curriculum to 1892" and Part 11: "Curriculum Change in a Nation-Building Era," were of particular interest to this thesis. Similarly, A Brief History of Canadian Education, by F.
Henry Johnson, and J. Donald Wilson's Canadlan Education: A History were
appropriated for their wider accounts of curriculum, general references to schooling in
British Columbia, and for their ability to juxtapose provincial education withm the larger
sphere of Canadian trends2'
Other works of importance for this portion of the thesis were examined in light of
their particular significance to distinct eras or philosophies that impacted education. For
example, Jean Mann's thesis, "Progressive Education and the Depression in British
Columbia", provided a thorough analysis of provincial attitudes developed within a
background of economic strife and financial debate, during the years when a majority of
the commissions, and programmes of study were sanctioned by the education
department.30 David Jones and Timothy Dunn's article, ""All us Common People" and
Education in the Depression" contributed to much of what was written on the Kidd
Report by furnishing an in depth analysis of the social, political, and economic
circumstances surrounding the document's execution, its implications for schooling, and
the controversy which led to its ultimate rejection by the central governing body of
educational authority in the province.31 While "A Fondness for Charts and Children:
Scientific Progressivism in Vancouver Schools, 1920-50"' by Gerald Thomson, provided
United States with parallel or diverging extensions established within the British Columbia school system of the 1920's.'~
Histories of British Columbia were referenced that situated education within the
larger social and political context of the times, and explored the determinants influential
in shaping the provincial aims for schooling. For this reason Jean Barman's, The West
Beyond the West: A History of British Columbia, and British Columbia: A History, by
Margaret Ormsby were utilized for their complete historical accounts of the province
during the period under question, as well as their exacting attention to detail and
chronological design3' Although the former handled the subject matter with a more
urbane and analytic approach, both strengthened the thesis by enabling its main focus to
be "contextualized" in time and place. With its social emphasis on labour's antagonism towards school policies, Jean Barman's article, "Knowledge is Essential to Universal
Progress but Fatal to Class Privilege: Working People and the Schools in Vancouver
During The 1920s", provided important background material on the working class desire
for independence and upward mobility, through the provincial institution of public
ed~cation.'~ Lastly, providing an additional aspect of social history, Alastair Glegg's
article, "Schools in the City: the Effects of Increasing Urbanization on Education in
Victoria, British Columbia, 1920-1929", rendered an account of education compounded
by increased school populations and an influx of non-English-speaking immigrants as a
result of urban expansion.35
The primary literature regarding the curriculum as authorized by the Department
of Education included first and foremost a review of the Annual Reports of the Public
curriculum policies and the state of the schools for the period investigated. Research also
included an examination of the surveys, commissions, and curriculum documents
sanctioned by the Education Ofice and the Department of Education (1920). Of specific
interest were; the Putman-Weir Survey of the School System (1924), The Kidd Reuort on
finance in British Columbia (1932), the King investigation on School Finance in British
Columbia (1935), The Curricula of Public Schools (1913), The Courses of Study (1921 &
1923), and The Program of Studies (1925, 1926, 1927, 1936 and 1937). Additionally,
One Hundred Years of Education in British Columbia (1971), published by the
Department of Education, provided an insightful overview of progressive trends and vital
statistic^.^^
In researching these records special attention was paid to the authorized curriculum as it related to any shifting emphasis on art education, as well as therelationship this had to the corresponding purposes and aims of schooling.
Both primary and secondary literature were extensively employed to investigate
the implementation of art curriculum by those indwiduals who were selected by the
Education Office. The four major works on art education in British Columbia schools, in
the earlier discussion, were adopted as reference to clarifjr segments of the questions
proposed. For example, Rogers', The Beautiful in Form and Colour: Art Education
Curriculum in British Columbia Between the Wars, encapsulated the fundamental
principles that the Education Office tried to implement, and the conceptual precepts that
guided art education in schools, albeit only over a short period of time.37 Rogers' work
was also incorporated into the thesis when it dealt with reforms to art education by the
official body, or the goals and motives for alteration of the
curriculum.
In, W.P. Weston,Public Schools, Rogers' time frame was extended and he touched on the practical and conceptual precepts that determined art education in the schools, but most significant, in
respect to this thesis, was his rendering of Weston's participation in the creation of two
teachers' drawing manuals, and direct involvement in the drafting of the art curriculum
for The 1936 Program of Study. 38
Slim's work, John Kvle: A Short Bioaaphv, tended to the central issues that
guided John Kyle's occupation with the provincial art curriculum and the innovations that
he introduced over the course of his distinguished career. Of specific relevance to the
thesis was the evidence Slim provided of Kyle as both advocate of change and upholder
of tradition, sighting his motives for resistance and goals for change.39 References made
to the Desim in Industrial Art books, were also of assistance for interpreting Kyle's
artistic principles, his formative art training and influences, and h s contribution to
curriculum development. In contrast, Miller's, A Historv of Aesthetic Education in the
Visual Arts from 1872-1945 in British Columbia, supplied a general picture of the artistic
rudiments that were authorized by the Education Office and Department of Education,
but regrettably only in one facet of art ed~cation.~' However, the singular emphasis of his
research contributed to this thesis, since it pointed out how changes in one branch of art
education can illustrate the character of the school curriculum in its entirety.
Details on the general development of art education in British Columbia were also
gleaned from assorted secondary sources to provide insights into various aspects on the
social and artistic world surrounding the schools. First, articles such as Ina D.D. Uhthoff
Memorial Exhibition, Arts Beat: The Arts in Victoria, and B.C. Women Artists, 1920-
Columbia: A Short History, 1885- 2000, and The Fine Arts in Vancouver, 1886- 1930: A
Historical Survev, were examined for content to supplement the province's official
educational records and to establish Ina Uhthoff s role and that of the Victoria School of
Art in provincial art developments.41 The circulars "First Class: Four Graduates from the
Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts, 192g7', and "Vancouver School of
Art: The Early Years, 1925-1939", likewise supplied rich information on the Vancouver
School of Art, and furnished alternative perspectives on the status of art instruction,
which often contrasted the official accounts as recorded in the Department of Education
reports.42 In addition, two articles by Rogers, "British Art Education in the Schools,
1895- 1910 and its Influence on the Schools of British Columbia", and "Art Education
Curriculum in British Columbia Between the Wars: Official Prescription - Unofficial Interpretation", contrasted the art curriculum of the province with that of Britain at the
turn of the century, and helped clarify the origms of art notions in British Columbia
public schools as prescribed by the official a ~ t h o r i t i e s . ~ ~
The thesis was also supported by primary material collected from archival
resources, that unfortunately uncovered only a handful of documents on the historical
context of art education's development. Analysis of government records provided useful
information about the practical and conceptual precepts that guided art instruction, as well as the perceptions of the Education Office about curriculum reform. These records
were located in the British Columbia Archives under several call numbers. Namely, "GR-
0451: B.C. Department of Education, Central File on School Programmes and Policies
and Files on Correspondence regarding Technical Education", which contributed a letter
leading to the integration of various subject fields.44 For example: A letter from S.J.
Willis to Harold Campbell was retrieved from "GR-0452: Department of Education,
Technical Adviser", which provided verification of Dudley Gaitskel17s appointment to
the Provincial Summer School faculty in 1 9 3 9 . ~ ~ "GR-0467: British Columbia
Department of Education", contained a letter of transmittal to G.M. Weir, and the
Honourable John Hart from Herbert B. King, in reference to his report on school
finance.46 This helped characterize King and his opinions on administrative reform, in
conjunction with the educational efficiency that he believed would significantly reduce
school expenditures. Lastly, the previous record along with "GR-074 1 : British Columbia, Commission on South Park School Drawing Books," contained a letter to the Victoria
School Board from Agnes Deans Cameron as well as documents that provided an entire
account of the controversy surrounding the authorized drawing examinations of 1904-
0 5 . ~ ~
Photographs were also compiled and examined to illustrate the development and
implementation of the art curriculum as authorized by the Department of Education, the
resultant effects of curricular reform, and to identifl leading figures of art education in
the public schools of British Columbia. In addition, other images helped support the
context of schooling, or supplied information about the social, political, or economic
nature of the province during the period under investigation. Most prominent among the
sources for photographs were: the Provincial Archives web site services, and records
1980 1 1-0 12; The B.C. Department of Education, Technical & Vocational Division (1900-1 973) and 1988 1 1-003;
the
B.C.
Ministry of Education, Audio Visual ServicesVancouver City Archives, and the Vancouver Public Library, as well as the archives of
the Victoria High School, offered other resources. The Annual Reports of the Public
Schools and the Vancouver School Board Annual Reports also provided a wealth of visual images in conjunction with the drawing books and manuals authorized by the
Department of Education.
Newspapers and periodicals were scouted for commentaries that produced
examples of critical analysis on art education and cumculurn development, by figures
within the official body or substantial sectors of society. These were found in BCA
record GR-0467; The B.C. Department of Education (1903-1938) Departmental
newspaper clipping books; and the University of Victoria newspaper data base and
Special Collections Section. The newspapers that resulted in providing articles of the
greatest significance were the Vancouver Province, the Victoria Colonist, and the
Victoria Daily Times, while the periodicals that uncovered numerous resources were
B.C.
Teacher and The School. Additionally, the master's thesis by James London on "The
Editorial Significance Given to Education by Victoria's Leading Newspapers"
was
usefulin retrieving pertinent clippings for the period 1932- 1936.
Drawing books and manuals, appropriated as authorized texts in the provincial
schools, were extensively examined in this study, since they embodied the practical and
conceptual precepts that guded art education and related directly to the rationale of
official authority who sanctioned the design of art curriculum. Of particular interest in
this regard were: Walter Smith's, Teacher's Manual for Freehand Drawing in Primaw
Schools (1874), and his second volume, Teacher's Manual for Freehand Drawing in
1908 and 191 8), The Teachers' Manual of Drawing, and Design by Weston, Scott, and
Judge (1924), Kyle's, Desim for Industrial Arts books 1-3 (1931), and Weston's,
Teachers' Manual of Drawing (1933). Although not officially prescribed, The Paint Box
(1930) later changed to Behind the Palette, the Vancouver School of Art Annual edited
by Charles Scott, was an exceptional resource since it demonstrated the relationship
between previously acquired learning and future artistic endeavor, and also indicated a
measure of the standard that was anticipated in the later years of art education.
The thesis would have been seriously incomplete without a thorough analysis of
the Annual Reports of the Public Schools, as well as the Vancouver School Board Annual
Reports, which provided relevant information at the district level. These principal
documents encompassed the range of official positions on art education in the schools of
British Columbia, and all matters concerning provincial schooling from curriculum
implementation and examinations to institution building and enrolment. More than any
other source in this study, the provincial annual reports were central to the thesis and
informed multiple aspects of the focus questions. Within these volumes, the inspectors'
reports were surveyed to ascertain what the Education Office had authorized in art
education and the curriculum components that teachers were mandated to instruct. Both
the positive and critical viewpoints of inspectors were taken into account, in order to
assess the conservative or progressive attitudes of the central governing body towards art
education. The entrance and exit of key artist-instructors and details of their illustrious
careers were documented in these records and, in many instances, the Education Office 's
rationales for decisions or for staff assignments were found in the pages of these reports.
on art education, local responses, and the "fidelity of fit" between the aims of art
educators, and the larger purposes of schooling as ordained in school laws and
regulations. The statistical returns of the annual reports provided patterns in attendance
rates for drawing, which often bore a direct relationship to success or failure in
implementing the art curriculum, the entrance of key figures, the utilization of new
classroom materials or texts, and student interest levels. In many instances attendance
rates also indicated the increase or decline of official support for particular aspects of art
education. The authorized examinations published in the reports, supplied ample
verification of anticipated results in the subject area, and demonstrated the fundamental
elements that teachers were expected to instruct over time. Furthermore, the nature of the
exam questions indicated changing emphasis and shifting interest in art education by the
Education Office, and the extent of adherence to the art curriculum. Many of the report's
photographic documents revealed the type and level of artwork that was delivered by
normal school and summer school students, demonstrating the standard anticipated from
teachers qualifying for certification as art specialist instructors. In general, the Annual
Reports of the Public Schools mapped out the progress of art education in connection
with the larger purposes and aims of schooling. These documents provided a wealth of
information on the structure and agency of the central governing body of official voices,
while providing significant indicators of this influence on art education.
The following study takes the form of a historical narrative, which aimed at
providing the most comprehensive account of events possible, and although the main
methodology is qualitative, quantitative evidence to support the main body of research
First and foremost, history continues to hold my interest, particularly the realm of art
education, a subject of general inquiry that has remained with me for the past two
decades. Secondly, by providing a historical reference on the foundations of art education
in British Columbia, this study helps to illuminate past endeavours, which extends its
applicability to contemporary issues and current curriculum development, in the hope of
safeguarding the standard and place of art education in the present and future of
Endnotes
Edward Slinn, "John Kyle: A Short Biography", (Victoria: University of Victoria Master's Paper, 1979.), and Anthony Rogers, "W.P. Weston, Educator and Artist: The Development of British Ideas in the Art Curriculum of B.C. Public Schools", (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, Doctoral Thesis, 1987.)
2
Anthony Rogers, "The Beautifid in Form and Colour: Art Education Curriculum in British Columbia Between the Wars", (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, Masters Thesis, 1983.)
Michael Douglas Miller, "A History of Aesthetic Education in the Visual Arts from 1872-1945 in British Columbia", (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, Masters Thesis, 1987.)
Ibid., p. 2. Ibid., p. 1 .
6
Stuart Macdonald, The History and Philosophy of Art Education, (London: University of London Press Ltd. 1970.)
'
Ibid., Anthony Rogers, W.P. Weston. Educator and Artist: The Development of British Ideas in the ArtCurriculum of B.C. Public Schools, p. 49-124.
*
Clive Ashwin, Art Education Documents and Policies. 1768-1975, (London: Society for Research intoHigher Education, 1975.) and Nicholas Pearson, The State and the Visual Arts, (Stratford, England: Open University Press, 1982.)
9
Owen Jones, Grammar of Ornament, (London: Bernard Quaritch, 1910.), originally published in 1856. l o Marion Richardson, Art and the Child, (London: University of London Press, 1948.)
Frederick M. Logan, Growth of Art in American Schools, (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers,
1955.) 12
Arthur Efland, A History of Art Education: Intellectual and Social Currents in Teaching the Visual Arts, (New York: Teachers College Press, 1990.)
13
Foster Wygant, School Art in American Culture. 1820- 1970, (Cincinnati: Interwood Press, 1993 .)
14
Mary Ann Stankiewcz, Roots of Art Education Practice, (Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publications, Inc., 2001 .)
15
Arthur Efland, "School Art and its Social Origins", Studies in Art Education, 24(3), 1983., "Art Education in the Twentieth Century" In, Frarnina the Past: Essays on Art Education, Donald Soucy and Mary Ann Stankiewicz (eds.), (Reston, Virginia: National Art Education Association, 1990., and "Art Education in the Great Depression" Art Education, November 1983.
Also, Kerry Freedman, "The Importance of Modern Art and Art Education in the Creation of a National Culture" In, Curriculum Culture. and Art Education: Comparative Perspectives, (New York: State University Press, 1998.) and Frederick Logan, " Progressive Education, Creative Expression and Art
Appreciation" College Art Journal, 11, summer 1952.
l6 Elliot W. Eisner and David W. Ecker, Readinas in Art Education, (Waltham, Massachusetts: Blaisdell
Publishing Company, 1966.), Peter C. Marzio, The Art Crusade: An Analvsis of American Drawing Manuals. 1820-1860, (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1976.), and George Pappas, Concepts in Art and Education, (Florida: The Macmillan Company, 1970.)
17
Mary Ann Stankiewicz, "Drawing Book Wars", Visual Arts Research, 12(2), 1986., & Hany Green, "Walter Smith: The Forgotten Man", Art Education, 19(1), 1966.
18
Lawrence A. Cremin, The Transformation of the School: Proaessivism in American Education. 1876-
1957, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1964.)
19
Ronald N. MacGregor (ed.), Readings in Canadian Art Education, (Vancouver: The University of British
Columbia, 1984.)
20 Donald Soucy, "Historical Interpretations in Canadian Art Education: A Study of the Church and State
Factor", Canadian Review of Art Education, 13(1), 1986, pp. 37.
2 1
Robert J. Saunders, The Parallel Development of Art Education in Canada and the United States. with Emphasis on the Historv of Art Education, (Pennsylvania State University: Master's Thesis, 1954.)
22 Thomas Fleming (ed.), School Leadership: Essays on the British Columbia Experience. 1872-1995,
(Victoria: Bendall Books, 2001 .)
23 Barman, Jean and Neil Sutherland, "Royal Commission Retrospective", Policv Explorations 3, 10;Vinter
1998.)
24 Mollie E. Cottingham, A Century of Public Education in British Columbia, (Niagara Falls: Paper given at
the First Annual Meeting of the Canadian College of Teachers, 1958.)
25 F. Henry Johnson, John Jessop: Gold Seeker and Educator, (Vancouver: Mitchell Press Limited, 1971.)
26 Alan H. Child, "Herbert B. King: Administrative Idealist" In, Profiles of Canadian Educators, R.S.
Patterson, J.W. Chalmers, and J.W. Friesen (eds.), (D.C. Health Canada Ltd., 1974.), p. 308-319. & Wytenbroek, John, "Herbert Baxter King", (Nanaimo: Malaspina University College, History 349 paper, 2003 .)
27 Johnson, F. Henry, "1858-1958: A Century of Progress" Journal ofEducation, 3, March 1959.
28 George C. Tomkins, A Common Countenance: Stability and Change in the Canadian Curriculum,
(Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall Canada Inc., 1986.)
29 F. Henry Johnson, A Brief History of Canadian Education, (Toronto: McGraw- Hill Company of Canada
Limited, 1968.), & J. Donald Wilson, Canadian Education: A History, (Scarborough, Ontario: Prentice-Hall of Canada Ltd., 1970.)
30 Jean Mann, "Progressive Education and the Depression in British Columbia", (Vancouver: University of
British Columbia, Master's Thesis, 1978.)
31 David C. Jones and Timothy A. Dunn, ""All us Common People" and Education in the Depression",
Canadian Journal of Education, 5(4), 1980.
32 Gerald E. Thomson, "A Fondness for Charts and Children: Scientific Progressivism in
Vancouver Schools, 1920-50", Historical Studies in Education, 12, nos. 112,2000.
33 Jean Barman, The West Bevond the West: A History of British Columbia, (Toronto:
University Press, 1991 .), & Margaret Ormsby, British Columbia: A History, (Toronto: Macmillan Company, 1958.)
34
Jean Barman, " "Knowledge is Essential to Universal Progress but Fatal to Class
Privilege": Working People and the Schools in Vancouver During The 1920'sV, LabourLe Travail, 22 (Fall 1988).
35
Alastair Glegg, "Schools in the City: the Effects of Increasing Urbanization on
Education in Victoria, British Columbia, 1920-1929", Journal of Educational Administration and History, 33(2), 2001.
36 British Columbia, Department of Education, One Hundred Years of Education in British Columbia.
(Victoria: Queen's Printer, 1972.)
37
Ibid., Anthony Rogers, The Beautifid in Form and Colour: Art Education Curriculum in British Columbia Between the Wars, p. 98-104.
38 Ibid., Rogers, Anthony, "W.P. Weston, Educator and Artist: The Development of British Ideas in the Art
Curriculum of B.C. Public Schools", p. 248-25 1.
39 Ibid., p. 17-18.
40 Ibid., Michael Douglas Miller, p. 96-126
41 Colin D. Graham, Ina D.D. Uhthoff Memorial Exhibition, (Victoria, B.C.: Art Gallery
of Greater Victoria, 1972.), Audrey St. Denys Johnson, Arts Beat: The Arts in Victoria, (Victoria: Hignell Printing Ltd., 1994.), Roberta Pazdro, "B.C. Women Artists, 1920-1950" In, B.C. Women Artists. 1885-
1985: An Exhibition Organized By Nicholas Tuele at the Art G a l l e ~ of Greater Victoria, (Victoria, B.C.: Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 1985.), William Thom, "A Century of Art in British Columbia: A Short History, 1885-2000" In, Art BC: Masterworks from British Columbia, (Vancouver: Hemlock Printers Ltd., 2000.), & William Thom, The Fine Arts in Vancouver. 1886- 1930: A Historical Survey, (Vancouver: University of British Columbia, Master's Thesis, 1969.)
42
Jill Pollack (ed.), First Class: Four Graduates from the Vancouver School of Decorative and Applied Arts. 1929, (Vancouver: The Floating Curatorial Gallery, 1987.), & Robin Mayor (ed.), Vancouver School of Art: The Early Years. 1925-1939, (Vancouver: Emily Carr College of Art Publication, 1980.)
43
Anthony Rogers, "British Art Education in the Schools, 1895-1910 and its Influence on the Schools of British Columbia", In, The History of Art Education: Proceedings from the Penn State Conference, (Pennsylvania: State University College of Arts and Architecture School of Visual Arts, 1985.), & Anthony Rogers, "Art Education Curriculum in British Columbia Between the Wars: Official Prescription
- Unofficial Interpretation" In, Framing the Past: Essays on Art Education, Donald Soucy and Mary Ann Stankiewicz (eds.), (Reston, Virginia: National Art Education Association, 1990.)
44 Herbert B. King, "Letter to S.J. Willis", (Victoria: Provincial Archives, Accession #GR-0451, Box 21,
File #6, Circular No. 2, December 4, 1939.)
45
S.J. Willis, "Letter to Harold Campbell", (Victoria: Provincial Archives, Accession #GR- 0452, Box 28, File #8, Doc. 10288, November 17, 1939.)
46 Herbert B. King, "Letter of Transmittal to G.M. Weir and the Honorable John Hart", (Victoria:
Provincial Archives, Accession #GR-0467, March 22, 1935.)
47 Agnes Deans Cameron, "Letter to Victoria School Board", (Victoria: Provincial Archives, Accession
#GR-0467, September 14, 1905.), & P.S. Lampman, British Columbia Commission on South Park Drawing
CHAPTER TWO
"THE HEAD AND HAND IN CONCERT" 1872 - 1899
When the mainland of British Columbia became a crown colony in 1858, the
exclusive trading rights of the Hudson's Bay Company and relationships between natives
and Europeans had begun to diminish, while the gold rushes had caused the island city of
Victoria to expand to a population of 5,000.' By 1866 the colonies of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia were united and within two years Victoria was established as the
capital of the province.2 Although it was the seat of government Victoria's main impetus
of concentration was on commerce, trade and industry, and the vast potential of its
Pacific port.3 These new developments shifted economic attention in the colony towards
the resource industries under the control of business capital, and settlements around the
mouth of Fraser River began small canning, sawrnilling, and logging operations.' Skilled
tradesmen and workers for the ports and resource industries began to dominate a large
part of the labour force.
In July of 1871, when British Columbia joined confederation: the new province
saw the establishment of important industries in lumber, coal, fish canning, and
shipbuildmg, as well as iron works, cooperage, joinery, tool making, and other
commercial enterprises. Soon after, British Columbia embarked on a great building and
development program that saw the opening of roads into the interior of the province, the
completion of the CPR railway across the continent, and the major construction of the
two important cities of Victoria and ~ a n c o u v e r . ~ Most immigrants had come from Britain
aspirations for security, speculation, and industrial in~estment.~ This population believed
in progress, private property, and the superiority of their ancestry, maintaining patriotic
assumptions with the fortitude of those dislocated, in the hope that British civilization
could be reproduced in British ~ o l u m b i a . ~
In this atmosphere of growth and development, the citizens of British Columbia
began to establish the administrative, judicial, and social agencies that would govern and
regulate the province, and with increased immigration, the need for a regularly organized
school system became apparent. On April 11, 1872, the new Provincial Legislature
passed the Public Schools Act, which established the basic structure of the provincial
system of education, and set aside funds from its general revenues for the maintenance of
such a v e n t ~ r e . ~ The Lieutenant Governor appointed a Superintendent of Education to
head a six-man Board of Education, which formed a highly centralized and tightly
controlled autocracy for all decision-making concerning schooling in the province.10
Following the customs of eastern Canada, school boards, elected in each district, were
responsible for sending out inspectors to ensure that schools were kept in good repair,
that authorized textbooks were used, and that the schools were generally conforming to the regulations set out by the Education Office."
According to the Public School Act, education was to be free of charge for grades
one through eight, and an amendment was passed in 1873 to also make schooling
compulsory.12 Furthermore, high schools, which charged tuition, were added to the
system in 1876 when the Victoria High School was inaugurated, followed by the opening
of
high schools in New Westminster (1884), Nanaimo (1886), and Vancouver (1890).13was "to give every child in the province such knowledge as will fit him to become a
useful and intelligent citizen in after years."'4 In addition, the guiding principles of
schooling conformed to the expectations of the Victorian age, which stressed the
necessity of control over man's physical nature through skill acquisition, increased
knowledge and mental discipline, the maintenance of adult authority, and the avoidance
of penalties and competition for rewards.'' Education promised the moral, social,
intellectual, and economic elevation of individuals, enabling them to join the ranks of
civilized and respectable classes of society. l6
Prospects for economic advancement and equal opportunity were also connected
to the potential of art education in the province, through the training of skills, cultivation
of taste, and quality craftsmanship.17 Linear drawing assisted vocational attainment by
enabling students to gain the skill preparation necessary to fill positions of employment
required for the stable growth of British Columbia's economy. l8 Since drawing was also
part of the study of form, it assisted in developing intellectual faculties and was seen as
connected to the core subjects of reading, writing and arithrnetic.19 Most importantly,
however, linear drawing was promoted in direct response to the industrial demands of the
province in the late nineteenth century, since it consisted of tending to the basic skills of
measurement and precision in draughtsmanship that were needed for the trades of
surveying and carpentry.20 As British Columbia's commercial industries were forced to
compete with larger manufacturers in eastern ~anada?' art education was also exploited
by teaching an appreciation of aesthetics to students, for the production of objects that
inception of public schooling, linear drawing placed added emphasis on vocational
preparation that included basic training for quality manufactures.
In the school year ending July 31", 1872, the first elementary school linear drawing class on record was taught in the Esquimalt School ~ i s t r i c t . ~ ' This marked the
begnnings of art education in the public schools of British Columbia. The class consisted of 30 students and was instructed by Mr. Joseph ~ l a n t a : ~ who had been bred by
Superintendent of Education, John Jessop when he took office on April 17 that year.
Other than appearing on the initial teachers' list, whch recorded his date of appointment
as May 1 6 ~ , 1872, at a salary of $70.00 per month:5 little else is known about Planta, but
the record indicates a continual increase of student attendance in drawing classes at this
time.26 In the following year, the Lytton School District enjoyed a brief period of success
in linear drawing, led by Mrs. J. B. Good and her classes were reported to have shown
excellent progress in the subject.27 During the years following these episodes, linear
drawing attendance sharply decreased until the beginning of the 1 8 8 0 s , ~ ~ due, in large
part, to lack of teachmg proficiency in the subject area. The exact theory and
methodology of these early teachers is unknown, because drawing was still considered an
optional subject that warranted neither a manual of instruction nor a detailed curriculum
description. Nonetheless, Jessop was clearly impressed with the importance of this
subject and suggested, "the services of a competent drawing master should be
~btained."~'
Certain facts can be garnered about the nature of linear drawing during this early
period, based on information derived from secondary sources.30 In principle, drawing was
compulsory subjects of reading, writing and mathematics. "Drawing was a part of the
study of form; it was integral to the plan for developing the mind's faculties and was
hence tied to general schooling purposes."31 In addition, it was seen as one way to further the lot of "common people" by providing training that could lead to excellence and
enjoyment in craftsmanship, and advancement in consequent employment. Practically,
linear drawing consisted of attending to basic skills in measurement and fine motor
precision that increased in difticulty as students proceeded through a series of sequential
exercises. Drawing assignments were based on linear dnlls beginning with simple
directional strokes, which progressed to geometric shapes, architectural forms, the simple
rendering of plants and animals, and historical motifs. The teacher would augment
student talent or skills by demanding adherence to specific drawing methods and
exactitude in reproduction. In general, students would have best been served by teachers
who had received a First Class Grade A or B certificate, as this required a basic
knowledge of mensuration (geometric design), the only existing alternative to linear
drawing in British Columbia until the late 1980s.)'
To verify these facts, a brief historical summary on art education is significant at
this juncture. The early development of linear drawing can be traced to the gradual
Qvision between academic fine art training and common school art in ~ u r o ~ e . ~ ~ During
the Renaissance, the academies taught painting, sculpture, and drawing of the human
form, while apprenticeships and guilds instructed the decorative arts and crafts. Art
education was decisively separate from craft training, a product of intellect rather than
skill.34 In the 1700s, the Classical academic approach was carried on in France until the
begin looking upon the Beaux Arts as their model of art education, and in particular their
methods of drawing.35 By the mid-1700s The Royal Academy of Arts in London, had
also developed a serious tradition of drawing but with a more practical bent, focusing
extensively on architecture, perspective, and geometry, as well as anatomy.36 Britain's
competition with French styles of drawing and design, in its attempt to gain dominance
over trade and manufacture, coupled with the industrial revolution, which hastened the
demise of apprenticeships, led to the increased development of mechanics' institutes and
schools of design for training artisans, and the common school philosophies of art in
education.37 By the nineteenth century, the traditional art style of the academy was
representative of upper class European society, while common school art was fashioned
to suit the needs of artisans, tradesmen, and workers.
The common schools introduced a new form of drawing that instructed students to
craft "working models and patterns in order to understand the various industrial processes
for which drawings were to be applied."38 This made art education more suitable for the
general populace, as methods of teachng drawing based on geometry were sufficient and
less complex for the artisan who would serve the interests of industry.39 The Swiss
educational reformer Pestalozzi and the German Peter Schmid felt that time-consuming
academic methods would prevent working class children from receiving drawing
instruction and developed a technique of drawing that was based on a sequential series of
measurement exercises.40 This was a systematic method of instruction that was exacting,
predicated on replication, and derived from geometry.
By
the mid-nineteenth century, under the leadershipof
Henry Cole, Englanddraughtsmanship that emulated the methods employed by Schrnid in the German primary
schools. Cole had been a member of the 1835 Parliamentary Select Committee on the
Arts that encouraged art education for its utilitarian purposes, and linked drawing to
Britain's economic development in terms of raising manufacturing standards.41 He was
almost completely responsible for amending the government art and design education
system during the period 1852-1873, through the establishment of his three-tier system
of art education.42 At the elementary level Cole was instrumental in having drawing made
part of the national education c~rriculum,4~ instituted by the Department of Education in
1856, and further supported by the 1862 grant system of "payment by results".44 It must
be stressed however, that this measure only affected the elementary schools of the
working class, since England's schooling was a tripartite, with "public" schools for the
upper class and grammar schools for the middle class existing outside of the national
system.45 At the secondary level Cole trained teachers in elementary drawing as general
superintendent of the department of practical art at Kensington School, and for adult
'artisans' he created a series of night classes for drawing.46 His "course of instruction"
consisted of four divisions each having several stages of drawing exercises, based on
precise copying from geometric or natural forms. These mechanical steps were hls design
towards the acquisition of "hand-power,'*7 since Cole had emphasized, "Drawing is the
power of expressing things accurately."48
However, the most pressing occupation of art education in England during this
period was the training of school drawing teachers. In the first report of the Department
of Practical Art (1853) it was noted that, "Some years must elapse before the masters in
do writing, and to illustrate their teaching."49 The Kensington School set out to remedy
this predicament by providing teachers with symmetrical geometry and technical
drawing, while presenting art education as a systematized body of knowledge governed
by strict
Perhaps the greatest emissary of the Kensington School was Walter Smith, who
brought his expertise in the British system of art instruction to Boston in 1871. The
previous year, law in Massachusetts mandated common school drawing instruction, and
Smith, on the recommendation of Henry Cole was hired by superintendent Charles
Perkins to fill the position of first art education supervisor for Massachusetts, art
supervisor for Boston and head of the Massachusetts Normal Art ~ c h o o l . ~ ' Not only did
Smith formulate a system of drawing instruction, which he called "industrial drawing,"
and a system for in-service training of classroom teachers, but he also established the first
training program for professional art teachers in the United Although Smith's
methods were similar to Cole's previous drawing instruction, his rationale for industrial
drawing placed a greater emphasis on scientific principles, while the acquisition of
fundamental skills demanded a higher degree of t e c h c a l literacy.53 He insisted, "All
children who can be taught to read, write and cipher, can be taught to draw," and, "as an
elementary subject.. . drawing should be taught by the regular teachers, and not by special
instr~ctors,"~~ and wanted the largest possible population to engage in what he considered
a purposeful skill. Like reading and writing, Smith's drawing had an alphabet and
grammar in its rudimentary lines and forms, which necessitated progressive instruction
from the simple to the complex. For him drawing's objective was to give teachers
