Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1976 |
| Students | <80 |
| Location | Old Lyme, Connecticut, U.S.A. |
| Nickname | Lyme Academy |
| Website | http://www.lymeacademy.edu/ |
The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts is an art college in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
History
The Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts was founded in 1976 by Elisabeth Gordon Chandler as a figurative academy for the teaching of sculpture, figure drawing, Illustration and painting dedicated to the fine arts. The school offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the disciplines of painting, sculpture, illustration and drawing. The college also offers post-baccalaureate and a 3-year certificate program.
The Lyme Academy College is the sole fine-arts-only art college accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and is one of the independent art colleges belonging to the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. The college is also accredited by the State of Connecticut, and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design and the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges.
Amongst private art colleges, the Lyme Academy is known for its contemporary focus on the history and tradition of representational art, centered on the study of nature and the figure. Its small student body offers a uniquely personal education. With an enrollment of 150 current students [as of 2017], the Lyme Academy College is an intimate artistic community. Ninety-five percent of classes have fewer than twenty students. The general cap to classes is 18 students. The student-to-faculty ratio is fourteen to one [2011], which facilitates an academy-based teaching philosophy not often available at other art colleges.
The Old Lyme Art Colony became an important center for the American Impressionists around the start of the 20th century, as they became attracted to the luminosity of the landscape with its resemblance to the light and landscape painted by the Impressionists in France. It is close to both New York and Boston (two hours away) as well as convenient to major visual arts collections held in Connecticut by the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and the Florence Griswold Museum just down the street. The college facilitates a focus on the fine arts that is distinctive from many art colleges and schools in the country.
BFA degrees have been awarded since 1996. Many alumni of this new college have gone on to earn their MFA degrees, and one has won a Fulbright Fellowship. The faculty has many notable regular and visiting instructors.
References
External links
- Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts Official Website
Coordinates: 41°19′2″N 72°18′11″W / 41.31722°N 72.30306°W