Discover Slade School of Fine Art

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The Slade School of Fine Art was founded in 1871 at University College London (UCL), following a bequest from the lawyer, collector and philanthropist Felix Slade. Commonly called “the Slade”, the school became one of Britain’s most influential centres of fine-art education. Its emphasis on working from the human figure, close observation and rigorous drawing helped establish a teaching tradition that shaped generations of artists.

When Was the Slade School of Fine Art Founded?

The Slade School of Fine Art was founded in 1871. Work on the school began in 1870, and it opened at UCL the following year with Edward Poynter as its first professor.

Felix Slade had died in 1868. His will provided funds for Slade Professorships of Fine Art at Oxford, Cambridge and University College London. At UCL, his bequest also supported six studentships. The university developed these provisions into a practical school for the professional education of artists.

This distinction mattered. The Oxford and Cambridge professorships principally supported lectures, while UCL combined academic study with studio teaching. Students received instruction in painting and drawing, supplemented by subjects such as anatomy, perspective and archaeology. Sculpture was later added to the curriculum.

Felix Slade’s Bequest and the School’s Foundation

Felix Slade was a prominent collector of glass, prints, books and bindings. His bequest provided the financial basis for a new kind of university art school in London.

The Slade’s founders believed that art education would benefit from being connected to a university. Students could develop practical skills while drawing on the intellectual resources of other academic disciplines. This relationship between studio practice, research and wider scholarship has remained central to the school’s identity.

The new school was immediately successful. Its teaching centred on sustained observation and the disciplined study of the human figure. This approach distinguished the Slade from institutions that treated figure drawing primarily as preparation for ornamental or industrial design.

When Was the Slade North Wing Built?

The North Wing of UCL’s Main Building was constructed in two phases between 1870 and 1881. Its development was initiated by the foundation of the Slade School and supported by Felix Slade’s bequest.

An 1880 construction date sometimes appears in searches about the Slade School of Fine Art. However, UCL’s official architectural history describes a longer building programme. Initial work began in 1870, an extension’s foundation stone was laid in July 1878, and the North Wing was completed in 1881.

The wing did not house the Slade alone. It initially accommodated several UCL departments, including Chemistry, Physiology, Zoology and Comparative Anatomy. The school’s principal studio, sometimes called the Drawing Theatre, included a large north-facing window that supplied the even natural light favoured by artists.

Growing enrolments soon placed pressure on the original accommodation. The Slade attracted approximately 120 students during its first year, and numbers continued to rise. The North Wing’s later construction phase therefore represented a major expansion of the school and the wider university rather than a single building event confined to 1880.

Edward Poynter and the Slade Drawing Tradition

Edward Poynter served as the Slade’s first professor from 1871 until 1875. He promoted direct study from living models and required students to develop strong observational and drawing skills.

Poynter’s programme helped establish the constructive, linear drawing associated with the Slade. When he left to direct the National Art Training School at South Kensington, the French painter, etcher and sculptor Alphonse Legros succeeded him. Legros continued to strengthen the school’s emphasis on draughtsmanship.

Frederick Brown became Slade Professor in 1892 and appointed Henry Tonks as an assistant. Brown and Tonks oversaw a period frequently regarded as one of the school’s most distinguished. Artists associated with this era included Augustus John, Gwen John, Stanley Spencer and Wyndham Lewis. Tonks became particularly closely identified with the Slade tradition of disciplined figure drawing.

Women and Art Education at the Slade

The Slade admitted women from its beginning in 1871. It offered female students art education on substantially the same terms as men at a time when access to advanced artistic training remained restricted.

Women quickly formed a substantial part of the student body and regularly received Slade prizes. The school’s willingness to admit women and allow them to study the human figure marked an important departure from prevailing Victorian conventions. UCL records describe the Slade as playing a significant role in women’s integration into the university’s academic life.

The annual prize system also created a valuable historical collection. From 1897, prize-winning works were retained, providing an unusual record of artists at the beginning of their careers. Women’s work forms a significant part of the resulting Slade Collections held by UCL Art Museum.

The Slade in the Twentieth Century

The school’s influence continued through changing approaches to British art. William Coldstream, who became Slade Professor after the Second World War, encouraged a measured form of observational painting. This approach is visible in the work of artists such as Euan Uglow, whose canvases often retain the marks used to establish proportions and spatial relationships.

The Slade also contributed to the development of film education. In 1960 it became home to Britain’s first university film department under the filmmaker and educator Thorold Dickinson. Its activities brought film production, history and criticism into a university setting and influenced later approaches to film studies.

Artists educated at the Slade include Stanley Spencer, Ben Nicholson, Paula Rego, Richard Hamilton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Derek Jarman, Rachel Whiteread and Antony Gormley. Their varied work demonstrates that the school’s importance cannot be reduced to a single style. Its more durable contribution has been a commitment to intensive studio practice, critical inquiry and experimentation.

Why Is the Slade School of Fine Art Important?

The Slade occupies a distinctive position in the history of British art education. It combined professional studio training with the intellectual environment of a university, placed sustained observation at the centre of its early curriculum and provided unusually broad access to women students.

Its history also reflects the changing definition of artistic practice. The curriculum expanded beyond drawing and painting to encompass sculpture, film and electronic media. Nevertheless, the relationship between close observation, technical discipline and individual experimentation remained influential.

Today, the Slade School of Fine Art continues as part of UCL. Its founding year of 1871, the expansion of its North Wing between 1870 and 1881, and its contribution to drawing, women’s education and film studies form essential parts of its institutional legacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What year was the Slade School of Fine Art founded?

The Slade School of Fine Art was founded in 1871 at University College London. It was established following a bequest from Felix Slade.

Was the Slade School’s North Wing built in 1880?

The North Wing was not constructed in a single year. UCL records date its two building phases from 1870 to 1881. A foundation stone for the later extension was laid in 1878, and the wing was completed in 1881.

Who was the Slade’s first professor?

Edward Poynter was the first Slade Professor of Fine Art. He held the position from 1871 to 1875 and established a strong emphasis on drawing from the living model.