The Schuler School of Fine Arts

Since 1959, the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore, Maryland, has been training students in the methods and techniques of the European Old Masters. Assuring that future generations of artists receive the wisdom of the past while acquiring the creative freedom that only the mastery of traditional skills can provide, is a goal rarely achieved in other institutions. This four-year, non-accredited atelier school provides a lively atmosphere in which students receive a high degree of personal attention. Drawing is stressed as a foundation for the study of painting and sculpture. Emphasis is placed on the mastery of the technical aspects of each discipline, such as the grinding of powder pigments, the cooking of Maroger mediums, and preparation of painting surfaces.

The teaching goal of the Schuler School program is to train professional artists in the perfection of their craft. Central to our curriculum is the study of anatomy and drawing, as well all technical aspects of each course, preparation of the Maroger medium for instance. Students are also taught to understand the interrelationship between the various disciplines that we teach.

The full course consists of:

• Four full-time years (eight semesters) of the entire curriculum (anatomy, sculpture, watercolor, painting, portrait, drawing, life drawing)
• Demonstration of the ability to perform all required technical skills (such as stretching canvases, preparing medium, casting)
• A completed senior project (during their fourth year, senior students research an artist or art period that interests them and translate that research into an art work or body of works in a chosen medium).
• A positive evaluation by all instructors

After fulfilling these requirements, the student is awarded a certificate of completion of the program. Deserving students are encouraged to participate in a fifth postgraduate year on full scholarship, which enables them to specialize in their area of interest and to assist the instructors. The staff believes that beginners benefit from the advanced knowledge shared by our graduates both in demonstrating their work and in shaping their careers.