ST ALBANS SCHOOL OF ART
St Albans School of Art opened in 1890 in a building at the top of Victoria Street, St Albans. In the 1960s, the school adapted its curriculum to the innovations of the Bauhaus teaching, (a German art and design movement that began in 1919) both in Art and Design and legitimising art practices, the National Diploma in Art and Design allowed these fields to be brought at the same level as other academic fields. In the 1970s, St Albans School of Art subsequently developed a degree and a foundation course and the foundation degree was regarded as a strong feeder to the prestigious London schools such as Chelsea School of Art, Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts, Slade School of Fine Art, as well as regional city schools. The programme was supported by a dedicated team of practising artist tutors: sculptor John William Mills (1933-2023), painters Arnold Van Praag (1926-2020) and Roger Leworthy (1944-), printmaker John Reginald Brunsdon, William Pletts (1935-2004) in graphic D
design, and textile designer Angela Dean. In 1873 the school moved to a purpose-built building on Hatfield Road and in the 1980s, the college introduced the first part-time Fine Art degree validated by the Council for National Academic Awards. Industrial Design and Model Making were added to the list of courses, and an annex was opened on London Road, and the B.A. in Fine Arts moved to Campbell Road Offices. In 1993 St Albans School of Art merged with Hatfield Polytechnic to become the Hertfordshire College of Art and Design and it is now known at the School of Creative Art. Other Suffolk artists who were tutors at St Albans include Moyra Byford and Suffolk artists who studied at St Albans include Valerie Armstrong, David William Gentleman, Ilona Johnson, Diana Kearsley and Carole Massey.