Founded in 1871, the San Francisco Art Institute is one of the U.S.'s oldest and most prestigious schools of higher education in contemporary art.

It boasts an illustrious list of alumni in all of its areas of focus: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, filmmaking, design+technology, and new genres. But most important, it has consistently held fast to its core philosophy of creating programs where creativity and critical thinking are fostered in one of the most open, innovative, and interdisciplinary environments in higher education.

At the Art Institute we focus on educating artists who will become the creative leaders of their generation.

Founding and Early Years

San Francisco Art Institute first existed in 1871 as the San Francisco Art Association, which established the California School of Design in 1873. In 1893 SFAA and CSD moved to the former mansion of Mark Hopkins on Nob Hill, and the school was renamed the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. Although the Great Earthquake destroyed the mansion and the school in 1906, a new building was erected on the site a year later, and the school was renamed the San Francisco Institute of Art.

In 1916 the school was renamed the California School of Fine Arts, and in 1926 it moved to its current location at 800 Chestnut Street into a new building designed by Bakewell and Brown, architects of City Hall, Coit Tower, and many other landmark buildings in San Francisco. In 1961 the school was renamed the San Francisco Art Institute. And in 1969 a new building, designed by Paffard Keatinge Clay, added studio space, a large theater/lecture hall, outdoor amphitheater, and cafe to the Spanish-style villa and cloisters created in the 1920s.

Alumni

The following alumni are among our most illustrious:


Eadweard Muybridge --gives the first public showing of a moving picture at the school in 1880

Emily Carr --alumna who becomes the namesake of the Emily Carr School of Art in Vancouver, 1890

Frederick Meyer --faculty who founds California Guild of Arts and Crafts in Berkeley, 1907

Gutzon Borglum --alumnus who begins sculpting on Mt. Rushmore, 1927

Henry Kiyama --alumnus who produces the first graphic novel published in the U.S., 1931

Louise Dahl Wolf --alumna who defines a new American style of "environmentalÓ fashion photography at Harper's Bazaar, 1938

Ansel Adams --faculty who founds the first fine art photography department in the U.S. at the school, attracting Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, and Minor White to the faculty

Douglas McAgy --becomes director of the school and makes the Bay Area a hub of Abstract Expressionism, attracting Clyfford Still, Hassel Smith, David Park, Elmer Bischoff, and Richard Diebenkorn as well as Mark Rothko and Ad Reinhardt to teach at the school, 1945

Marcel Duchamp, Frank Lloyd Wright, Gregory Bateson --participate in a Western Roundtable of Art, hosted by the school, 1945

Minor White --faculty who becomes the first editor of Aperture magazine, 1952

Jerry Garcia Grateful Dead lead guitarist and vocalist--studies with Wally Hedrick and Elmer Bischoff at the school, 1958

Annie Leibovitz --begins shooting for Rolling Stone magazine while a student at the school, 1968

Paul McCarthy --student who becomes well-known in the 1980s for his performance videos, 1968

Prairie Prince and Michael Cotton --students who create their first performance as the Tubes at the school, 1971

Win Ng --alumnus who co-founds Taylor & Ng, the first specialty kitchen store in the U.S., 1971

Angela Davis --joins faculty to teach aesthetics, 1976

Molly Katzen --alumna who publishes one of the top 10 best-selling cookbooks of all time, Moosewood Cookbook, 1977

Betsy Sussler --alumna who founds Bomb magazine in New York City, 1981

Roxanne Quimby --alumna who founds Burt's Bees, a leading natural personal-care line, 1984

Menno Meyjes --alumnus who writes the screen adaptation for The Color Purple, which premieres in 1985, and writes and directs Max in 2003

Kathryn Bigelow --alumna who becomes a television and film director, premiering Strange Days in 1993 and directing K-19, The Widowmaker, and Weight of Water in the early 2000s

Rob Reger --alumnus who produces Emily the Strange graphic novel, published by Chronicle Books, 2001

Lance Acord --alumnus who does the cinematography for Adaptation and Lost in Translation, released in 2003

Christopher Coppola --alumnus who becomes a well-known filmmaker and co-founds the first Hi-Definition Video Laboratory, Ears XXI, at the San Francisco Art Institute, 2004

What defines the students' experience at the Art Institute?

The San Francisco Art Institute is founded on providing an individualized and transformative learning experience. By fusing studio and academic practices, students gain the intellectual confidence to use precise language and critically examine art history, visual culture, and literature while developing the studio skills to express their ideas visually.

What are some examples of its recent innovations?



In 2004 the curriculum was reorganized under five interdisciplinary centers to acknowledge the increasing role of multiple disciplines and technologies in artists' work and engagement in the wider world. The centers are: The Center for Contemporary Practice, the Center for Media Culture, the Center for Public Practice, the Center for Word, Text, and Image, and the Center for Art+Science.


The School is expanding its humanities programs and is expecting to offer degrees beyond the BFA and MFA in upcoming years.


In 2004 Chris Bratton joined the Art Institute as its President. Chris had been Dean of Undergraduate Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.


In July 2005 Okwui Enwezor, internationally known curator, commentator, and critic of contemporary art, will join the school as its 6th Dean of Academic Affairs.





How many students are there at SFAI?

In 2004/05 there were 378 undergraduates enrolled and 230 graduate students.

What degrees are offered?

Currently, the BFA and the MFA.

How many faculty does the school have?

In 2004/05 there were 37 resident faculty and 47 visiting faculty.

Related Information
Contact: Email ( Cet adresse mail est protégé contre les spambots. Vous avez d'activer le javascript pour la visualiser. ).

General Phone
415.771.7020

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