The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is an art school in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
 | |
| Type | Private Art School |
|---|---|
| Established | 1976 |
Academic staff | Jordan Sokol & Amaya Gurpide, Artistic Directors |
| Students | 35 full-time (Winter 2024) |
| Location | , U.S. |
| Campus | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Nickname | Lyme Academy |
| Website | www |
History
editThe Lyme Academy 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.[1] The school offered a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in the disciplines of painting, sculpture, illustration and drawing, as well as post-baccalaureate and a three-year certificate programs.
1992-2019
editBFA degrees were first awarded in 1992, and between 2014 and 2019 the academy was affiliated with the University of New Haven.[2] Under that agreement, Lyme kept ownership of the campus and its own Board of Trustees; New Haven acquired the academic degree programs.[3] The business plan underlying that cooperation was that 200 students would enroll at the academy, a goal that was never reached; according the Michael Thomas Duffy, chair of the academy's board in 2021, the academy enrolled about 120 students at most.[2] In 2019, "the University of New Haven discontinued degree-granting academic offerings".[4] New Haven president Steven H. Kaplan said that at the time the affiliation with Lyme Academy would add a fine arts degree to the university, but the academy struggled to get enrollment figures up (with 139 students for the fall of 2017, and 122 in August 2018)[3]
Since 2019
editAfter a few difficult years, the academy hired new staff and a new artistic director Jordan Sokol, and saw about 120 students enroll for the summer term of 2021. At the time it had a budget of $1.657 million.[5] The board planned to return to the earlier goals of the academy and adopted a manifesto for its reboot, including "adhering to the philosophy of Chandler, who believed artists needed to learn the fundamentals of figurative art ... in small classes with a high teacher to student ratio." They hoped to enroll 10 full-time students in the fall of 2021, and possibly 15 in the spring of 2022. Tuition for full-time core students was set at $9,600 per year. In addition, the academy planned to offer perhaps two dozen workshops annually, as well as four weekly part-time classes.[5]
References
edit- ^ Lampos, Jim; Pearson, Michaelle (2020). Hidden History of Old Lyme, Lyme & East Lyme Hidden History. Arcadia. p. 80. ISBN 9781467143400.
- ^ a b Hewitt, Cate (February 9, 2021). "Lyme Academy of Fine Arts Hires Leadership, Plans to Welcome New Class in Fall". Connecticut Examiner. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Seltzer, Rick (August 15, 2018). "New Haven Ending Programs at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts". Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ "Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts". University of New Haven. Retrieved July 11, 2022.
- ^ a b Hewitt, Cate (July 5, 2021). "Lyme Academy of Fine Arts Gets Back to its Roots, Offers New Classes". Connecticut Examiner. Retrieved July 11, 2022.