Cooper School of Art

{{Infobox university

| logo =

| logo_upright =

| name = Cooper School of Art, Inc.

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| established = 1924

| closed = 1981

| type = Private art school

| endowment =

| founder = Hal Cooper

| faculty =

| president = Donald H. Wright

| students =

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| postgrad =

| doctoral =

| city = Cleveland

| state = Ohio

| country = United States

| campus = Urban

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| address= 2112 Euclid Avenue (1968–1978)

| coordinates = {{coord|41.501389|-81.675|format=dms|display=title|type:landmark_region:US-OH}}

}}

The Cooper School of Art was a private art college located in Cleveland, Ohio. The school emphasized education and career preparation for the commercial art market. It operated from 1924 until 1981.

Overview

The Cooper School of Art featured a two-year, eight-quarter diploma program,{{cite journal|title=Back Matter|journal=

Art Education|volume=14|number=5 |date=May 1961}} with certificates in design, drawing, airbrush, painting, layout, lettering, illustration, greeting card design, animation, architectural illustration, cartooning, production art, photography, and printmaking. Faculty tended to be working professionals in their field.

Comics artist Tom Mandrake, who attended the school for two years in the 1970s, said Cooper was "primarily a commercial art school and it gave me a good grounding in the basics. They also stressed the importance of balancing work and deadlines."{{cite web|url=http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/nov01/mandrake.shtml |title=Creepy Concepts |first=Jennifer |last=Contino |year=2001 |publisher=Sequential Tart |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924100554/http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/nov01/mandrake.shtml |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=March 11, 2012|df=mdy-all}}

History

The school was founded in 1924{{cite journal|title=Cezanne-Innovator|first=John Adkins|last=Richardson|journal=

Art Education|volume= 15|number=4|date=Apr 1962|pages=6–10}} as Hal Cooper's School of Advertisement. It later became known as the Hal H. Cooper School of Art.{{cite book|title=Super Boys: The Amazing Adventures of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster — the Creators of Superman |first=Brad |last=Ricca|chapter=7: Into the Air|publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group|date= Jun 4, 2013}} (Hal Cooper moved on to became president of the American Society of Cartoonists in 1948, founded the Aurora School of Art in 1951, and was headmaster of another Hal H. Cooper School of Art in Aurora, Illinois, in 1955.){{cite web|url=http://www.bailsprojects.com/whoswho.aspx?mode=AtoZsearch&id=COOPER%2C+HAL|title=Hal Cooper entry|work=Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999|access-date=Oct 2, 2023}}

The director of the Cleveland Cooper School of Art in 1955 was William Whittset.{{cite news|title=Bullock Receives Scholarship in Art|work=John Hay Ledger|date=Nov 18, 1955|volume=XXIII|number =3|publisher=John Hay High School|page=1|first=Rosemary|last=Leaks}}

= Closure =

The fall semester of 1980 was a tumultuous period for the Cooper School of Art. The school's president and lone shareholder Donald H. Wright, an insurance salesman, became entangled in a rental dispute with the school's landlord, leading to a court-appointed receiver collecting overdue rent.{{cite news|first= Karen |last=Long|title=Cooper Owner Says He Won't Back Down In A Fight|date=April 19, 1981|page=11-A|work=The Plain Dealer}} Cooper students protested at the Cleveland Justice Center and the landlord's attorney's offices.

In the aftermath, Wright and the school faced a barrage of lawsuits from teachers seeking unpaid wages, creditors, and disgruntled students. Faculty members unsuccessfully attempted to purchase the school, resulting in 12 teachers resigning in protest of the administration. The school's dean of education was fired.{{cite news|title=Cooper Art School Dean Fired Without Warning, He Says|date=April 28, 1981|page=B-10|work= The Plain Dealer}}

At one point, students sought a restraining order against Wright, who faced criticism and televised scrutiny for his actions. Despite these challenges, Wright continued his search for a new facility, and in December 1980, the school relocated to a new facility in Ohio City, housed in a former department store. The challenges persisted, however, with encounters with city inspectors, fire code violations, and ongoing unrest among faculty and students.

By the spring of the next year, Cooper faced a shutdown,{{cite news|first= Karen |last=Long |title=Cooper Art School Faces Shutdown|date=April 19, 1981|page=1|work= The Plain Dealer}} with bankruptcy proceeding against the school initiated by three creditors (those charges were later dismissed).{{cite news|title=Cooper Art School Bankruptcy Dismissed|date=May 28, 1981|page=21-A|work= The Plain Dealer}} The school closed for good in 1981.

Locations

For many years, the school was located at 6300 Euclid Avenue, near the intersection of East 65th Street, on the second floor of an industrial building, sharing occupancy with the Cleveland Engineering Institute.

From 1968{{cite book|title=Cleveland City Directory|year=1966}} to 1978,{{cite book|title=Cleveland City Directory|year=1978}} the school was located in the Wolfe Music Building, at 2112 Euclid Avenue (between East 21st and East 22nd Sts).

From 1978 to 1980, the school moved to a location with two street addresses — 2341 Carnegie Avenue and 2402 Prospect Avenue East — near East 22nd Street and adjacent to the city's Innerbelt Freeway.

The school's final location, starting in late 1980, was a building in Ohio City.

Faculty and administration

The last owner and president of the school was insurance salesman Donald H. Wright. Former deans at the school included Nick Livaitch, Joseph Hruby, Charles "Chuck" Bowen, and Samuel Evey.

Notable artist/illustrator Elmer Brown taught at the school in the 1960s until his 1971 death.{{cite news |title=Elmer W. Brown, American Greetings Artist, Dies |work=Call and Post |date=June 5, 1971|location=Cleveland, Ohio}} Realist painter Marilyn Szalay also taught at the school. In 1978, musician/artist Mark Jones held a brief professorship at Cooper, where he lectured on philosophy and art history, and taught drawing.Syllabus for course in Jones personal collection.

Other faculty included Chuck Bowen, Jose Cintron, Bruce Cline, Paul Denis, John W. Dorsey,{{cite web|url=https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/john-dorsey-obituary?id=14430828|title=JOHN W. DORSEY|work=The Plain Dealer|date=Apr 17, 2018}} Lucy Eidimtas, Sam Evey, Vincent Ferrara, Ken Fritz, Ed Glynn, Joseph Hruby,{{cite news|title=JOSEPH C. HRUBY: 1940 - 2014|url=https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/joseph-hruby-obituary?id=21605930|work=The Plain Dealer|date= Jun 8, 2014}} Terry Johnson, Mary Koster, Paul Missal, Andrew Russetti, Anthony Schepis, Susan Bodenger Skove, Marv Smith, Reed Thomason, and Lois Vance.{{cite news|title=LOIS MARIE VANCE|url=https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/lois-vance-obituary?id=21463639|work=The Plain Dealer|date=Jul 30, 2014}}

Beloved staff at the school were artists Joel Bartell and David Schwartz.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Notable former students and alumni

Hank Berger (1970s), nightclub owner and merchandiser
Muriel Fahrion{{Cite news |last=Tramel |first=Jimmie |date=2019-04-14 |title=Artist reflects on Strawberry Shortcake's 40-year birthday |language=en |url=https://apnews.com/article/a4d5842f3d11466ab192169c79a90068 |access-date=2022-11-10|work=Associated Press}} (illustration, late 1960s), illustrator and the original designer of the Strawberry Shortcake franchise
Ray Harm (late 1940s),{{cite news|url= https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2015/04/16/popular-wildlife-artist-ray-harm-dies/25903633/|title=Popular wildlife artist Ray Harm dies|

first=Elizabeth|last=Kramer|date=Apr 16, 2015|work=Courier Journal}} wildlife painter

Tom Mandrake (1970s),{{cite web|url= http://www.bailsprojects.com/%28S%28m4lhiiqx3jpepm45rjvmix45%29%29/bio.aspx?Name=MANDRAKE%2c+TOM|title= Mandrake, Tom|first= Jerry|last= Bails|author-link= Jerry Bails|date= n.d.|work= Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928-1999|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171401/http://www.bailsprojects.com/(S(m4lhiiqx3jpepm45rjvmix45))/bio.aspx?Name=MANDRAKE%2c+TOM|archivedate= March 3, 2016|url-status= live|df=mdy-all}} comics artist
Mary Beth McKenzie (late 1960s), realist painter
Scott Miller{{cite web|title=Noted Cleveland artist Scott Miller dead at 5|url=https://obits.cleveland.com/us/obituaries/cleveland/name/scott-miller-obituary?id=16322044|work=The Plain Dealer|date=May 25, 2008|last=Litt|first=Steven}} (1974–1978), postmodern painter
Stephen Paternite (early 1970s), multimedia artist
Gloria Plevin{{Cite web|url=http://www.artistsarchives.org/archived_artist/gloria-plevin/|title=Gloria Plevin: Artists Archives of the Western Reserve}} (mid-1960s), realist painter and printmaker
Gerry Shamray (1977–1980),{{cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/shamray_gerry.htm|title=Gerry Shamray (b. 1957, USA)|website=Lambiek's Comiclopedia|access-date= March 2, 2019}} comics artist
William E. Smith{{cite web|url=https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1941.122|title=William E. Smith: (American, 1913–1997): Artist Biography|website=The Cleveland Museum of Art|access-date=Oct 1, 2023}} (early 1950s), African American artist recognized for exploring Black experiences in his art
Jerome Tiger (mid-1960s),{{cite journal|title=The Life and Art of Jerome Tiger|journal=American Indian Journal|date=Jan 1981|first=Jamake|last=Highwater|volume=22|quote=Tiger got a grant to attend Cooper School of Art in Cleveland. He was Cooper's first student of Native American descent.}} Muscogee Nation-Seminole painter
Oscar Velasquez, muralist