Lyme Academy of Fine Arts
{{Short description|Art school in Old Lyme, Connecticut}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox university
| name = The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts
| native_name =
| latin_name =
| motto =
| image = Lyme_Academy_logo.png
| established = 1976
| type = Private Art School
| endowment =
| faculty = Jordan Sokol & Amaya Gurpide, Artistic Directors
| president =
| principal =
| rector =
| dean =
| head_label =
| head =
| students = 35 full-time (Winter 2024)
| undergrad =
| postgrad =
| doctoral =
| city = Old Lyme, Connecticut
| country = U.S.
| coordinates =
| campus =
| campus_size = {{Convert|4|acre}}
| closed =
| free =
| mascot =
| nickname = Lyme Academy
| affiliations =
| website = {{URL|www.lymeacademy.edu}}
}}
The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is an art school in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
History
The 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.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pejwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA80 |page=80 |title=Hidden History of Old Lyme, Lyme & East Lyme Hidden History |first1=Jim |last1=Lampos |first2=Michaelle |last2=Pearson |publisher=Arcadia |year=2020 |isbn=9781467143400}} 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=
BFA degrees were first awarded in 1992, and between 2014 and 2019 the academy was affiliated with the University of New Haven. Under that agreement, Lyme kept ownership of the campus and its own Board of Trustees; New Haven acquired the academic degree programs.{{cite news |url=https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2018/08/15/new-haven-ending-programs-lyme-academy-college-fine-arts |access-date=July 11, 2022 |newspaper=Chronicle of Higher Education |first=Rick |last=Seltzer |title=New Haven Ending Programs at Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts |date=August 15, 2018}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://ctexaminer.com/2021/02/09/lyme-academy-of-fine-arts-hires-leadership-plans-to-welcome-new-class-in-fall/ |newspaper=Connecticut Examiner |access-date=July 11, 2022 |title=Lyme Academy of Fine Arts Hires Leadership, Plans to Welcome New Class in Fall |first=Cate |last=Hewitt |date=February 9, 2021}} In 2019, "the University of New Haven discontinued degree-granting academic offerings".{{cite web |url=https://www.newhaven.edu/lyme/ |title=Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts |publisher=University of New Haven |access-date=July 11, 2022}} 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)
=Since 2019=
After 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.{{cite news |url=https://ctexaminer.com/2021/07/05/lyme-academy-of-fine-arts-gets-back-to-its-roots-offers-new-classes/ |newspaper=Connecticut Examiner |access-date=July 11, 2022 |title=Lyme Academy of Fine Arts Gets Back to its Roots, Offers New Classes |first=Cate |last=Hewitt |date=July 5, 2021}} 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.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://ctexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Manifesto-Dec-2020.pdf "10 Point Manifesto for the revival of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts as it plans for its 50th Anniversary in 2026"]
{{Colleges and universities in Connecticut}}
{{Northeast U.S. Art Colleges}}
{{Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyme Academy Of Fine Arts}}
Category:Old Lyme, Connecticut
Category:Universities and colleges in Connecticut
Category:Art schools in Connecticut
Category:Educational institutions established in 1976
Category:Universities and colleges in New London County, Connecticut