Montserrat College of Art is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

art

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

located in Beverly within Essex County of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. The school is accredited by both the

New England Commission of Higher Education The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evaluation and accreditation of public and private universities and colleges in the United States and other ...

and the

National Association of Schools of Art and Design The National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD), founded in 1944, is an accrediting organization of colleges, schools and universities in the United States. The organization establishes standards for graduate and undergraduate degrees ...

History

The school was established in 1970 as Montserrat School of Visual Arts and was founded by the North Shore Community Arts Foundation, a

civic organization Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...

that managed the nearby North Shore Music Theatre. Joseph Jeswald, a local

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse refers to a practitioner in the visual arts only. However, th ...

and former head of the Fine Arts Department at

New England School of Art and Design The New England School of Art and Design at Suffolk University is a school of fine arts and design located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school offers undergraduate (BFA) and graduate (MA) degrees, as well as continuing education courses and prog ...

, was chosen to serve as the first president of the school and Stephen Slane, one of the founders of the Arts Foundation along with C. Henry Glovsky and Ruby Newman, was named managing director. The school was accredited as a

and authorized to award a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachel ...

degree in the mid-1980s, at which time it changed to its name to the Montserrat College of Art. In 1992, the school moved to its present location on Essex Street in the Hardie Building, a renovated nineteenth-century school structure that serves as the campus center. In early 2015, Montserrat College of Art explored a possible merger with

Salem State University Salem State University (Salem State or SSU) is a public university in Salem, Massachusetts. Established in 1854, it is the oldest and largest institute of higher education on the North Shore and is part of the state university system in Massa ...

, a large

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

in neighboring Salem. After some months of research and negotiations, the proposal was found to be not feasible and the plan was dropped in mid-2015. For one year, William J. Bakrow served as interim president of Montserrat College of Art. In 2018, Kurt T. Steinberg was named the eighth president in school history.

Academics

Montserrat College of Art offers

degrees in a number of fields including: Animation and Interactive Media; Art Education; Book Arts; Graphic Design; Interdisciplinary Arts; Illustration; Painting; Photo, Film, and Video; Printmaking; and Sculpture. A number of minors are offered including: Art Education; Art History; Creative Writing; Curatorial Studies, and Entrepreneurship in the Arts. The school has study abroad programs for its students in Niigata,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, and in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bale ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Additionally, the school offers

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. ...

courses and workshops in such subjects as

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

Campus

The Montserrat College of Art is located in downtown Beverly. The small campus includes the central Hardie Building on 23 Essex Street, a classroom, gallery, studio, and office space building on 248 Cabot Street, and apartment-style residence halls. In 2009, the Helena J. Sturnick Student Residence Village was opened. As of 2016, the college campus consists of a total of twelve academic and residential buildings. The school is home to six public galleries, which are free to the public: the 301 Gallery; the Bare Gallery; the

Carol Schlosberg Carol Schlosberg (14 June 1957 – 29 March 1998) was an American painter who was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and had been an art instructor at Yale University where she earned her Master of Fine Arts in 1992. She was a resident of Ver ...

Gallery; the Founders Gallery; the Montserrat Gallery; and the President's Office Gallery. The spaces exhibit a variety of works by international, national, regional, and local artists. Past exhibitions have featured artists such as Clint Baclawski, Hunter Cole, Jess T. Dugan, Sally Heller, Yun-Fei Ji,

Valeri Larko Valeri Larko (born 1960) is an American painter of urban and industrial landscapes. She is known for her cityscapes, painted en plein air. Early life, education and early career Born in Freeport on Long Island, New York, Larko grew up in Pa ...

Derek Lerner Derek Lerner (born 1974 in Jacksonville, Florida), is an American contemporary artist primarily known. for his ink on paper abstract drawings, currently living and working in New York City. Lerner's art has been exhibited nationally and inter ...

, Vanessa Platacis, Cynthia von Buhler, Leigh Wiener, and David H. Wells. The Paul M. Scott Library is part of the North of Boston Library Exchange consortium.

Notable faculty

Notable alumni

* Carlos Dorrien (1974),

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

* Jos Sances (1976),

(1990),

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

Mary Pennington (Updike) Weatherall Mary Pennington (Updike) Weatherall (January 26, 1930-February 25, 2018) was a visual artist and the first wife of John Updike. Many of Updike's early characters were modeled after her, particularly in his short stories about the Maple family and hi ...

, painter Montserrat College of Art has also awarded

honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

to the artists

Edward Burtynsky Edward Burtynsky (born February 22, 1955) is a Canadian photographer and artist known for his large format photographs of industrial landscapes. His works depict locations from around the world that represent the increasing development of indust ...

, Tom Friedman, and Annette Lemieux, as well as the curators

Anne Hawley Anne Hawley (born November 3, 1943) was the ''Norma Jean Calderwood'' Director of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston from 1989 until 2015. Founded in 1903 and one of Boston's most important cultural institutions, the museum is a highly ...

and Robert Storr.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montserrat College of Art 1970 establishments in Massachusetts Educational institutions established in 1970 Art schools in Massachusetts Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts Universities and colleges in Beverly, Massachusetts