Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
Photo: Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture
During his service in the army’s Art Unit during World War II, Willard “Bill” Cummings and fellow artists Charles Cutler, Henry Varnum Poor, and Sidney Simon often discussed their dissatisfaction with the art education available in the United States. They dreamed of creating a place where younger artists could work and learn alongside practicing artists in a communal, experimental atmosphere. After the war, the dream became a reality.
The four artists founded the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1946, placing the campus on Cummings family property in Madison, a rural community outside Skowhegan. Each summer, the 350-acre farm, which largely remains without heating and air conditioning even today, welcomes about sixty-five emerging artists from around the world and ten visiting faculty artists to live and work together in a self-directed experimental learning experience.
Over the decades, the school gained an international reputation for its unique approach, becoming one of the country’s most influential art institutions. Among the generations of artists who have taught or studied there are William Zorach, Berenice Abbott, Alex Katz, Robert Indiana, Louise Bourgeois, Jacob Lawrence, David Driskell, Cindy Sherman, and Jenny Holzer.
While the school began with a focus on traditional fine arts disciplines, it continuously expands to meet the needs of contemporary artists. Today, it is one of the few art schools in the United States to offer the centuries-old fresco technique while including programming for video, photography, and performance arts, among others.
Author: Stephanie Bouchard