The beginning of Wimbledon College of Arts started in 1890. This was a time the value of art education was recognised by the then Department for Education – no doubt influenced by the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement and William Morris’s belief that “Everybody ought to be taught to draw, just as much as everybody should be taught to read and write.” As a condition for getting funding schools had to teach drawing from elementary school (at least to boys). The governors and headmasters of the Rutlish School in what was then the village of Merton, now the London Borough where Wimbledon is located embraced this directive, and so started what would eventually lead to Wimbledon School of Art.
At the time art was seen as key to a technical education and aligned to science, and as demand for these classes increased a new school was established – the ‘Rutlish Science School’. The art classes expanded into the evening with ‘freehand and model’, ‘perspective, geometry, light and shade’, ‘carving in wood’ and drawing (even ‘special’ classes for women), alongside a whole range of other science and technical subjects like chemistry, carpentry, cookery and diary work as Wimbledon was still pretty much rural farmland at the time and not part of London. In response to the growing need for these classes the Trustees of the Rutland School joined with the Surrey local education authority to build the Merton and Wimbledon Technical Institute which opened in 1904 on Gladstone Road and established ‘The School of Art’ with four dedicated studios.
The breakthrough came in with the arrival of Gerald Cooper, who after serving as a pilot in the First World War graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1923 alongside Barbara Hepworh and Henry Moore. He was a strong proponent of the tradition for drawing at the time – students typically did four years, the first two dedicated to drawing and then two more specialising on ‘pictorial design’, book illustration, textiles etc. Cooper pushed for new larger premises and in 1937 a former farm called Merton Hall was to become the site of the new school.
Despite preparations for the Second World War the building was very ambitious with an outdoor pottery kiln and the services of a gardener for two days a week. The School opened in 1940 and was immediately impacted by the war, including students having to paint camouflage on the white roof – despite bombing all around the building was never hit. An air raid shelter was constructed on the ground floor corridor. The ground floor also included a girls typing school.
The Art School contributed to the war effort by holding summer courses for soldiers in field sketching, the art students printed posters for War Weapons Week and fabric, and decorated two British Restaurants, an initiative to provide cheap meals for all. Ambitious painting and sculpture commissions also continued after the war across Surrey – but nearby in the computer room of the Wimbledon Public Library you can still see a series of mural painted by 28 different students in 1947-48, renovated about three years ago. They really show off the ‘Wimbledon Style’ at the time. From the late 70s a strong connection with Cannizaro House (now a hotel) was developed with a prestigious annual sculpture exhibition in the gardens, and post-graduate studios in the house in the 90s. The connection to the local community was strong, including creating the Merton Float for the Lord Mayor’s Parade since the 80s, including last year’s fantastic gigantic cat puppet and when Wimbledon won the FA Cup in 1988 painting students did the official team portrait.
After the war the School also continued to flourish adding more specialist courses. It was dedicated to the preparation, training and education of professional artists and designers who could meet the need for commercial and industrial design in the post-war reconstruction of the country.
But the biggest innovation was the creation of the Department of Theatre Design in 1948, which complemented dress and costume design and cutting that had been taught right from the Institute days. In 1964 the new studio theatre and design studios were opened. Many production have been staged there since.
Whilst demand for courses rose and the Wimbledon site developed it always remained small comparative to other art schools. Students could get to know each other and their tutors, there was a great sense of community. In the ‘80s the whole school even took overseas trips together. Alongside the fine art courses, theatre ‘wardrobe’ (as costume was known) and design grew to earn national recognition as a centre of excellence.
In the College’s most recent history a multimillion-pound investment programme started in the summer of 2020 to transform Wimbledon College of Arts into a world-leading centre for performance. It is now dedicated to the study of stage and screen performance.