The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths founded its Technical and Recreative Institute in 1891. The University of London acquired the Institute and re-established it as Goldsmiths College in 1904.
Goldsmiths, at New Cross in southeast London, has been a full college of the University since 1989. It specialises in courses and research relating to creativity and culture.
Goldsmiths has a reputation for producing visual artists, particularly those collectively known as the Young British Artists, also known as Brit artists and Britart.
Members of the Goldsmiths Society include artists Damien Hirst and Steve McQueen, fashion designer Mary Quant, comedian Julian Clary and politician Tessa Jowell.
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is based at University College, London. It was founded in 1871 with a bequest from the English art collector and philanthropist Felix Slade. Slade's endowment established Chairs in Fine Art at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, as well as in London where the endowment also funded scholarships.
Past members of the teaching staff include Henry Tonks, Lucian Freud and Roger Fry. Slade School alumni include Ithell Colquhoun, Spencer Gore, Richard Hamilton, Augustus John, Wyndham Lewis and Rachel Whiteread.
Camberwell College of Arts
The Camberwell College of Arts is on Peckham Road in south London. It is one of five colleges that make up the University of the Arts London, formerly the London Institute.
Camberwell College was founded in 1898 as a Technical Institute with close links to the South London Gallery. The London County Council ran the Institute from 1904.
Camberwell College alumni include filmmaker Mike Leigh and artist Tom Phillips.
Chelsea College of Art and Design
Chelsea School of Art opened on Manresa Road and Chelsea Square in 1895. It was originally a faculty of the South-Western Polytechnic, later the Chelsea Polytechnic.
The School's curriculum was predominantly vocational, with a focus on 'commercial art', illustration, textiles, etching, lithography and architecture. Sculpture and painting departments were founded in the first half of the 20th century.
Chelsea merged with the Polytechnic School of Art in 1964. It quickly changed focus, providing fine art qualifications specialising in painting, graphic design and sculpture.
Chelsea merged with the Hammersmith School of Art in the mid-1970s, acquiring its Lime Grove site. It acquired additional premises on Bagleys Lane in 1975 and on Hugon Road in 1981.
The school became known as the Chelsea College of Art and Design in 1986. It is one of five colleges that make up the University of the Arts London, formerly the London Institute.
Notable teachers include Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland and Ceri Richards. Alumni include Elizabeth Frink, Ethel Walker, Paul Nash and Patrick Caulfield.
Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design is one of five colleges that make up the University of the Arts London. It was formed in 1989 as a merger between two much older schools.
St Martin's School of Art, founded in 1854, had an international reputation for fashion and fine art. The Central School of Arts and Crafts, founded in 1896, was renowned for industrial, theatre and graphic design.
The Drama Centre London, founded in 1962, merged with Central Saint Martins in 1999. The Byam Shaw School of Art joined the School in 2003.
Central Saint Martins' alumni include artists Lucien Freud and Frank Auerbach, and British fashion designers John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. Actors Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan have studied at Drama Centre London.
City & Guilds of London Art School
The City & Guilds of London Institute established the City & Guilds of London Art School in Kennington in 1879. It was an extension of the Lambeth School of Art.
City & Guilds originally provided training for those engaged in the art industries of south London. This focussed on carving, modelling and architectural decoration.
During the 20th century, the City & Guilds of London Art Schools expanded its activities. It now attracts students from overseas and throughout the United Kingdom.
