American Academy of Art-Chicago

The American Academy of Art was founded in 1923 as a school for professional artists. Our classes have traditionally placed an emphasis on drawing and design based on the classical academic tradition. We are home to a distinguished faculty committed to providing our students with artistic skills and knowledge of contemporary tools and techniques. Today, the American Academy of Art continues to build on this strong reputation of educating successful professional artists.

Our curriculum is based on developing strong foundational skills and knowledge from which students can improve their abilities as they complete challenging projects of progressive difficulty. We offer seven areas of study in our Bachelor of Fine Arts degree: illustration, design, multimedia/ web design, 3D modeling and animation, oil painting, watercolor painting, and life drawing.

All of our students start their training with the foundations program. The foundations program helps students to develop the core skills of the visual arts. In Fundamentals of Art and Life Drawing, students learn figure drawing, composition, rendering, linear perspective and color theory. A variety of materials and techniques are introduced in these courses. Class projects give students experience in the full artistic process—from concept to sketch to thumbnail to finished work. This year is critical in preparing students to think and work as artists in their area of specialization.

The mission of the American Academy of Art is to educate our students in the Traditional and Contemporary skills of the Professional Artist which can lead to a career in the Art Field.

The American Academy of Art is located in downtown Chicago with convenient access to public transportation and many of Chicago’s most notable museums and galleries. The school is located at 332 South Michigan Avenue, two blocks south of the Art Institute of Chicago and two blocks west of Lake Michigan. Students, staff and guests enjoy a view of north Grant Park from the library and the Bill L. Parks Gallery. We are within walking distance of Metra trains and just blocks from all CTA lines. Parking garages are also located within a block of the school.

The school occupies about 45,000 square feet on the second and third floors of the 332 South Michigan building with a private entrance at street level. This facility houses all of our classrooms, faculty, staff and administrative offices, and two student lounges, as well as the Irving Shapiro Library and the Bill L. Parks Gallery. The school occupies about thirty classrooms, including twenty specialized studios and five digital media labs.

We have created a unique atmosphere in the halls of the Academy by using a number of display cases to highlight the work of alumni and current students, making our halls both a tribute to the Academy’s past and a glimpse into its future. Student work is rotated regularly, and teachers often use the cases to display exceptional work completed in their classes.

The American Academy of Art was founded in 1923 as a school for professional artists. Our classes have traditionally placed an emphasis on drawing and design based on the classical academic tradition. We are home to a distinguished faculty committed to providing our students with artistic skills and knowledge of contemporary tools ...