A History of Art Education

Is art education a frill, or an indispensable part of the curriculum? Debate on the place of the arts in American life has refocused attention on art education in the schools. In A History of Art Education: Intellectual and Social Currents in Teaching the Visual Arts, Arthur Efland puts current debate and concerns in a well-researched historical perspective.

“The ways the visual arts are taught today,” says Efland, “were conditioned by the beliefs and values regarding art held by those who advocated its teaching in the past.” In this book the author examines the institutional settings of art education throughout Western history, the social forces that have shaped it, and the evolution and impact of alternate streams of influence on present practice.

A History of Art Education is the first book to treat the visual arts in relation to developments in general education. Particular emphasis is placed on the 19th and 20th centuries and on the social context that has affected our concept of art today. This book will be useful as a main text in history of art education courses, as a supplemental text in courses in art education methods and history of education, and as a valuable resource for students, professors, and researchers.

“The book should become a standard reference tool for art educators at all levels of the field.”

—The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

“Efland has filled a gap in historical research on art education and made an important contribution to scholarship in the field.”

—Studies in Art Education