Menu Close

Glasgow School of Art

The Glasgow School of Art is one of Europe’s leading higher education institutions for the education and research in the visual creative disciplines.

Founded in 1845 as the Glasgow Government School of Design, the school changed its name to The Glasgow School of Art in 1853. Originally located at 12 Ingram Street the school moved to the McLellan Galleries in Sauchiehall Street in 1869.

In 1897, work began on a new building nearby to house the school on Renfrew Street, funded by a donation of £10,000 from the Bellahouston Trust, left from the will of Moses Stevens of Bellahouston. The building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, chosen for the commission by the school’s director, Francis Newbery, who oversaw a period of expansion and fast-growing reputation. The first half of the building was completed in 1899 and the second half in 1909.

The School’s campus has grown since that time and in 2009 an international architectural competition was held to find an architect-led design team who would develop the Campus Masterplan and design the Phase 1 building. The competition was won by New York-based Steven Holl Architects working with Glasgow-based JM Architects. The Reid Building was completed in 2014 and sits opposite the gutted Mackintosh Building on a site previously occupied by the Foulis, Assembly and Newbery Tower Buildings.

The school has produced most of Scotland’s leading contemporary artists including, since 2005, 30% of Turner Prize nominees and five recent Turner Prize winners: Simon Starling in 2005, Richard Wright in 2009, Martin Boyce in 2011, Duncan Campbell in 2014 and Charlotte Prodger in 2018.

Links

Authors