In 1998, AIB merged with Lesley College
Illustration by Thomas Kerr to comemorate the merger
The Art Institute of Boston was founded by Roy Davidson in 1912
as the School of Practical Art.
AIB’s early philosophy was based on Davidson’s
own belief that “beauty comes from the use.”
The school opened in Davison’s own studio,
3 small rooms in Boston’s Back Bay.
Calender of the School of Practical Art (1931)
The School of Practical Art was one of the first private, nonaffiliated studio schools in the United States
In Autumn 2013, the University officially changed the name of the Art Institute of Boston to the Lesley University College of Art and Design (LUCAD).
LUCAD VS AIB
School of Practical Art Portraiture Class, circa 1945
Co-ed classroom full of students during a portraiture class at the School of Practical Art. All students, who are dressed very formally, are drawing on canvases. The portrait is of a woman with a flower in her hair.
You see that all drawings consisted in the very same style: Memetic.
But here are my works from Figure Drawing class. We have naked model and the class is very liberal. I have own freedom in my hand.


However, I love seeing the student life at that time. They had so much fun together.

….
ART SCHOOL. NOW AND THEN…
Art school is the very first project that I put so much attempt to look for material and reference on the web. It is based on the archive of my college. I have a deeper view of my art school, Lesley University College of Art and Design (LUCAD). Otherwise, the purpose of this research still comes from my personal concern, should I be patient with my choice of going to an art school. Art career is very challenging and only the minority of my Asian community choose this direction. A semester at LUCAD takes a fortune that a country Vietnamese working hard to earn and Boston is an expensive city so I have very high expectation for my education: to get connected with art community and learn how to survive as a visual artist. However, I feel discouraged sometimes and I just do not believe in the comfort of college life.