Our History

The Hartford Art School has a rich history beginning with it’s founding by a virtual who’s who of late 19th Century Hartford women in 1877. These visionary individuals included the abolitionist writer, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the wife of Mark Twain, Olivia Clemens, the president of Colt Firearms Manufacture Company, Elizabeth Colt; the wife of the owner of the Hartford Courant, Susan Warner, and Mary Bushnell Cheney of Cheney Silk Mills. We believe the founders would be proud to know the school they created in Hartford over a century and a quarter ago, has today become one of the most highly regarded art schools in the country.

In 1957, the Hartford Art School merged with the Hartt School and Hillyer College to form the University of Hartford. Today, the University has seven Colleges, an undergraduate population of 4,600 students and a total enrollment of 6,000 students, including graduate and professional programs. Hartford Art School students have the best of both worlds. They are enrolled in a rigorous professional studio-based program that is an integral part of a thriving university environment. Our 350 undergraduate BFA and 35 graduate MFA students have access to a large university library, university-wide lectures, expertise in other colleges, as well as outstanding music, theater and dance concerts, and sports events held throughout the year.