Herron School of Art and Design - Historical Timeline

Historical Timeline

The Art Association of Indianapolis, formerly the Indiana School of Art, was established in 1883. In 1895, John Herron left most of his fortune to the Association, which was headed by suffragette May Wright Sewell.

Due to Herron's donation, the John Herron Art Institute was formed in 1902. It served as both a museum and art school. Herron's Italian Renaissance style Museum building, previously located at 1701 North Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, was designed by Vonnegut and Bohn architects. Herron's Main Building was designed by Paul Philippe Cret in 1929 and was the second facility in the nation designed specifically for art education. Herron's first core faculty included painters T.C. Steele, influential in Brown County, J. Ottis Adams, William Forsyth, Richard Gruelle, sculptor Rudolph Schwarz, and Otto Stark.

In 1967, the Herron School of Art became a school of Indiana University. Two years later, it became part of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, located near downtown Indianapolis. In 1970, the Indianapolis Museum of Art separated from the school, taking with it a majority of Herron's art collection.

In 1999, Herron launched a capital campaign to raise funds for new buildings, and in 2000, a ceramics facility was opened. In 2005, Eskenazi Hall, the current home of the school, was finished. This 169,000-square-foot (15,700 m2) facility tripled the amount of space available to Herron students and includes a 5,500-square-foot (510 m2) library, a 240-seat auditorium, 4,200 square feet (390 m2) of gallery space, and several computer labs.