Yale University School of Art

One of the oldest and most prestigious art schools in America, Yale School of Art was founded in 1864 with classes in drawing, sculpture, and art history. Today it has departments in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, and sculpture. Its alumni include iconic figures of modern and contemporary art such as Chuck Close, Richard Serra, Peter Halley, and most recently Wangechi Mutu and Matthew Barney. Several of Yale’s faculty members have defined the school’s success, most notably Josef Albers, chair of the Department of Design from 1950 to 1958, and Walker Evans, who taught photography in the department from 1964 to 1972. Albers’s understanding of art as a process, as opposed to a finished product, transformed the teaching of art and design in the 20th century. Other notable faculty members include Rochelle Feinstein, Gregory Crewdson (current director of Graduate Studies in photography), Trevor Paglen, Shirin Neshat, Huma Bhabha, Carroll Dunham, and Barbara London.