Herron School of Art and Design, a school of Indiana University, was ranked 59th overall by U.S. News and World Report among graduate schools of fine arts in 2016. Located on the campus of Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Herron enrolls nearly 800 students in bachelor's and master's degree programs including fine arts, visual communication design, art education, art therapy, and art history. Herron is also home to five galleries, which exhibit contemporary works of art by national and international contemporary artists and designers, as well the work of Herron faculty, alumni, and students; and the Basile Center for Art, Design and Public Life, which enriches educational and interdisciplinary activities through civic engagement and community partnerships.
Design Thinking for Collaborative Innovation Certificate
Pre-Art Therapy Certificate
Studio Art & Technology Minor
Notable alumni
Timeline
;1800s The Art Association of Indianapolis, formerly the Indiana School of Art, was established in 1883. In 1895, John Herron bequeathed most of his fortune to the Association, which was headed by suffragette May Wright Sewall. Herron stipulated that the money be used to build a museum and art school in his name.. ;1900s Due to Herron's gift, the John Herron Art Institute was formed in 1902 in Indianapolis to serve as an art museum and an art school. The Institute's Herron Museum, an Italian Renaissance Reviva-style building, was designed by Vonnegut and Bohn architects and located at 1701 North Pennsylvania Street in the present-day Morton Place. The Institute's main building was designed by Paul Philippe Cret in 1929, and was the second facility in the nation designed specifically for art education. The first core faculty included Indiana Impressionist painters of the Hoosier Group: T.C. Steele, J. Ottis Adams, William Forsyth, Richard Gruelle, and Otto Stark. The sculptor Rudolph Schwarz was also in the first core faculty. ;1960s Fesler Hall, a major addition to the former John Herron Art Institute site along North Pennsylvania was Indianapolis architect Evans Woollen III's first civic commission. The three-story academic building was a freestanding wing addition that connected via covered walkway to the original, Cret-designed main building. Both of these structures are still standing. Woollen's addition was noted for its use of reinforced concrete and exposed columns, which are typical of Brutalist architecture, and its deeply coffered ceilings. The project was funded through a bequest of Caroline Marmon Fesler, a former board member and president of the Indianapolis Art Association. In 1967, the Herron School of Art became a school of Indiana University. Two years later, it became part of IUPUI—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. ;2000s The Herron School of Art and Design launched a capital campaign to raise funds for new buildings in 1999, and in 2000 a ceramic arts facility was opened. In 2003 was published detailing the past 100 years of the school's history. In 2005, Eskenazi Hall, the current home of the school, was completed. This facility tripled the amount of space available to Herron students and includes a library, a 240-seat auditorium, of gallery space, and several computer labs. The original Herron art school's buildings now house Herron High School, a classical liberal arts charter high school. They are within the Herron-Morton Place Historic District.
Benefactors
Caroline Marmon Fesler: The daughter of local industrialist and automobile manufacturer Daniel W. Marmon, she studied painting in Europe. Later, she became a well-known art collector, especially of 20th-century modernist works, many of which she later gave to the Herron Museum—including Grey Hills by her friend, Georgia O'Keeffe. Along with Sullivan, Fesler propelled the Herron Museum into the era of modern art. Herman C. Krannert: Founder and president of Inland Container Corporation, Krannert agreed to take charge of the Art Association in 1960, at a point when the organization was struggling to stay afloat. Krannert insisted the group reorganize its board and its way of doing business, including creating the position of board chairman—he became the first person to have that title and he held it for 12 years. His tenure culminated in the relocation of the Museum from the Herron campus at 16th and Pennsylvania streets to its current 38th St. and Michigan Road site, and the Art Association's name changed to the Indianapolis Museum of Art.
