Our army of citizen-soldiers found itself at the end of the campaign in a foreign land which is a veritable treasure house of art of every description, whose whole history is intricately interlaced with the history of art… It cannot be doubted that the influence of this opportunity will make itself felt in many communities.
In his report, Lloyd Warren, Dean of the Faculty, exclaimed…perhaps for the first time in the history of teaching of art a very large group of students in all its branches have been brought together under one roof to pursue their studies….which defined the program’s unique appeal with studio work, field trips to Paris, drawing and introduction to French culture and the arts. In 1923 it was merged with the music conservatory at Fontainebleau by his brother Whitney Warren and Beaux Arts mentor and colleague, Victor Laloux.
Since the beginning the program included an impressive array of faculty and graduates who have had a critical impact in their fields both in the US and France. Its early Beaux Arts association was especially attractive under director Jacques Carlu (1923-33) who also taught at MIT. Jean-Jacques Haffner (1934-39) was the last director before WW II. After the war the program was restarted by Jean Labatut and continued under directors: Andre Remondet (1948-57), Pierre Devinoy (1958-1971), Bernard de la Tour d’Avergne (1971-75), Marion Tournon-Branly (1975-89 & 2001-2002); Jean-Louis Nouvian (1989-2000), Jean Marie Charpentier (2003-06), and Anthony Bechu who has led the program since 2007. He will be succeeded by Antonio Frausto in a long line of distinguished directors to lead the school into the next century.
The program has continued to evolve over time from its Beaux Arts origins to new directions in contemporary design. Landscape and garden design was added in 1961. A link with the conservatory was forged by Marion Tournon-Branly and Nadia Boulanger, and beginning in 1975 each session was dedicated to a theme that would allow students to develop projects in common. The inaugural theme Space and Light was introduced by Emile Naoumoff composition Concerto for the Left Hand accompanied by an audiovisual presentation by the architect Anne-Marie Delangle. Today the program continues the collaborations between architects and musician -composers, bringing the two programs together with a creative synergy in addition to traditional studios, field trips, drawing and landscape design.
