@shoot4moon, We communicated on your other thread, but I’ll recap here. Williams has a terrific studio art and art history program. That the two disciplines are combined in one department widens and deepens the scope of each. The studio facilities are excellent and access to three world class museums on or near campus enhances the experience.
From the website:
The studio professors are all accomplished, working artists. There are visiting lecturers and assistant professors, but as far as I’m aware, no adjuncts. The instructors’ backgrounds and styles vary, but for sure, they are there to teach undergraduates, not to foist any particular style on their students, or to limit the way they express themselves artistically.
Williams focuses heavily on technique, though it’s important for students to be able to articulate the concepts behind their work. The professors are skilled in a wide range of media and help students master materials and technique. Studio art majors are required to take at least one course in three different media. My son, who chose the History and Practice major, started out concentrating on drawing and painting but was able to branch out into architecture, print making and photography. He ended up in architecture.
My observation is that some schools are more focused on theory and concept, some more on process, but it’s difficult to detect the difference in teaching styles from school to school. I’d suggest your daughter look at some of the course descriptions to see what appeals.
http://web.williams.edu/admin/registrar//catalog/depts/arth.pdf
(The studio courses begin on page 28.)
I don’t think that it’s necessary that a professor produces representational art him/herself in order to teach a student who is interested in realism. What they are teaching is creativity, mastery of media and understanding of the theory behind the work. The ability to articulate that theory is important and will be challenged in critiques.
My son’s experience was that there was a fair amount of representational art coming out of Williams art department, covering a wide spectrum from portrait, to figures and objects to landscape, and involving a wide range of media – drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, print making. Studio art tutorials, in which one professor guides two students as they create and analyze each other’s work, are a unique Williams feature.
Williams doesn’t have minors, but double majoring in disparate disciplines is common. Be aware, however, that art studio and lab sciences are both labor intensive – at Williams or any other academically rigorous school.
Some other northeast schools that have good studio art programs: Yale, Brown, Haverford, Wesleyan, Skidmore, Hamilton, Conn College, Smith, Vassar. Other than Brown, which is highly conceptual, my impression is that you will find support for representational art at all of these art departments. Again, look at the course catalogs for specifics.
I would highly recommend Smith for the trifecta of strong studio art, strong sciences and generous merit aid! The others, with the exception of Skidmore I believe, are all need-based.