Glasgow Government School of Design/ Glasgow School of Art – Founded in 1845, Not in 1840

When I began my research in the late 1980s, one of the institutions I was

interested in, is the Glasgow Government School of Design, which evolved

into Glasgow School of Art.

 

For some reason, a number of newspaper articles, along with a few publications,

referred to 1840 as the date of the School’s foundation.

 

On page eight of The Glasgow Herald, on Thursday the 26th of May, 1898, is an article

about the laying of the memorial stone of the “New School of Art”, situated in Renfrew

Street, by Sir Renny Watson. He also was one of the representatives of the Bellahouston

Trust.

 

The Lord Provost, (Sir) David Richmond opened the proceedings, and expressed

his thanks to the School’s governors for inviting him to preside:

 

“… on that interesting occasion—an occasion which not only constituted that a red-letter

day in the annals of the Glasgow School of Art, but marked an epoch in the history of the

city. (Applause) The school possessed a long and honoured record, dating as far back as

the year 1840, and when they remembered the difficulties through which that record had

been achieved, it spoke volumes for the manner in which those who had been charged

with its administration had performed their duties.”

 

An example can be found on page nine of The Scotsman, on Thursday the 16th of

December, 1909, in an article headed: ‘GLASGOW SCHOOL OF ART. / OPENING

OF EXTENSIONS.’ In his speech, the Lord Provost, (Sir) Archibald McInnes Shaw,

who presided over the proceedings, said:

 

“… that the history of the School, from the date of its foundation in 1840, was a record

of progress and advancement in the artistic education of the city.”

 

 

 

The British Newspaper Archive.

 

 

 

George Fairfull-Smith, June 2025.