New York School of Applied Design for Women

The New York School of Applied Design for Women was an early design school for women in New York City.

The school was established in 1892 by philanthropist Ellen Dunlop Hopkins as part of the Arts and Crafts movement. It aimed to "afford women practical instruction which will enable them to earn a livelihood by the application of ornamental design to manufacture and the numerous Arts and Crafts" (Bailey). The school provided courses in book cover design, stained glass, textile and wallpaper design, illustration, etc., with a salesroom for student products.

Before 1912, the New York School of Applied Design for Women was closely associated with Columbia University, as architecture students received part of their professional training in the offices of practicing architects. One of these "ateliers" was run by Harvey Wiley Corbett, an architect and instructor at the school.^[1]

The school was originally located at 200 West 23rd Street. In 1909, the school moved to a new building at 160 Lexington Avenue designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett. Partial funding for the new structure came from John D. Rockefeller.^[1] The school became the New York Phoenix School of Design in 1944, and some thirty years later merged with the Pratt Institute to form the Pratt-Phoenix School of Design. The 160 Lexington Ave. building was designated a New York City Landmark in 1977 and also formerly housed part of Touro College, which sold it to a private investor in 2006.^[2]

Alumni include:

• Ruth Adams
• Isabel Bishop
• Martha Brookes Hutcheson
• Elizabeth Tashjian

In 1938 the Swiss-born American artist Adolfo Müller-Ury (1862-1947) presented the school with a portrait of Ellen Dunlap Hopkins, for which the commemorative scroll of thanks survives amongst his surviving papers in Hospental, Switzerland. The portrait was rediscovered in a private collection in Brooklyn in 2010.

Mrs Hopkins was also painted by Wilhelm Funk, and this portrait's location is unknown.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} New York City Landmark Preservation Commission (May 10, 1977). "PRATT-NEW YORK PHOENIX SCHOOL OF DESIGN (New York School of Applied Design for Women)". http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/77PRATT-NYPHOENIXSCH.pdf. Retrieved Dec. 31, 2008. 
2. ^ Gray, Christopher (17 Feb. 2008). "A Greek Temple Dedicated to Art and Learning". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/17/realestate/17scap.html. Retrieved 31 Dec., 2008.  Article includes the history and multiple photos of the building.

Other References and Further Reading

• The School Arts Book, Henry Turner Bailey (ed), Davis Press, 1907, volume 6, page 171.
• Linda Eisenmann, Historical Dictionary of Women's Education in the United States, Greenwood Press, 1998, page 129. ISBN 0313293236.
• Ellen Mary Easton McLeod, In Good Hands: The Women of the Canadian Handicrafts Guild, McGill-Queen's Press, 1999, page 57. ISBN 0886293561.
• Matthew A. Postal, Andrew S. Dolkart, Guide to New York City Landmarks, John Wiley and Sons, 2003, page 85. ISBN 0471369004.