Cornish School of Allied Arts (Seattle, Wash.)

Founded in 1914 by Nellie C. Cornish as the Cornish School of Music, the Cornish School of Allied Arts quickly became established as the first school in the western United States to offer comprehensive training in all of the arts.

Nellie Cornish sought to educate artists through exposure to all art forms and within the first few years of the school's existence she had expanded the curriculum to offer courses in dance, visual arts, theater and design. She recruited a wide variety of artists for her faculty, many of whom achieved great distinction, including composer John Cage, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham and painter Mark Tobey. After World War I, a group of prominent citizens formed a Board of Trustees to raise funds for a new facility. Originally located in the Booth Building at Broadway and Pine Street in Seattle, the Cornish School moved to a new building on East Roy Street, in which Nellie Cornish maintained an apartment. Although its programs flourished, the Cornish School faced repeated financial crises. In 1924, the non-profit Cornish School Foundation was formed by a group of benefactors to manage finances; it named Nellie Cornish the lifetime director of educational programs, working in coordination with the Foundation's Board of Trustees and the Women's Advisory Committee. Following the resignation of Nellie Cornish in 1939, a Faculty governing Board directed the school until 1946. The Music and Art Foundation (a women's civic organization formed in 1923 to encourage young people to develop their creative and artistic talents) assumed ownership and administrative responsibility of the Cornish School in 1954. In 1977, the Cornish School of Allied Arts became Cornish Institute of Allied Arts, a fully accredited college offering Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees. In 1986, the college was renamed the Cornish College of the Arts. Cornish College opened a new campus in downtown Seattle in 2003.

From the description of Cornish School of Allied Arts records, 1893-1989 (bulk 1932-1977). (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 123951077

The Cornish School of Allied Arts was founded by Nellie C. Cornish in 1914 as the Cornish School of Music, located in the Booth Building at Broadway and Pine Street in Seattle. Nellie Cornish wanted to educate artists through exposure to all art forms, and within the next few years, expanded the curriculum to offer courses in dance, visual arts, theater, and design. The school became the first in the western United States to offer comprehensive training in all of the arts.

Nellie Cornish recruited both famous and unknown artists for her faculty, including painter Mark Tobey, dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, and artists fleeing from the Russian revolution, such as Peter Merenblum. Her focus, however, was not to bring art to a privileged elite, but to nurture creativity in the average person and enrich the lives of all, not just the talented, by means of art.

After World War I, and faced with the Cornish School's impending financial crisis, a group of prominent, welthy women and their husbands formed a Board of Trustees to raise funds for a new facility. In 1921, the School moved to a new, picturesque building on East Roy Street, with Nellie Cornish living in an upstairs apartment.

While the School's programs flourished, Cornish faced repeated financial crises. In 1924, with the school unable to pay the mortgage on its property, a group of benefactors formed the non-profit Cornish School Foundation to manage finances, and named Nellie Cornish the lifetime director of educational programs, working in coordination with the Foundation's Board of Trustees and the Women's Advisory Committee. After 1939, with the resignation of Nellie Cornish, a Faculty governing Board directed the school until 1946. The Music and Art Foundation, a women's civic organization formed in 1923 to encourage young people to develop their creative and artistic talents, assumed ownership and administrative responsibility of the Cornish School in 1954.

In 1977, Cornish School of Allied Arts became Cornish Institute of Allied Arts, a fully accredited college offering Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Music degrees. In 1986, the college was renamed the Cornish College of the Arts. Cornish College opened a new campus in downtown Seattle in 2003.

From the guide to the Cornish School of Allied Arts records, 1893-1989, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)