Slade School of Fine Art

The Slade School of Fine Art occupies a unique position in the history of art education because it admitted women on terms nearly equal to men from its very first day in eighteen seventy-one. While other prestigious institutions of the time strictly barred women from life drawing classes, the Slade invited them to work alongside men in the life room. This policy quickly made the school a hub for talented female artists who were excluded elsewhere, allowing them to compete for prizes in figure painting and composition on an equal footing. It set a progressive standard that forced the rest of the London art world to rethink its limitations.