Mechanic's Institute

Gray's School of Art

Plate-glass windows at Gray's School of Art reflect the colours of autumn
Type	Art school
Established	1885
Location	Aberdeen, Scotland
Head of School	Professor Chris O'Neil
Affiliations	The Robert Gordon University
Website	Gray's School of Art

Gray's School of Art is the Robert Gordon University's art school, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland and one of Scotland's five art schools today, and ranked among the Top 20 Schools of Art and Design in the United Kingdom. The School is housed in a modernist building at the university's Garthdee campus in Aberdeen. As well as degree-level training in fine art, applied art and design, Gray's School of Art offers short courses and evening classes to the general public in a wide variety of mediums. Many of these are designed for those with no previous formal training, and can also be used to develop a portfolio prior to applying for degree-level study. The School also mounts exhibitions, including the annual Degree Show which showcases the work of students on its programmes.

Gray's was founded in 1885 as Gray's School of Science and Art, in recognition of the generosity of its founding father, John Gray (1811–1891), a local businessman and philanthropist. He began as a carpenter but rose through the ranks to become a partner in McKinnon & Co., a firm of engineers and iron founders in Aberdeen. In 1859 he was appointed director of the Aberdeen Mechanics Institution, one of the city institutions which would eventually develop into The Robert Gordon University.

In the early 1880s, John Gray offered to finance a new school of science and art in Aberdeen, on the condition that the governors named it Gray's School of Science and Art. His offer stemmed partly from the difficulties he himself had experienced obtaining adequate training. The school opened in 1885 with 96 students enrolled for the day classes and 322 for the evening classes. It was housed in an impressive pink granite building at Schoolhill in the city centre, next to the Aberdeen Art Gallery. The building was designed to match and give architectural coherence to the gallery, in accordance with Gray's wishes. By the 1960s the School had outgrown the building, and moved to a newly constructed modernist building at Garthdee, next to the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture (see below). The original building still stands at Schoolhill as the university's Administration Building, housing the university's leadership and administrative departments, as well as the Principal's Office.