In the most literal sense of the word, art is foundational for The Wheeler School. School founder Mary Colman Wheeler was an artist, trained in the ateliers of 19th-century France. In her day, Miss Wheeler received international recognition as a pioneer in art education, participating in symposia on the subject in the U.S. and abroad. She is among the first American educators to fully integrate art into primary and secondary curricula. We are proud to continue the legacy of Mary C. Wheeler through our comprehensive Nursery-Grade 12 curriculum.

Our faculty includes full-time artists and art educators teaching in every division of the school. Dedicated art studios designed for a variety of media are located in all divisions and at both campuses for every student to access, where they can be seen and celebrated for their diversity of identity, thought, and creative voice. Additionally, our professional art gallery, The Chazan Gallery, is located within our Hope Street campus.

Our Approach to Teaching and Learning in The Visual Arts

• Provides a foundation in The Elements and Principles of Design
• Develops an expansive vocabulary of art and skills in a variety of media, as well as art historical and contemporary references for understanding and inspiration
• Focuses on traditional to contemporary subject matter such as portraiture, the figure, landscape, still life, and conceptual art, with an emphasis on process

Lower School: Developing Creative Strengths

The Art Program in the Lower School has the special opportunity and responsibility of beginning a process of growth that develops the creative strengths of all students. Starting with our youngest learners in the Nest, students explore a wide variety of art experiences and media in both two and three-dimensional artmaking such as: ceramics, printmaking, painting, drawing, and mixed-media sculpture. All class sizes are divided into small groups with a class size ranging from eight to 12 students, making individual attention and accommodation of different learning styles possible.

 Middle School: Building Ideas from Structure

The art curriculum for Middle School builds upon the curriculum of the Lower School and prepares students for the artistic rigor of our Upper School program. The art curriculum for the 6th-8th grades supports student development of skills to solve visual challenges through structured plans and research based upon the Elements and Principles of Design. Wheeler’s Middle School Art Program has two art studios that include a kiln and a photographic darkroom. Through a series of carefully designed projects using a variety of two and three-dimensional media, students develop their problem-solving, organizational, and perceptual skills. Students use their art skills to explore their own creativity and imagination while expressing their identity. Our instructional method sparks creative thinking while building organizational skills that benefit the whole student in and beyond the art studio.

Upper School: Taking Risks Without Fear

The Upper School Art curriculum encourages students to be open and receptive to new ideas and ways of working, thinking, and creative problem-solving. Students learn to value experimentation, process, and discovery without fear of the outcomes; the process of art-making is valued before the product. Program goals broaden student awareness through involvement in the art-making process and aim to help students value themselves, their unique identities, their work, and the efforts of others. At Wheeler, art is an integral and foundational part of the educational process. Each student is required to take two art courses in the Upper School. The first of these, in the 9th or 10th grade, is Foundation Art, which offers a sampling of all of our electives. Students with a strong interest and ability in Drawing and Painting may apply for the three-year Studio Art Program. Students with a strong interest in other media and subjects can pursue advanced work in two-dimensional media (Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, and Two-Dimensional Design), three-dimensional media (Ceramics and Sculpture), and/or Photography sequences of courses. Students committed to taking two sequential courses of Visual Arts beyond Foundation may enroll in the Advanced Art Seminar. Students enrolled in Studio 3 and Advanced Art Seminar culminate with a show in our professional gallery. The professional artists showing in the Chazan Gallery throughout the school year provide our Upper School art students with an excellent opportunity to meet local, regional, and nationally recognized artists. Field trips to major museums in New York and Boston are made annually.

Through the Global Experience Program, students may follow in the steps of Mary C. Wheeler by touring the great art centers of Europe with an art educator and art/art history focus. Trips are offered at least once during a student’s time in Upper School and recently students have travelled to France, Italy and Greece.

You can learn more about our program on the Visual Arts section of the Wheeler website.

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