Abstract

This study reveals the influences of Unitarianism on the development of art education in the common schools of Massachusetts. Such an investigation brings to the fore an aspect of the history of art education that until now has been insufficiently explored. Broadly speaking, it examines a theological shift toward a more liberal Christianity that began during the mid-eighteenth century and eventually gave rise to Unitarianism. This Unitarianism created a climate in Boston that was conducive for the development of fine arts in America. Specifically, this study is concerned with the work of liberal Christians and Unitarians who were effective in introducing art education into the educational system of Massachusetts. Three persons who were affiliated with Unitarianism and had a significant impact on education in Boston viewed art education, especially drawing, as important to their aims for education. They are Amos Bronson Alcott, Horace Mann, and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody. Their interest in art was in part due to their embrace of religious liberal values. This investigation examines those major actors either liberal Christians or Unitarians involved in activities that led to the 1870 "Act Relating to Free Instruction in Drawing." ;The development of liberal Christianity in Boston was precipitated by the change of Harvard College from a Puritan institution founded to train preachers of the Reformed tradition, to one that prepared ministers to pastor moderate Calvinist, liberal, or Unitarian churches. ;Liberal Christianity officially became Unitarianism in 1825; Unitarian theology is understood through the sermons of William Ellery Channing, an important Unitarian clerical figure in Boston. Following that, a study of the context in and around Massachusetts makes salient the conservative religious values of society in New England. The contributions of Alcott, Mann, and Peabody, to art education in Massachusetts, are examined giving specific examples of the influence of Unitarianism in their life and work as educators. ;Lastly, in an Excursis, the implications of this study for the contemporary milieu surrounding art education is explored