History and Mission

History
Art is a relatively young discipline at Davidson College, which was founded in 1837. The first course related to art was offered in 1928, and one art appreciation class continued to be taught through 1953. That year Douglas Houchens became the College's first full-time professor of art, and students could choose from three courses that for the first time included studio art.

Art became a major at Davidson in 1971 when the department's three full-time professors taught 17 courses in Cunningham Fine Arts Building, sharing the space with music and theatre. About that time the department also began sponsoring the Davidson National Print and Drawing Competition, which attracted some of the finest artists of that era.

With the completion of the Belk Visual Arts Center in the fall of 1993, the department moved into a state-of-the-art facility dedicated exclusively to art. The VAC (as students promptly christened the Center) includes two public gallery spaces, the Van Every/Smith Galleries, through which thousands of visitors pass every year. Today the department boasts seven faculty, 40 studio and art history courses, and about 45 majors. Three more faculty positions — two in art history and one in studio art — were added between 1978 and 1987.

Mission Statement
The Art Department of Davidson College is dedicated to the study, history, production, and theory of art and to the conceptualization, collection, exhibition, and curatorship of visual culture as a central part of the liberal arts tradition and educational experience. Through state-of-the-art facilities offered by the Belk Visual Arts Center and the availability of gifted teachers who are also committed and successful career artists and art historians, the department provides students with a challenging opportunity for aesthetic growth and personal intellectual development.