Art education has been offered at RMIT since its foundation in 1887, as part of a suite of "art, science and technological" classes envisioned by its founder Francis Ormond. The early art classes of the College were modelled on those of British and European art schools—particularly the Brighton College of Art and the South Kensington Science and Art School in the United Kingdom. By 1899, around 400 students were taking classes in architectural and freehand drawing, painting, sculpture and wood-carving at the College. Its architectural classes were the first in Victoria, and remained part of the School of Art until 1934 when they broke away to form the predecessor to the RMIT School of Architecture and Design. Photography commenced at the College in 1891, and classes in wet-plate photography, photoengraving, photolithography and collotype and carbon printing were all offered by 1902. Instructor Ludovico Hart founded one of the earliest photographic clubs in Australia at the College in 1891, The Working Men's College Photographic Club, which continues today as The Melbourne Camera Club. Between 1904 and 1905, instructor James Aebi also took what were likely the first colour photographs in Australia at the College. The Melbourne Camera Club. Retrieved June 7, 2017 Photography was dropped from the College curricula in 1914, but recommenced as a certificate course in the School of Art in 1936. It became a department of the School in 1956, with a diploma course developed by Dr. Neil Lewis from Kodak which he modelled on that of the Rochester Institute of Technology in the United States. Art became a separate school at RMIT in 1917, as the School of Applied Art, with a building for its own purposes completed that year. The foundation stone for the new School building was laid by the Premier of Victoria, Sir Alexander Peacock, on 25 January 1915, and the School was officially opened with a 1 oz 15 karatgold and enamelledkey by the Governor of Victoria, Sir Arthur Stanley, on 25 January 1917. Since 2008, the original key is held by Melbourne Museum as part of its history of technology collection.
The School of Art has a number of gallery spaces, the largest of these being in buildings 2 and 94 on the RMIT Melbourne City campus, and links to the RMIT campus union's First Site Gallery and the University's major gallery RMIT Gallery. Research in the School of Art research focuses on contemporary art, photography and craft. CAST is the School's core research group, leading collaborative socially-engaged artistic projects.
