RIT Campus Art collection

The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) has a rich history in the field of arts and crafts. The Mechanics Institute, RIT's predecessor, was formed in 1885 by Henry Lomb as the first technical school in the Rochester area. Within that first year, an art department was established, offering courses in industrial design, drawing, and architecture. By 1888, the department had expanded to become the department of industrial and fine arts. The art program experienced strong growth. In 1907 the name was changed to the department of applied and fine arts.

When RIT moved out of the city of Rochester to the suburb of Henrietta in 1968, the importance of art to the school was recognized by the university's administration. One percent of the total cost of construction for the relocation project was earmarked for the purchase of fine art for RIT's new campus. A small committee selected works by artists such as Josef Albers, Harry Bertoia, Alistair Bevington , José de Rivera , and Henry Moore. The committee was made-up of Arthur L. Stern, a member or RIT's Board of Trustees; Stern's wife, Molly; and Aileen Vanderbilt Webb, founder of the School for American Crafts. These pieces are still part of RIT's Public Art on Campus Collection.

RIT's campus art collection has continued to grow over the years. For instance, in 2003 the school dedicated "The Sentinel," a metal sculpture created by RIT's Charlotte Fredericks Mowris Chair in the School for American Crafts, Albert Paley.

When the university celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2004, the Cary Graphic Arts Press published View It! The Art and Architecture of RIT, highlighting many of the pieces on RIT's campus. This was accompanied by a companion website titled "Art on Campus," available through the RIT Archive Collections homepage.