ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the concept of fine art as research and its relationship to academia rather than the concept of design studies with its association with the invention of goods, materials, and services. The notion of fine art, with its history of exclusivity and uselessness, is the author's interest in this research. The chapter also traces the history of the fine arts in recent Western culture, as this history relates to both British and American higher education. American universities were exploring various curricula that integrated the training of artists into universities long before Britain granted any award higher than a diploma to its art students. Although professional American artists also have social and political concerns and create dialogues around race, women's rights, gay rights, and issues of class as represented through their own work, most studio artists think of themselves as professional artists first and foremost.
