ABSTRACT
Art education emerged in relation to a number of cultural influences. The influences framed school art in terms of a least four strands of purpose. The first strand is the use of art education for developing skills for a labor market. The second strand views the purpose of public access to art as cultural education and a leisure time activity for the middle class. The third strand concerns art as an illustration of moral character and aesthetic taste for the social person. The fourth strand conceives of art has healthful and creative self-expression. The strands have historically interacted and their conflicts have involved deeper issues of an American society involving conceptions of work and play, democracy and individuality, and what constitutes scientific and social reality.
