ABSTRACT
The history of visual arts education in state-supported education systems is a relatively short one, beginning in Europe, the United States and other Western nations less than 200 years ago. Other, more traditional apprenticeship methods of artist education have a much longer history, probably as long as the history of art itself. The difference between apprenticeship training of artists and the more recent, school-based notion of visual arts education, is that the former was directed towards preparing the apprentice to become an artist or art worker, while the latter has encompassed a shifting array of educational goals throughout its short history. State-supported education systems have typically taken the view that it is important for students to understand art, but not necessarily to develop highly refined skills of production, since not all students will become artists or art workers.
