1918: General Harrison Gray Otis, the founder and publisher of the LA Times, bequeaths his Spanish-Moorish mansion, "The Bivouac," to the city for "the advancement of the arts." Otis Art Institute is established by the Board of County Supervisors under the control of the Board of Governors of the Museum of History, Science and Art. Classes begin September 1918. The setting is luxurious: A marble nymph welcomes students at the door and classes are held outdoors under the shade of trees from around the world. Tuition is $80 a year.

Samples from
the Archives:
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1918 - 1968

1920s: Students call themselves "Otisians" and spend the roaring '20s partying at the beach and in the mountains as well as working hard on campus. Channing P. Townsley is the first Managing Director, and E. Roscoe Schrader serves as Dean and Director from 1922-1949. In 1922, with 350 students enrolled, Otis is the largest art school west of Chicago.

1928

1930s: The School has grown to fifteen large studios. The annual art show is held at the County Museum and cash prizes from the profits of the student store are awarded. Each month, a tea party is held in the garden to open a show of student work. The first alumni association is formed in 1933. In 1939 the property adjacent to "The Bivouac" is purchased for $90,000.

1930s

1940s: Feeling the effects of the depression, in 1941 the County Board of Supervisors votes to close Otis for one month as a money saving measure. Classes resume just a few months before Pearl Harbor. Students enter the military and send home sketches of their experiences while others of Japanese descent sketch scenes at Manzanar. World War II affects the school even after its conclusion as veterans return to take classes at the relatively affordable rates Otis is able to offer. In 1947, control of the institution is moved from the museum's Board of Governors to the County Board of Supervisors and the name is changed to the Los Angeles County Art Institute. Throughout this period, Norman Rockwell spends the winter months as artist-in-residence at Otis. Students occasionally are models for his Saturday Evening Post covers. In 1949, Rockwell donates an original Post cover, "April Fool," to be raffled off in a library fundraiser.

1943

1943

1950s: The postwar enrollment boom has filled campus facilities to bursting and finally in 1951 the foundation is poured for a new wing. The dedication ceremony on Oct. 22, 1952 sees Miss Jason Herron, a former "Otisian," as Acting Director. In 1954 Millard Sheets is appointed Director and under his leadership, the school's academic program is restructured so that BFA and MFA degrees are offered. A ceramics department is created with Peter Voulkos at its head and both a ceramics building and a gallery, library and studio wing are completed. By the time Sheets leaves in 1960, the look and direction of the college has changed dramatically.

1954

1950s

mid 1950s

1950s

1957

1957

1960s: In the first year of the decade, the name of the school is changed to Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County. Alumni are pleased. In 1968, the 50th anniversary of Otis is celebrated with a Roaring Twenties costume party. John Altoon wins the top juried prize for sculpture, drawings, prints and crafts.

1970s: Even before the budget crisis brought about by the passage of Proposition 13 in June of 1978, the county Board of Supervisors has explored the possibility of merging Otis, a county institution supported by property taxes, with another, solvent, institution. The Supervisors favor a merger with USC while Acting Director Peter Clothier and many Otis faculty and students prefer Parsons School of Design, a branch of the New School for Social Research in New York. In Nov. of 1978 when the Supervisors vote to approve the merger with Parsons, students wearing Otis/Parsons buttons cheer.

1975

1978

1979

1977

1978

1980s: With Neil Hoffman at the helm and a new Fashion Design program in place, the future of Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design seems secure. Enrollment rises again and in the spring of 1981 a retirement home on 6th Street is purchased and opens its doors as the Amelia Taper Residence Hall. Roger Workman succeeds Hoffman as Dean in 1985. In the late 1980s, the school and gallery director Al Nodel received a commendation from President Ronald Reagan for work with the MacArthur Park Public Art Program.

1990s: After a little more than a decade of partnership, the merger with Parsons is terminated in 1991 and the school, now called Otis College of Art and Design, becomes independent and privately funded. Roger Workman is named President in 1991 and serves until 1993. Neil Hoffman returns as President in 1994. The 75th anniversary celebrations, however, herald years of continuing struggle as the Westlake neighborhood surrounding the school declines. In 1997 the school moves to a new site, the Elaine and Bram Goldsmith campus in Westchester. It occupies a building on Lincoln Blvd. designed originally by Eliot Noyes in 1963 for IBM. The structure is renovated for classroom and student uses and becomes the Kathleen Holser Ahmanson Hall. New programs in Toy Design and Digital Media are established.

2000s: Samuel Hoi is appointed President. The new fine arts building, the Broyna and Andy Galef Center for the Fine Arts designed by Frederick Fisher & Partners, is dedicated Sept. 2001