American Academy of Art College

The American Academy of Art College is a private for-profit art school in Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1923 for the education of fine and commercial arts students. In July 2024, the college announced its pending closure.

The school's Bill L. Parks Gallery is open to the public and features exhibitions of works by students, faculty, visiting arts and works from the academy's permanent collection.

History
The American Academy of Art was founded in 1923 by Frank Young and Harry L. Timmins to train students for careers in commercial and fine art.

Academics
Enrollment is typically between 400 and 500 students. Eight areas of study are offered for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, all of which require 126 credit hours to graduate. The academy is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Notable alumni

 * Joyce Ballantyne, illustrator
 * Thomas Blackshear illustrator
 * Bruce Burns
 * Sandy Dvore, designer
 * Gil Elvgren, illustrator
 * Loren Long, author and illustrator
 * Rupert Kinnard
 * Alex Ross, comic book illustrator
 * Richard Schmid, painter
 * Richard Sloan, artist
 * Daniel Sotomayor, political cartoonist (attended but did not graduate)
 * Haddon Sundblom, illustrator
 * Jill Thompson, author and illustrator
 * John Tobias, game designer
 * Kanye West, rapper (attended but did not graduate)