Lyme Academy of Fine Arts

The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts was founded in 1976 by celebrated sculptor Elisabeth Chandler. Its mission is to provide education and training in the history, traditions, principles and skills of drawing, painting and sculpture as a foundation for its students’ future development as artists. 

The curriculum is based on a respect for classical values in a Fine Arts education. That is, the emphasis of the program is figurative and realistic and offers training based on studio practices that were primarily taught from the Renaissance to the present. The small size of the student body ensures that each student receives personal attention from faculty around an individualized plan for their development. The Academy offers a strong and sequential program of study, which serves students by developing intensity of observation, quality of execution and depth of interpretation. 

As a provider, exhibitor and interpreter of the Fine Arts, Lyme Academy is fully committed to an important public mission to enrich the cultural life of the region. It serves this mission by inviting students of all ages to participate in Academy studio programs. The exhibitions, lectures and other community-based programs offered by the Academy bring the achievements and inspiration of the visual arts to public attention throughout the year.