In 2016–2017, the school had a total enrollment of 3,346 students, 1,921 of which were children and teens, and 1,425 of which were adults.

[1] 178 classes were offered for children and teens,[2] and 168 for adult students.

[3] The school was established in the summer of 1926, when artist Walter Emerson Baum was recruited by Blanche Lucas to provide art instruction to art teachers of the Allentown School District.

Originally established in 1933 by Walter Emerson Baum, the Circulating Picture Club provides paintings for subscribers including banks, professional and business offices, government offices, and educational institutions.

The Circulating Picture Club has over 586 pictures in circulation by artists, including Baum, John E. Berninger, and others.