Famous Artists School

The school was founded by members of the New York Society of Illustrators, principally Albert Dorne and Norman Rockwell.

For the founding faculty, Dorne recruited John Carlton Atherton, Austin Briggs, Stevan Dohanos, Robert Fawcett, Peter Helck, Fred Ludekens, Al Parker, Norman Rockwell, Ben Stahl, Harold von Schmidt, Jon Whitcomb, and Dong Kingman.

But acquisitions unrelated to art swelled the company's indebtedness, and a savage article by Jessica Mitford ripped Famous Writers for deceptive advertising and overblown promises.

The Famous Artists School was acquired by Cortina Learning International of Wilton, Connecticut, in 1981.

The original 1948 price for the three-year course was $200, payable at once or in monthly installments, and veterans could use the GI Bill.