American Academy of Art
Roughly a year after forming Young & Timmins, in 1923, the two men co-founded the American Academy of Art (AAA) in Chicago. AAA remains in operation to this day, and has a rich history with many prominent alumni and faculty. Chicago already had a number of art schools when AAA was founded, including the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). The AAA founders undoubtedly saw an opportunity to satisfy an unmet need in the commercial art sphere. Below is the first mention of AAA that I’ve come across, concerning the leasing of space for the school:
A number of similar ads for the school ran in 1923 in the Chicago Tribune, one of which appears below:
Dom Lavin was a cartoonist and newspaper illustrator, and a former art director of the Chicago Tribune. Philip Lyford was a well-known fine artist and illustrator. The 1924 Illinois Certified List of Domestic and Foreign Corporations lists Timmins and Lavin as the school’s two principals, with 20,000 shares issued:
In 1925, the same publication lists Timmins and Young as the two principals:
It is possible that the 1924 List was incorrect. Alternatively, Young may have acquired Lavin’s interest shortly after the formation of the school. The second explanation seems the more likely in light of the 1925 ad which appears below:
It appears that Lavin separated from AAA shortly after it formed and went his own way – in the same space as AAA! A number of ads similar to the one above ran in the Chicago Tribune 1925 and 1926.
Timmins served as the first AAA president. The school underwent rapid expansion shortly after opening. The 1925 edition of the American Art Directory states AAA had 12 instructors and 300 students:
One year later, AAA had 20 instructors and 350 students:
Around 1929, Timmins direct involvement with AAA ended. Harry needed to be in New York to facilitate his transition from advertising to story illustration in connection with the onset of the Great Depression and the resultant loss of ad illustration revenue. Realistically, there was no way that Harry could continue playing an active role at AAA while in New York. Timmins passed the baton to Young, who continued on as school president.