Art School Pay

There are numerous established art schools and ateliers, many of which have illustrious alumni and patrons, who

currently pay hourly rates we consider too low.

For example:

Hampstead School of Art (London): £13 p/h

Heatherley School of Fine Art (London): £13.63 p/h (did provide some furlough payments to its life models)

London Fine Art Studios: £12 p/h

Morley College (London): £13 p/h

Putney School of Art and Design (London): £12.98 p/h

The Art Academy London: £11.50 p/h (paid lunch break)

Edinburgh College of Art: £45 minimum for 2 hours

The Royal Drawing School: £16 p/h (from Jan 2022)

These and other institutions paying similar rates are recognised for their mostly excellent working relationships with their life models, but we believe many can do better on pay. Some institutions are making small improvements but life models are still effectively subsidising their classes. We ask that London institutions follow the lead of Edinburgh College of Art.

Without high quality, professional life models the curricula of many if these institutions would be a fraction of what they are.

Within the life drawing circuit at large, there is increasing recognition of the time commitment life models are expected to provide for in-person bookings. Life models are expected to arrive at least 10 minutes ahead of their booked time and usually finish a pose at the very end of a class; they then still have to get dressed. A block booking over several weeks (usually one session per week) can provide a significant number of hours of work but it also means a model has to forego other bookings on those days.