Franz Cizek's creative approach to student art classes earned him the reputation as “the father of creative art teaching”; his innovative concept of encouraging young people to discovery their artistic talent without the need for formal instruction triggered interest and appreciation internationally for the purity of children's art. His pedagogical practices were promoted in numerous publications and journal articles, ensuring that his principles of ‘Child Art’ influenced the method and teaching practices of art educators and child development practitioners worldwide.
Franz Cizek established his Juvenile Art Class for students aged 6 to 16 in Vienna in 1897; it ran until 1934 until the NAZI party forced his school to close. His pedagogical techniques involved promoting self-expression in his pupils as he felt that in contrast to his contemporaries in arts education the art of a child has an aesthetic value of its own sake rather than being a developmental stage towards the art of the adult. His objective was not to produce artists, but rather fully rounded individuals who could express their thoughts and feelings using their imagination and memory. In 1919, Francesca Wilson, a British teacher and humanitarian working in Vienna at the time selected works from Cizek’s pupils for an exhibition of Vienna Children’s Art to raise funds for relief work. The exhibition toured the UK for more than two years and subsequently USA, Canada and Australia. The exhibition helped to raised interest in the Child Art Movement and was an early example of using art to raise funds and increase interest in humanitarian causes. The collection, composed of papers and letters and 101 paintings created between 1915 and 1922, remained in the possession of Wilson until her death in 1981. In 1985 the collection was loaned to the National Arts Education Archive, a nationally accredited archive in the UK, where it remains today in a loan arrangement with Paul Ream and Carolyn Troy.
Also, in Wilson's possession and gifted to NAEA by Wilshire Museum and Library Service is a deluxe picture book, Christmas, Paintings by Children, featuring 14 illustrations by Cizek pupils published in 1922 (see Wiltshire Library & Museum Service Collection). Each illustration is full page, beautifully crafted, exquisitely coloured reflecting customs, traditions, and feelings towards the festive season by young people.
The NAEA is the only archive outside of Vienna, Austria where Cizek work with students is accessible to the public.
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