Frederick Heinrich Wilhelm Meyer (November 6, 1872 – January 6, 1961), was an art educator

Art education

Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...

 prominent in the Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

 in the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Bay Area

The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...

.

Early years

Meyer was born near Hamelin

Hamelin

Hamelin is a town on the river Weser in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont and has a population of 58,696 ....

, Germany. As a cabinetmaker

Cabinet making

Cabinet making is the practice of using various woodworking skills to create cabinets, shelving and furniture.Cabinet making involves techniques such as creating appropriate joints, dados, bevels, chamfers and shelving systems, the use of finishing tools such as routers to create decorative...

 in his native Germany, Meyer had a father and uncles who were also cabinetmakers. He became involved in the Arts and Crafts movement before emigrating, first to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 at the turn of the twentieth century.

He attended classes at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art

Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art

The Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art was chartered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on February 26, 1876. This was in response to the Centennial International Exhibition held in Philadelphia that year....

, now known as the University of the Arts

University of the Arts (Philadelphia)

The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...

. There, he began a lifelong friendship with the artist William S. Rice

William S. Rice

William Seltzer Rice was an American woodblock print artist and art educator associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement in California.- Early life :...

.

Meyer was then hired as art supervisor for the Stockton public schools

Stockton Unified School District

Stockton Unified School District, is a school district headquartered in Stockton, California.Most of the city of Stockton is served by SUSD.-Grade reconfiguration:...

 in California. In 1900, Meyer hired Rice as assistant art supervisor, and Rice also relocated to Stockton

Stockton, California

Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...

, California. Meyer moved to San Francisco in 1902, and Rice was promoted to Meyer's job.

In San Francisco, Meyer established a cabinet shop and taught at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art on Nob Hill prior to the 1906 earthquake. He was also a faculty member of San Francisco Art Association and the California School of Design.

Founding of his arts and crafts school

After that institution was destroyed in the fire caused by the 1906 earthquake, Meyer expressed his dream of a school that would fuse the practical and ideal goals of the artist at a meeting of the Arts and Crafts Society shortly after the disaster. Meyer founded the California Guild of Arts and Crafts in 1907 in Oakland

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

. He had $45.00 in cash, access to three classrooms and 42 students at the beginning. In 1936 the school was renamed the California College of Arts and Crafts, with Meyer as its first president, a position he held until his retirement in 1944.

Now named the California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts

California College of the Arts , founded in 1907, is known for its broad, interdisciplinary programs in art, design, architecture, and writing. It has two campuses, one in Oakland and one in San Francisco, California, USA...

, the school provides an education for artists and designers that integrates both theory and practice in the arts. Meyer's vision continues to the present day. Today, Frederick Meyer's "practical art school" is an internationally known and respected institution, drawing students from throughout the world.