commissioned during the reign of King Rama VI to work as a sculptor in the Fine Arts Department. Initially assigned to teach Thai craftsmen the western techniques and craft of sculpture, the artist, who later adopted Thai nationality and the Thai name of Silpa Bhirasri, subsequently enlarged his class to include members of the interested public before taking his initiative in setting up the School of Fine Arts.

         The School gradually developed and was officially accorded a new status and name, Silpakorn University, on 12 October 1943. In the early phase of its development, only programs in painting and sculpture were offered by its inaugural faculty – the Faculty of Painting and Sculpture. Three more faculties were later established to accommodate the University’s growing academic interests, namely, architecture, archaeology, and decorative arts. These four areas of specialization formed the academic bases of the four faculties of the Wang Tha Phra Campus in Bangkok.

           Located in the inner city of Bangkok, the University, during the first twenty-five years of its existence, underwent limited physical expansion. The development of its academic interests and activities during this period consisted largely of diversifying the main areas of the four faculties into sub-specializations. Hence, a new campus, Sanam Chandra Palace Campus, was established in Nakhon Pathom Province in the former -