Abstract
<jats:p>The article examines the phenomenon of the author's art school as a distinctive pedagogical phenomenon in the context of the development of art education in Ukraine in the second half of the 19th — early 20th century. Based on the analysis of scholarly sources, the conceptual characteristics of the notion "author's school" are revealed and its defining features identified: the founder's original concept, the integrity of the educational system, the personal character of pedagogical activity, and the stability of traditions. The specificity of the author's art school as a particular type of educational institution is substantiated — one in which pedagogical activity is organically combined with visual arts practice, and the learning process takes on the character of a shared creative search. The activities of three leading author's art schools in Ukraine are analysed. The School of Painting of N. Buialskyi (Kyiv, 1850) was distinguished by a combination of the studio system of instruction with Western European teaching methods and a priority given to working from life over copying plaster casts. The School of Drawing and Painting of M. Raievska-Ivanova (Kharkiv, 1869) was based on the methodology of French industrial art schools, combined academic training with practice-oriented instruction, and paid particular attention to decorative and applied arts and national ornament. The Drawing School of M. Murashko (Kyiv, 1876) was characterised by a clearly structured four-year curriculum, continuous expansion of educational programmes, and an organic combination of professional and general education. It is established that, despite differences in the organisation of the educational process, all three institutions shared common features: democratic access to education, priority of working from life, consistency and gradual progression in learning, an individual approach to each student, and continuous improvement of curricula. It is demonstrated that author's art schools played an important role in the formation of professional art education in Ukraine, became centres for the development of national artistic traditions, and served as spaces for pedagogical innovation. Their activities contributed to the development of the artist's creative personality by combining academic training with practical experience in artistic activity.</jats:p>