The History of duCret
Our Story
The duCret School of the Arts is the oldest arts school in the state of New Jersey. Founded in 1926 by artist and teacher Marjorie Van Emburgh, the school was originally located in a large carriage house in a residential area of Plainfield. By 1936 it had outgrown its original quarters and obtained space in the Babcock Building, located in the center of the Plainfield business district. Over the next two decades, the school continued to build a reputation for excellence in art education.
In 1964, the Van Emburgh School of Art was acquired by Dudley V. duCret and became the Van Emburgh/duCret School of Fine and Industrial Art. It was incorporated in 1970 and moved to its current location, the George Strong house in the Van Wyck historic residential section of Plainfield.
Ms. Van Emburgh remained a faculty member until 1975.
We are part of the Van Wyck Brooks Historic District
The Van Wyck Brooks Historic District is a community of residents and supporters dedicated to preserving the area’s architectural heritage while fostering a strong sense of neighborhood and shared history.
The district is the largest of Plainfield’s residential historic districts, encompassing 152 properties dating from 1803 through the 1960s. Designated locally in 1982 and added to the National Register in 1986, it is named for author and literary historian Van Wyck Brooks, a Pulitzer Prize winner whose family home still stands within the district.
Learn more about the district.
