Peter D. Hyman Fine Arts Center
4822 E. Heyward Drive, Florence SC 29506

The Peter D. Hyman Fine Arts Center was designed by the Boston architectural firm of Perry, Dean, Stahl and Rogers, and it was constructed in 1980. It is a Post-Modern building housing faculty offices, classrooms, studios, shops, galleries and performance spaces for the Theatre, Music, Art and Art Education programs.

The Fine Arts Center is named in honor of Peter D. Hyman, Sr., who was instrumental in the founding of the institution and who was the first chairman of the Francis Marion University Board of Trustees.

Baker explains layering technique in his “Peer Amid Pyramids” (1982).

The late John W. Baker, for whom the Music/Art wing of the Hyman Fine Arts Center is named, was the founding Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Francis Marion College, later serving as Dean of Students as well as Chairman of the Department of Fine Arts.

Having received his doctorate in music composition, Jack composed in a wide range of styles for various vocal and instrumental ensembles. He performed often on clarinet: with symphony orchestras and chamber groups for the love of ‘classical’ music; and in pick-up gigs with Dixieland and swing bands for the pure fun of it.

A long-time admirer of modern art, when Jack later began to paint, his ultimate goal was to provide multiple images occupying a single space in a manner analogous to musical counterpoint or polyphony. In addition to solo shows at Francis Marion, the Florence Museum, and galleries in Columbia and Winston-Salem, Jack’s paintings have been accepted in numerous state and regional juried exhibitions. Several of his works are displayed on campus, including the pictured “Polyphonic Pictograph,” which is in the the Fine Arts Center main office.

“Polyphonic Pictograph” by John Baker (1984).

All Fine Arts Department equipment and spaces are used for both instructional and production purposes. The majority of the equipment is on the leading edge of current technology and is adequate to maintain a competitive level of instruction. Equipment is updated as often as technical advances demand and finances allow.

All facilities are routinely inspected and patrolled by University Public Safety. Inspections are based on those standards set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These same standards are also part of the instruction in related courses and to all employees using or maintaining the facilities.