Massachusetts College of Art and Design (also known as MassArt) is a publicly-funded college of visual and applied art, founded in 1873. It is one of the oldest art schools, the only publicly-funded free-standing art school in the United States, and was the first art college in the United States to grant an artistic degree. The college is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. MassArt is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design and the Colleges of the Fenway, a collegiate consortium in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area. In the 1860s, civic and business leaders whose families had made fortunes in the China Trade, textile manufacture, railroads and retailing, sought to influence the long-term development of Massachusetts. To stimulate learning in technology and fine art, they persuaded the state legislature to found several institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1860) and the Museum of Fine Arts (1870). The third of these, founded in 1873 was the Massachusetts Normal Art School.