Who famously got rejected from art school?

Adolf Hitler is the most historically noted example, rejected twice by the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, in 1907 and 1908, when he applied to study painting.

Hitler aspired to become a professional artist and traveled to Vienna with that goal. The academy's entrance review found his work unsatisfactory, with examiners citing a weakness in figure drawing, specifically too few heads in his compositions. He failed the entrance exam both times, a rejection he later documented in Mein Kampf as the collapse of his artistic ambitions.

While Hitler is the most cited case, art history includes other notable rejections. The Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris famously excluded Impressionist painters whose work was considered too unconventional, prompting the creation of the Salon des Refusés in 1863 to exhibit rejected submissions, including works by Manet, Pissarro, and Whistler.

These stories serve as a reminder that formal gatekeepers do not always determine an artwork's lasting value. If you own works whose significance or worth is uncertain, a professional fine art appraisal can establish a defensible, USPAP-compliant valuation for estate, insurance, or donation purposes.