These questions have formed only part of any systematic study in the last 100 year. It was with the Victorian interest in education that the study of child art began. The ability to draw was seen as a necessity for the educated person, especially young women. This led to an attempt to understand the principles by which art could be successfully taught to children as part of a balanced curriculum. There was also a growing interest in fostering artistic sensibilities amongst the manufacturing classes. In 1835 the government appointed a Select Committee to investigate ways of promoting knowledge of the arts and the principles of design amongst the population. This Select Committee concluded that it would be beneficial to make art a component in elementary education as it already was in Germany and Switzerland