The article on the basis of archival documents, newspaper publications and memoirs of contemporaries examines the history of the organization of Yekaterinburg SGHM, identifies the factors that influenced this process. Particular emphasis is placed on the ideological struggle associated with the confrontation of different artistic positions and educational concepts. The article assesses the «revolutionary transformations», as a result of which academic teaching methods were abolished, and avant-garde approaches in teaching were only outlined.