In art education, several scholars have advocated for using art and art education for development of cognitive as well as social and emotional development. However, art education research has rarely addressed exactly what skills and competencies constitute social and emotional development. In addition, there is a need for examples of art education curricula that explicitly promote specific skills and competencies and show how these might be empirically assessed. This study addresses this knowledge gap by discussing some of the basic theories in emotional and social development, and examining the constructs of social and emotional intelligence to identify what skills and competencies constitute social and emotional competence from a child psychology and developmental science perspective. In addition, the study describes the design of an art-based social and emotional learning curriculum aimed at promoting conflict resolution and problem-solving skills related to self and others (i.e. intra-personal and interpersonal conflicts). It analyzes the impact of the curriculum implemented in two educational settings using a mixed methods approach. Finally, this research discusses how art education research and practice might benefit from understanding social and emotional development from a psychology and developmental science perspective, as well as visual art’s contribution to the fields of social and emotional learning and in advancing social and emotional development.