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		john ruskin

		John Ruskin is virtually unknown to the vast majority, despite the fact that his ideas influenced such people as Ghandi, Tolstoy and Frank Lloyd Wright. He was born on February 8th 1819, the son of a successful sherry merchant who had a liking for paintings and Byron and who got the young John to quote reams of poetry daily. His mother was an obsessive Evangelical Protestant and a bigot who forced him to learn Bible texts each day before quoting the poetry. All this, together with the fact that his paternal grandfather became insane and he himself led a very sheltered life was no doubt instrumental in his becoming deranged as his life progressed. Despite all the negative aspects, his upbringing was privileged in that his father's wealth enabled him to have a good education, to travel and to pursue his many and varied interests and collections, above all his works by the artist J. M. W. Turner. In fact, Ruskin championed Turner who is now arguably considered to be Britain's finest artist. Among Ruskin's friends he could count Thomas Carlyle, Edward Fitzgerald, the pre-raphaelites, writers, poets, church leaders and politicians. Ruskin became the best known art critic of his time and his philosophies did inspire those individuals mentioned in the first paragraph, and many more beside. The museum holds an important collection of Ruskiniana, which includes unpublished material and letters from and to him, some working copies and books from his own library. Just two items are shown in our picture, the top being a letter to Ruskin from J. R. Lowell and the lower one a copy of Ruskin's "Praeterita" inscribed to his secretary Sara Anderson with one of his sketches mounted on it. We also have important diaries of Mary Constance (Connie) Churchill née Hilliard, who travelled with Ruskin on the Grand Tour, which give a new insight into his travels and also the development of a well connected Victorian girl from the age of fourteen to twenty. The museum is looking for any other material relating to Constance Hilliard for research and publication of her biography. To see the remarkable works of J. M. W. Turner, visit Tate Britain in London. For more about Ruskin contact the Ruskin Society or Lancaster University.
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