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John Ruskin Letter

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0134

Scope and Contents

The letter in this collection is written by Ruskin from Brantwood to his publisher, and is dated December 29, 1880: "I send you a phot[ograph] from my sketch of Amiens folk - now destroyed by Violet le Duc -- can you set in hand a pretty vignette from it..."

Dates

  • 1880

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical or Historical Information

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was an author, art historian, and architectural critic. He was born in London to strict Calvinist parents and traveled frequently with his mother, father, and nurse on business trips to Flanders, Germany, and Switzerland. By the age of fifteen, Ruskin was composing poetry, dramas, and romances in imitation of Shakespeare, Pope and Byron.

Though his early schooling was irregular and his time at Oxford was interrupted by two years of poor health, Ruskin came to be highly regarded as a social theorist. Strongly influenced by the teachings of Thomas Carlyle, he was particularly interested in the ways in which art might both restore an aesthetic component to production and induce an appreciation of higher values. His reputation as one of the leading critics and architectural historians of his day was established with the publication of the first volume of The Stones of Venice in 1851, and his publications until the early 1870s were quite prolific.

Elected Slade Professor of Art at the University of Oxford in 1869, Ruskin lectured there for ten years until disease of the brain forced him to resign in 1879. His last decade was spent in retirement at the cottage he had acquired at Brantwood, Coniston.

Extent

0.01 Linear Feet (1 folder)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a British author, art historian, and architectural critic. This letter was written by Ruskin to his publisher in 1880: "I send you a phot[ograph] from my sketch of Amiens folk - now destroyed by Violet le Duc -- can you set in hand a pretty vignette from it..."

Method of Acquisition

Removed from The Works of John Ruskin, date unknown.

Related Materials

See Princeton University, Mount Holyoke College, and Columbia University for more John Ruskin collections.

Offensive Language Statement

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Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Archives staff.

Title
John Ruskin Letter
Author
Archives staff
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

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