Ruskin

The period from 1870 until his retirement from active work was full of new schemes of social usefulness, some of them more generous in conception than practicable, but all bearing eloquent testimony to the absolute sincerity of his preaching of the gospel of social righteous mess and service. In 1871 he founded the Giild of Saint George, and himself paid $35,000, a tenth of his possessions at that time, into a trust for carrying on its work. The basic prin ciples of the guild were ethat food can only be got out of the ground and happiness out of honesty,' and in connection with it he started agricultural settlements, some industrial enter prises and the Saint George's (now Ruskin) Museum at Sheffield.

In 1871 he gave up his house at Denmark Hill and purchased his well-known residence at Brantwood, on the shore of Coniston Lake. In 1870 he was appointed first Slade professor of fine arts at Oxford, and held this post until 1879, when he resigned owing to illness, and again from 1883 until 1884, when he again resigned. His lectures at Oxford give the best connected account of his maturer conceptions of art and form the material of the works: (1858) ; (The Oxford Museum' (1859), with H. W. Acland:

(The Elements of Perspective' (1859), lectures delivered at the Working Men's College; 'The Queen of the Air> (1869), lectures on the Greek myths of cloud and storm; (Mornings in Florence> (1875-77; collected, 1889) ; (1875-861 ; Collected Studies of the Lapse of Waves and Life of Stones' (1875-83); 'Saint Mark's Rest: the History of Venice' (1877 84; collected, 1884) ; 'The Laws of Fiesole: A Familiar Treatise on. the Elementary Principles and Practice of Drawing and Painting) (1877 78) ; (Notes on the Drawings by Turner Ex hibited at the Fine Art Society's (1878; new ed., 1900) ; 'Arrows of the Chace' (1880), a collection of newspaper letters; The Bible of Amiens' (1880-85) ; On the Old Road) (1885), a collection of miscellaneous writings. In 1871 a collective edition of his works was begun, but extended to only 11 vol umes. E. T. Cook was supervising a new com plete edition of his works begun in 1903 and to be finished in 30 volumes. This ((library is now one of the greatest tributes to Ruskin's memory.

There is a complete bibliography by T. J. Wise and J. P. Smart (1893). Ruskin prepared the plates, or at least the drawings, for many of his own works, and also painted some land scapes, chiefly in water color. A loan exhibi tion of his drawings was held in the Royal Water Color Society's rooms in 1901.

To what has already been said of the work and message of Ruskin little need be added. He was essentially a prophet, on fire with the enthusiasm of humanity, almost fierce in his opposition to every kind of insincerity and in justice. His early religious views were narrow, but in middle life he advanced to a broadly liberal position of no distinctively Christian character, though in later years he added to his religious liberalism a more definitely Chris- tian element. What he said of definitely Painters) may be applied to all his work: 'It declares the perfectness and eternal beauty of the work of God; and tests all work of man by concurrence with, or subjection to that." His teaching has been spread by many Ruskin societies, a Ruskin Hall for working men has been established at Oxford, and at Ruskin. Tenn., a co-operative colony was unsuccessfully attempted. (See MODERN PAINTERS; SEVEN LAMPS OF ARCHITECTURE; STONES OF VENICE). Consult Collingwood, 'Life and Work of John Ruskin' (1893), and of John (1900) ; Ritchie, 'Records of Tennyson, Ruskin and Browning) (1892) ; Spiclmann, ( John Ruskin) (1900) ; Harrison, 'Tennyson, Ruskin, Mill and Others) (1899) ; Rossetti. Rossetti and Pre-Raphaelitism) (1899) ; Cook, 'Studies in Ruskin' (2d ed., 1891) ; Hobson, 'John Ruskin, Social Reformer' (1898) ; Mal lock, 'New Republic) (1881 — Herbert repre sents Ruskin) ; Sizeranne, 'Ruskin et la religion de la Beaute) (1897; Eng. trans., 1899) ; Smart, 'A Disciple of Plato) (1883) ; Waldstein, 'The Work of John Ruskin' (1894) ; Mather, 'Life and Teaching of John Ruskin' (5th ed., 1898) ; Harrison, 'John Ruskin' (1902; 'English Men of Letters,' new series) ; Mackail's essay in Chambers' 'Cyclopxdia of English (Vol. III, 1904) ; Kitchin, 'Ruskin at Oxford and Other Essays) (1904).