Collections

Ruskin Collection

The Ruskin Collection, also known as the Guild of St George Collection, was originally formed by the influential Victorian artist, writer and critic John Ruskin as an educational resource for the people of Sheffield. It was first displayed in the Museum of St George at Walkley in 1875.

Over 900 paintings, watercolours and drawings by artists such as Thomas Matthew Rooke, John Wharlton Bunney and Charles Fairfax Murray provide a visual record of images central to Ruskin’s mind and thought. It includes images of the French Cathedral towns, Swiss rural scenes and Italian architecture and townscapes, as well as copies of paintings after the Venetian masters (usually details) including Carpaccio, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Giorgioni, Bellini, Veronese and Titian. There are twenty six works by Ruskin himself, ranging from sketches and studies after other artists, such as Turner and Carpaccio, to finished original works. The collection includes mineral specimens that Ruskin acquired on his European travels, many of which are specifically referred to in catalogues and handbooks written by Ruskin. There are over 6,300 ornithological prints by artists such as Edward Lear, John Gould and JJ Audubon and twelve Medieval manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 16th century, the smallest of which is the De Croy Book of Hours decorated by the renowned French illustrator Jean Fouquet. The Ruskin Library contains books such as Flora Londinensis, Flora Danica and Thomas Bewick’s British Birds, which has been extensively annotated by Ruskin. It also includes Ruskin’s own prolific output. Ruskin commissioned over thirty plastercasts from the Ducal Palace, St Marks in Venice and the North West door of Rouen Cathedral, France. These casts are now the only physical evidence remaining of the condition of the buildings in the 1870s. The Ruskin Collection is a unique snapshot of the 19th century that remains relevant to the modern world, illustrating the enduring legacy of Ruskin’s ideas. The Ruskin Collection is displayed in the Ruskin Gallery in the Millennium Gallery. A Taste of the Collection