Ruskiniana: John Ruskin and the Moral Purpose of Art

Ruskiniana, an exhibition of drawings by the eminent British writer on art, as well as examples of his books, and works of art that relate to his concerns (including some contemporary magazine articles concerned with him), was curated by Robyn Asleson, a then graduate student in art history at Yale University.

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, John Ruskin preached the moral gospel of art in impassioned books and lectures. Considering art a concrete embodiment of the society which produced it, the influential critic traced the virtues and vices of past civilizations--and the impending doom of his own modern world--through art and architecture. Featuring items of Ruskiniana, the exhibition outlined the theories and career of this outspoken critic. Excerpts from Ruskin's own writings served as annotations to paintings, drawings, and prints of the American, British, and continental schools, on loan from several museum collections and drawn from Vassar's collection.