"Literary Links" - John Ruskin in Oxford

"Literary Links" is a series of posts celebrating Britain's wonderful links with great authors, dramatists and poets.

John Ruskin (1819-1900) attended Christ Church College, Oxford as an undergraduate and like many of his fellow students came from a privileged background.  He showed early signs of talent even before he arrived here.

Christ Church College, Oxford

His influence was enormous.  He became an accomplished poet, writer, artist and critic and an invaluable patron to the arts.   His thoughts on social issues were often ahead of their time and continue to inspire today. For instance, his book Unto This Last (1860) inspired Mahatma Gandhi who said, “I determined to change my life in the light of this book.  My belief is that I discovered some of my deepest convictions reflected in this great book of Ruskin’s…”

Ruskin was a generous benefactor to Oxford and founded The Ruskin School of Drawing in 1871 using the rooms and art in the Ashmolean Museum.  It continued there for a century where it was renamed The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in 1945.  In 1975 it found its new home here on the corner of the High Street and Merton Street.  In 2014 it became known as the Ruskin School of Art.  

This is an excerpt from the tour Oxford’s Noble and Great Ones - Part 1  which explores around the southern part of Oxford.  The full tour is found on www.obelisktours.co.uk