E. T. Cook's two-volume biography is a vital tool for anyone wishing to understand Ruskin's achievements in so many fields.

An innovative and lavishly illustrated account of the art, writings, and global influence of one of the 19th century's most influential thinkers This book presents an innovative portrait of John Ruskin (1819-1900) as artist, art critic, social theorist, educator, and ecological campaigner. Ruskin's juvenilia reveal an early embrace of his lifelong interests in geology and botany, art, poetry, and mythology. His early admiration of Turner led him to identify the moral power of close looking. In The Stones of Venice, illustrated with his own drawings, he argued that the development of architectural style revealed the moral condition of society. Later, Ruskin pioneered new approaches to teaching and museum practice. Influential worldwide, Ruskin's work inspired William Morris, founders of the Labour Party, and Mahatma Gandhi. Through thematic essays and detailed discussions of his works, this book argues that, complex and contradictory, Ruskin's ideas are of urgent importance today. Distributed for the Yale Center for British Art Exhibition Schedule: Yale Center for British Art (September 5-December 8, 2019)

Classic biography of the 19th century author & philosopher. Illus.

John Ruskin had a life and career that made the romantic visionary singly the most important cultural figure of his day. His canon attests to the intelligence that championed natural beauty, reveled in art, and erred only on the side of humanity. This is the classic biography by Sir Edward Tyas Cook (1857-1919) of the 19th century author and philosopher, cited and recommended by the Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature. The principal material on which this biography is founded consists of Ruskin's diaries, notebooks, and letters. They are supplemented by a large collection of letters to his parents. During Ruskin's absences from home, he wrote almost daily, and sometimes more than once a day, to his father, or to his mother, or to both.