Ruskin’s Romantic Tours, 1837-1838

12 April – 28 September 2003

This exhibition tracked the journeys of John Ruskin and his parents through the Lakes in 1837 and 1838, when they extended their normal route into Scotland to explore the country of Sir Walter Scott.

‘Ruskin’s Romantic Tours, 1837-1838’ displayed a collection of drawings by a teenage John Ruskin, from both of these tours. It also featured works by Samuel Prout and J.M.W. Turner, two of Ruskin’s favourite artists. All in all, it showed the importance of Romantic poets (such as Wordsworth and Scott) to Ruskin, and how their influence, ideas and imagery stayed with him through to old age.

“On the journey of 1837, when I was eighteen, I felt, for the last time, the pure childish love of nature which Wordsworth so idly takes for an intimation of immortality.”

John Ruskin, Praeterita

This exhibition included items on loan from the Ruskin Museum, Abbot Hall Art Gallery and books from the rare book collection of Lancaster University Library, as well as works from our Museum’s Whitehouse Collection: the largest existing collection of material relating to John Ruskin (1819-1900) and his circle.

Research done by Professor Keith Hanley (English and Creative Writing, Lancaster University) for the exhibition was part of a book project supported by a grant from the British Academy, which also funded display materials and the production of maps drawn by Anne Sweeney.