The Ruskin School of Art is the Department of Fine Art at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division.

History

The Ruskin School of Art grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (OBU; formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Th ...

. It was headed by

Alexander Macdonald Alexander or Alex MacDonald may refer to: Politics * Alasdair Óg of Islay (died 1299), Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill * Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, or Alexander MacDonald (died 1449), Scottish nobleman * Alexander MacDonald, 5th ...

and housed in the University Galleries (subsequently the

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology () on Beaumont Street in Oxford, England, is Britain's first public museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University o ...

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art
In 1869

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English polymath a writer, lecturer, art historian, art critic, draughtsman and philanthropist of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as art, architecture, Critique of politic ...

was appointed

Slade Professor of Fine Art The Slade Professorship of Fine Art is the oldest professorship of art and art history at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford and University College, London. History The chairs were founded concurrently in 1869 by a bequest from the art collect ...

at Oxford. Critical of the teaching methods at the Oxford School of Art, he set out to found the Ruskin School of Drawing in 1871 in the same, but restructured, premises. Macdonald was retained as its Head and became, therefore, the first ''Ruskin Master'' until his death in 1921. The

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

relocated to the Ruskin for the duration of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was renamed Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in 1945, and later Ruskin School of Art in 2014. Ruskin School of Art remained at the Ashmolean until 1975 when it moved to 74

High Street High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...

. In October 2015, the Ruskin opened a second Fine Art building in East Oxford, at 128 Bullingdon Road, on the site of a former warehouse and annexe. Designed by Spratley Studios Architects, the building houses purpose-built art-facilities and studios, and won a

RIBA ''Riba'' (, or , ) is an Arabic word used in Islamic law and roughly translated as " usury": unjust, exploitative gains made in trade or business. ''Riba'' is mentioned and condemned in several different verses in the Qur'an3:130

award in 2015. The Ruskin now operates across both sites.Bullingdon road
oxford.gov.uk

Education

The School was originally founded to encourage artisanship and technical skills. It now provides undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications in the production and study of visual art. The subject is taught as a living element of contemporary culture with a broad range of historical and theoretical references. The Ruskin remains at the top of the league tables among art schools in the UK, and was top of its category in the 2021 REF (

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is ...

) exercise.

Ruskin Masters

The School was traditionally headed by an appointed ''Ruskin Master''. Richard Wentworth was the last to hold this position (2002–2010). The School now benefits from rotating the post of Head of School amongst current faculty members. At present, the role is with Professor Ian Kiaer, while previous Heads of School have included Professors Michael Archer, Jason Gaiger, Hanneke Grootenboer,

Brian Catling Brian Catling (23 October 1948 – 26 September 2022) was a British sculptor, poet, novelist, film maker and performance artist. Early life and career Catling was educated at North East London Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. He he ...

, Anthony Gardner and Kristen Kreider. Ruskin Masters: * Richard Wentworth 2002–2010 * Stephen Farthing 1990–2000 * David Tindle 1985–1987 *

Philip Morsberger Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...

1971–1984 *

Richard Naish Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

1964–1971 *

Percy Horton Percy Frederick Horton MA, RBA, ARCA (8 March 1897 in Brighton, England – 1970) was an English painter and art teacher, and Ruskin Master of Drawing, University of Oxford from 1949 to 1964. During the First World War he was imprisoned as a ...

1949–1964 *

Albert Rutherston Albert Daniel Rutherston (5 December 1881 – 14 July 1953) was a British artist. He painted figures and landscape, illustrated books and designed posters and stage sets. Personal life and education Albert Daniel Rothenstein born 5 December 18 ...

1929–1949 * Sydney Carline 1922–1929 *

1871–1922

Alumni

References

External links

Ruskin School of Art

University of Oxford Admissions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art Universities and colleges established in 1871 1871 establishments in England Departments of the University of Oxford Art schools in England John Ruskin