Selectivity, Interpretation and Application: The Influence of John Ruskin in Canada

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Selectivity, Interpretation and Application: The Influence of John Ruskin in Canada
Abstract
The London-born John Ruskin (1819-1900) was a writer, art critic, draughtsman, watercolourist and social thinker. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and political economy. In Victorian-era English Canada John Ruskin's ideas were perhaps as well-known as they were in Britain. However, the author points out, without the controlling presence of Ruskin, admirers in this country were free to select and re-interpret Ruskin's positions without fear of reproach, and in such a way that their projects were given added credibility by association. The author analyses the influence of Ruskin's writings through a discussion of examples from the following fields: commercial, institutional, and public architecture; art education and training in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia; and trends in painting. In terms of architecture, Ruskin's ideology was not always taken into account in Canada, especially as the north Italian style he championed became more popular. Thus, she points out, while the Canadian Houses of Parliament, University College, Toronto, Canadian Institute, and Montreal's YMCA may have been relatively true to his principles, the commercial projects of Charles Wilson (Montreal), John Macdonald and Robert Carswell (Toronto) were anything but. The author's discussion of art education considers how Ruskin's theories were adapted to suit the needs of educators, and then readapted as their interpretations of these theories evolved. Among the educators examined is Arthur Lismer (1885-1969), who ran the Montreal Children's Art Centre, affiliated with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from 1941 to 1967.
Type
PhD dissertation
University
Concordia University
Place
Montreal
Date
2006
Language
en
URL
Citation
Grants, Anita. “Selectivity, Interpretation and Application: The Influence of John Ruskin in Canada.” PhD dissertation, Concordia University, 2006. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol2/QMG/TC-QMG-9098.pdf.
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