John Ruskin in his study

Taken by John McClelland, this photograph shows John Ruskin in the last decade of his life. On the back of the print, an inscription in ink reads, ‘Ruskin in his study [of] Brantwood. c. 1894’.

McClelland made regular visits to Brantwood in the 1890s from his home in Liscard, Cheshire. On at least three occasions, he photographed Ruskin sitting in his armchair in the study, in front of the window: first in 1882, pictured here in 1893, and again in July 1897. After the 1897 visit, McClelland wrote, ‘knowing his decided objection to anything unnatural, no artificial means of lighting the darker side of the face was adopted, so that although the result hardly does full justice to the face or to the magnificent blue eyes of the Master, it is a true picture of him in his later years as he sat in his study’ (Bookman, March 1900, p. 194).

Ruskin bought Brantwood, the house, garden and estate on the shore of Coniston Water, in 1871. His cousin, Joan Severn (née Agnew), her husband Arthur Severn and their growing family later moved in. A programme of renovation included adding a hexagonal turret room to the first floor, offering panoramic views of the lake, and across to Coniston Village, and Ruskin’s favourite fell, The Old Man of Coniston. In the garden and estate, Ruskin initiated radical experiments in land management and ecology: a ‘living laboratory’ that foreshadowed the work of modern conservationists and ecologists.

Following Ruskin’s death in 1900, a journalist from the Manchester Guardian visited Brantwood on the morning of his funeral. They wrote, ‘Mr. Ruskin’s study opens off the wide front hall. To-day the fitful rain is beating upon the windows and gusts of wind ruffle the surface of the lake. It was at this window, which overlooks the lake and the fells, that Mr. Ruskin sat when he was at work. Coniston Old Man, which to-day is merged in the cloud and mist, is clearly seen from Mr. Ruskin’s old seat in normal weather, with all the great breathing space of Nature in between.’

Today, the historic house, garden and parts of Ruskin’s 250-acre Lakeland estate are open to the public, with paintings, books and furniture from The Ruskin Whitehouse Collection on display.